MAGGIE'S WEB FOLIO

The blog includes some reflections on the assignments I have done throughout ENG 301 Technical Writing.

I am really amused with creating Web Folio although there are some challenges. I like the idea of organizing pieces of work together on a website because it is like a personal file but everyone on the Internet can access it.

On the process of creating the Web Folio, the part I struggled a bit was using the tools on the website. I do not have computer science background as many students in this course, so I would say I learned more slowly than many of them. It was funny that I have spent an hour to look for a way to add a new page since I was confused between new page and new post. But after I figured out the way to do it, it went faster. I also like that I can add some visual image on the page because one picture because “one picture can say more than a thousand words”, and it makes the page look more vivid. Although I have not used many functions or tools yet, I will explore and exploit more the tools on making nice website in the future.

By creating the Web Folio, I learned the importance of putting small piece of description for each section. It would let the readers know what it is exactly and decide whether they will continue to read it or not. Also, the Home page acts as the introduction and navigation advice of the entire Web Folio which should be written concisely and with visual image to draw readers’ attention and interest to read the rest of the Web Folio.

In addition, it is a smart way to have both searchable resume and PDF file of resume on the Web Folio because searchable resume can let the audience read it immediately, but the PDF file is downloadable which can be saved. The process of making the application package actually helped me a lot with my resume. Before taking this course, I did not selectively pick my experience on the resume for specific job, but I have put as much information as possible in one resume. From my peer review, I realized that I should make the resume specific for the job I want to apply for. Therefore, I edited my resume and current one looks more focused on the job I want to apply for and more neat.

Constructing the Web Folio is also like organizing the content and creating an art. Since I am a beginner, I have a lot more to learn in the future.

ENGL 301 is an interesting course because it teaches me many useful writing  skills and let me notice some of my weakness from feedbacks given by the instructor and peers. On the other hand, it is quite challenging because there is actually a lot of workload throughout several months, especially for me who is taking two other summer classes and studying for MCAT during the summer. My time management skills seem also being improved.

The most challenging assignment I have encountered in this course would be writing the formal report, and one of the biggest lessons i have learned to write is to think about the audience. Since i have two years of research experience, I can not let go the mindset of writing a research paper. This kind of mindset created some troubles in the process of writing a formal report. Research paper usually needs more resources and time to construct and its audience usually are technical people, but the formal report is more simple and its audience could be various. The topic I chose for the formal report is about antibiotic resistance. At the beginning, I was too ambitious which I wanted to write a paper studying the situation about misuse or overuse of antibiotics across Canada and China. That was definitely too much for a formal report, so I changed the scope of the study and the purpose in order to make it as a formal report after discussing this issue with the instructor. Moreover, after I finished my formal report draft, I was still quite confused about who my audience would be exactly. The more appropriate way to write a report should be to think about who I am going to write it for, and then starting to construct the ideas. In addition, as English is not my first language, it is difficult for me to avoid  grammatical errors. Therefore, careful proofreading is very important for every piece of my writings.

On the other hand, I have some strengths while writing my work. Due to my  abundant research and volunteering experience in Psychology research lab, Chemistry research lab, hospital and clinic, I have learned of some big problems we are facing today and have my own ideas to solve these problems. Like Isaac Newton says “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants”, experience and knowledge could act as shoulders for people to stand and let them see further because they could inspire them to be more creative and insightful. Ideas are most important for many technical writing report, but it needs good  writing skills in order to deliver the ideas to the audience. I am glad that I have taken this course because I have practiced various kinds of technical writings, and I have gained feedbacks from my peers and instructor about what my advantages and disadvantages are.

The skills  I have learned from this course will be very relevant for my future education and future career. Having professional technical writing skills is a big asset for me to pursue my future education and career. This course has raised my awareness of using Linkedln for networking. My connection on Linkedln has been doubled since I learned the tips for networking through Linkedln in this course. I will definitely further explore and exploit Linkedln for better networking in the future. Upon my graduation, I would like to have a tutoring or teaching job, the skills of writing resume, cover letter and creating Web Folio will give me more opportunities to find a job. In the further future, I would like to pursue a medical degree and a career as a physician, the technical writing skills will also be utilized to communicate with other physicals and institutions.

In unit 2, I have mainly learned to prepare for a formal report and make my LinkedIn profile look professional.

Proposal and Outline for Formal Report

The most difficult part to prepare for a formal report was to choose an appropriate topic and appropriately find the scope of question to investigate and write a formal report for it. I always want investigate why people still misuse or overuse antibiotics though public media have repeatedly reported the harm of it. Since recently I heard China almost consumed half of the world’s antibiotics and I have connection in China, I was so ambitious and eager to do a project that were related to China and Canada. However, I did not realize that this assignment was not  for a research paper. Instead, it was for a formal report. From the comments from Erika and Matthew, I realized it was too ambitious to do it. Therefore, I have narrowed down the research to local Vancouver area. Also, through what I reviewed Matthew’s proposal, I can see his proposal was more specific than mine, and his proposal clearly showed who it was for. Thinking about the audience was very important no matter what I wrote, so I cleared my mind and decided my target audience were the health providers and health educators. Also, I learned that to write a peer review, I should follow the order of what the author wrote. It would make the author easier to follow and edit it. Moreover, in the first few memo, I did not follow the format what the textbook taught, I have got back to reread the textbook in order to make my future memo look more professional.  Often I found my writing was too wordy, so I should write more concisely in the future.

In addition, through writing the research plan and schedule for the formal report, I found the weakness of mine as I found when I wrote the proposal. Originally, I chose both survey and interview as my primary source. However, as I wrote the questions for the survey, I found I did not have to do the interview in order to have those answers. Why not just put the questions on the survey? As well, it would save time. I found at the beginning, I always want to do something big qualitatively and quantitatively, but it turns out that it is not necessary and not suitable. Hence, I decided only using the survey as my primary source. Moreover, I really like the idea of writing a schedule for the formal report. I am not a person who plan well to do things. I believe the compulsory schedule would really help me to finish the survey and formal report on time.

LinkedIn Networking

By reading the tips of networking through LinkedIn from my peers and writing my own tips for it, I have learned so much about how to make a professional LinkedIn profile for best networking. Prior to this assignment, I had very few connection and I did not even have a profile picture. However, after I read what peers wrote the tips of LinkedIn networking and did some research on my own, I just realized the importance of networking through LinkedIn. I have chose the best picture I thought for it and added some essential parts on it. Many employers pose jobs on it and many people get their jobs through LinkedIn. My original connection was around 50, but now my connection has been doubled. I found it is really helpful to expand network through LinkedIn with current LinkedIn connection. For example, I have had previous alumni who currently work in Google and they are on my LinkedIn connection, then I search their network and can successfully add their Google colleagues to my own network. As I expand my network, I expand the topics of articles and news feed that I can read through LinkedIn. It will be a powerful tool for networking if I can use it more smartly in the future.

The link for the updated formal report proposal and peer review are as following:

Formal Report Proposal of Yin Zhou (Maggie)

Peer Review From Matthew Fung for Yin Zhou (Maggie)