On this page, you can find some of the best pieces I wrote during my technical writing course.
Definition Assignment: The purpose of this assignment was to explain a technical term (that is used within your particular discipline) in a way that is easy to understand for a non-technical audience. I choose to define “scalability”, a term that is used quite often in the software development industry. I had a lot of fun writing this assignment as I am quite familiar with the concept of scalability due to the work I did at my internship. Working on this assignment gave me the opportunity to explore more in depth about the topic and I feel like I have an even better understanding than before.
Link to the definition: What is Scalability?
Formal Report Proposal: Before starting on our formal report, we were tasked with creating a proposal that explains our report idea to our peers and instructor. It also helped us to organize our information as it covers all of the aspects that a complete report should have. This document was successful as I was able to convey my ideas to my peer reviewer and I referred to it quite often when I was initially starting on my actual report.
Link to Report Proposal: Proposal for a Feasibility Report on Offering Online Computer Science Courses
Complaint Letter: Since this is a technical writing course, much of the skills we gain are to be used when we are working in the industry or pursuing a higher education. For example in the workplace, there are going to be times where we have to convey bad news, reply to a complaint or convey some problems we have with a situation. It is important to always stay professional and objective while writing such documents and this assignment allowed us to practice those skills.
Link to Complaint Letter (found on the UBC ENGL 301 Website): Two Business Letters: Complaint and Bad News
A Peer Review: Throughout the term we wrote several peer reviews and the feedback I got from them helped me to improve upon my writing. The peer review I choose to highlight here was the one I wrote for my team member’s formal report draft. I chose this one because it is the most detailed and comprehensive peer review I had written. I included the usual commentary as well as an edited word document . The formal report is one of the most important assignments we have for this course so I really wanted to focus providing a good review for my team member.
Link to Peer Review (found on the UBC ENGL 301 Website): Peer Review of the Formal Report on LMS Choices