Hello Classmates,
The first unit provided a good introduction to ENGL 301. I found the instructions easy to comprehend and the deadlines laid out clearly. While conducting my peer review for Siddhartha, I learned tremendous amounts not only from his technical definition, but also from how his writing was laid out to form a comprehensive picture for the intended audience. His use of images with captions and labels helped me interpret what I was seeing despite learning a complex definition that I hadn’t previously heard of. Additionally, his definitions were logically organized and very easy to follow, something I wanted to improve in my own assignment. As for peer review strategies, I found that reading Siddhartha’s definition twice worked well. The first time reading was out loud and to check for overall flow, while the second time would be to assess the details and criteria of the assignment.
Choosing a term for my assignment was not difficult. While there were a myriad of potential explanations to pick from in the subject of corporate finance, there were only a limited amount of definitions that a general public should understand, before they begin to invest their money. I wanted to pick a term that could be applicable to people of all ages, students included. My biggest challenge was incorporating all three definitions to create a comprehensive picture of what a debenture is, without being repetitive with my explanations. I wanted each definition to serve a unique purpose.
The peer-review conducted by Siddhartha was extremely useful. Especially because he studies in a different field, it was easy to gauge whether my definition could truly reach a non-technical audience. I believe that this is why having a diverse group of students in this technical writing class is a huge advantage. As we continue to write in this class and in the future, it is critical to understand how best to interact with people in different fields and varying expertise. The peer review allowed me to understand that some terms I used like “interest rates” or “inflation” needed to be broken down further in order to reach a non-technical audience. Perhaps because of the frequency we use certain terms in our workplaces and at school, they become second nature to us. Thinking more critically about how to elaborate on my writing to make it comprehensible to different audiences will be the focal point of improvement for myself going forward. In addition, I need to be as specific as possible when it comes to picking an audience and purpose for my definition. This will provide clarity for my readers in future papers and reports.
Discussed assignments can be found below:
Siddhartha’s Peer Review: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-98a-2020sa/2020/06/10/peer-review-for-mathew-shen/