January 16, 2016

248 X Street,

Vancouver, British Columbia

ABC 123

 

English 301: Technical Writing

University of British Columbia

2329 West Mall

Vancouver BC

 

Dear Classmates,

I am writing with strong interest in a position as writing group member and contributor in English 301: Technical Writing, with the University of British Columbia (UBC). I am a current fourth year student at UBC, and will be completing my Bachelor of Science degree in Geology in May 2017. Come September 2017, I will begin pursuing a thesis-based Masters of Science in structural geology.

Within my current bachelors program, my writing experience has been almost entirely scientific and technical with focus on writing or critically analyzing academic papers on geology. In December 2016, I completed a 50 page Directed Studies thesis on my field work from this past summer. Writing of this thesis demanded a concise, clear tone that fell within the strict format of a scientific paper, and this form of unembellished yet eloquent writing strongly challenged my natural flowery writing style. This challenge greatly benefited my writing ability and the lessons learned from this experience would greatly enhance my capability as a member of your team.

Previous to pursuing a degree in Science, I was working towards my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting at the Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD). Massively different from my more recent writing experiences, the writing I completed at ACAD was entirely creative. I took various courses in philosophy, creative writing, and critical analysis of art and design, was pushed to limit my writing as little as possible, and think as analytically and imaginatively as possible.

Beyond these almost entirely opposite academic experiences, writing and communications were a strong component of various past work experiences.  In the summer of 2015, I coordinated and ran the youth programs with PEDAL and Our Community Bikes, a non-profit east Vancouver organization focussed on sustainable transportation and education of low-income and at-risk youth. Managing communications with various non-profit organizations, the City of Vancouver, the Vancouver School Board, and the youth themselves involved the ability to change my tone of communication at the flick of a switch in connecting and engaging with very different communities and audiences. I spent a great deal of time within this position writing and editing grants, and developed a strong voice as a primary advocate for our organization.

Not only within my academic experiences, but in my past work experiences, diversity has been a prevalent theme. Having worked in a wide range of positions that presented vastly different challenges and demanded very different skill sets, I learned huge adaptability and flexibility in my writing, and would make me a strong and versatile member of your writing team. I am extremely willing and excited to learn and know that I would gain hugely from the position.

Thank you so much for the opportunity, and if you deem me a strong candidate for this position, please feel free to contact me at hayleymcintyre248@gmail.com. I greatly look forward to hearing from you.

Best,

Hayley

(Click here to download this letter in .docx format: ENGL 301 Hayley McIntyre Application Letter)