MEMO
To: Dr. Erika Paterson, Professor of English 301 99c Technical Writing
From: MinZhang Si, Student
Date: February 8, 2022
Subject: Unit One Reflection Blog
The assignments of lesson 1:3 convinced me that technical writing is difficult but not altogether unmanageable. To write expanded definitions is challenging and to decide what expansion strategies to use so that the definitions are tailored to the readers is still more challenging. However, peer-reviewing and self-editing did help me address the challenge to some extent.
The original writing on the three definitions was a challenge to me because I was not sure what details to give and what not to. I had to change my writing situation several times and eventually settled on the current situation where I, a bookkeeper, explained to a potential client what double-entry bookkeeping is. I also found it difficult to identify and locate the right sources to help me explain the term.
I must say I benefited a lot from the peer reviews. From my peer I read a different interpretation of the assignment requirements, and from the feedback my peer wrote for me, I gained insights on aspects of my own writing that I could not see. For example, while my peer emphasized integrating the paragraphs (not using headings), I thought we had to use headings for each expansion strategy we used. I chose to remove my headings and follow my peer’s suggestion because I personally like smoothly integrated paragraphs as well. Plus, my expanded definition is not long so using subheadings might seem redundant. Other than this, I would say the peer-reviewing process helped me identify errors (like missing visual) I could not identify myself.
With my peer’s comments, therefore, I set to rewrite my definitions. The editing process was admittedly difficult because I had to, in a sense, deal with my own past and tell myself that I did not do well enough the first time. I edited my definition according to all of my peer’s suggestions because I did think they were sound and valid.
Overall, the assignments of this lesson were meaningful and showed me the importance of expanded definitions, though I still feel nervous about writing them. I hope more practice can ease my nervousness.