We started unit 3 by working on writing with a you-attitude. This is quite easy to do when I consciously think about it but the difficulty comes when I constantly forget and veer into my typical writing habits. Each time I reviewed my work I made a bunch of changes to conform to the you-attitude. However, I enjoyed this section of the course very much. I think it has been the most practical so far. The you-attitude appears to be something that I can apply quite regularly in my academic and professional life.

Starting the rough draft for my final report was overwhelming. I had to narrow down exactly what I wanted to talk about in order to keep my report relevant and concise. Collecting the data for the report was quite straightforward. I distributed it to friends and family members and received results soon after. What I struggled with the most was organizing and putting the report together. For example, deciding the order of certain topics, deciding what info to include or leave out, and deciding how much information was too much. I also felt that I was sometimes extrapolating data too much and therefore reaching on my conclusions. I made an extra effort to keep the report as realistic and accurate as possible while also recognizing that some aspects may not be perfect due to the nature of it being a class project and the lack of access to actual business information.

As usual, peer-reviewing was very helpful. The key benefit I received this time around was having to thoroughly read the peer review criteria in order to review Cathy’s draft. This drilled the criteria in my head for implementing into my own paper and catching mistakes. The peer review I received from Cathy was also great for identifying obvious mistakes I made that I glossed over. Unfortunately, I didn’t get my draft to the level I was hoping to before sending it in for a peer review. Hence, I likely missed out on some benefits of having it reviewed. It still feels great to have a somewhat completed formal report draft as it is starting to look professional and well put together. Overall this was a solid unit and I am progressing along as I would hope.

First Draft: 301 Money Dhaliwal – Formal Report Draft

Going into unit 2 I had some experience with LinkedIn and didn’t have to create a brand new profile. However, the one that I had was quite barebones and more of a placeholder. This unit allowed me to polish up my LinkedIn profile by not only doing my own research but also receiving feedback from a peer reviewer. I feel more confident in my profile and know what areas I need to work on.

In contrast, writing a formal report proposal was completely foreign to me. Brainstorming for the report proposal was definitely the most difficult aspect of this unit. The actually write up and review of the report did not take me too long. However, having to come up with an initial idea that was relevant, feasible, and also slightly interesting was a long process. I went back and forth with many ideas but decided to go with the one that felt most doable in order to avoid overwhelming myself. Fortunately, after that initial hurdle, the rest of the process has been quite smooth. Although I have a rough idea of what the final report will look like, I am taking it one step at a time and only spending my energy on the task at end. I’m excited to see how the finished review will turn out.

Peer reviewing my partner’s proposal was a great way to evaluate my own proposal. I could see areas that my partner did well and consider implementing that into my own proposal. The overall peer review process has helped affirm that I am generally on the right track with some corrections and changes on the way. Without the peer reviewing aspect I would likely second guess my own when it is done well or be overconfident when it is off the mark. Outside of the assigned peer reviews, I also look at my other team members’ work. While not in depth as a peer review, a quick glance of multiple submissions helps as a starting point to compare my own work to. As a bonus, viewing other submissions has been a cool way to see the diversity in where my colleagues’ interests lie or what experiences they’ve had. Overall, peer reviewing been enjoyable and benefited not only the quality of my work but also my confidence in that work.

Revised Proposal: MoneyDhaliwal_ReportProposal(Revised)

Peer Review of Proposal: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-98a-2020sa/2020/06/24/formal-proposal-peer-review-for-money-dhaliwal/

Hi Everyone,

This is my reflection on the past unit, specifically the definitions assignment we just completed.

For my assignment, the technical term I chose to define was systole. The revised version can be found here. It relates to my studies in Kinesiology and I thought it was complex enough to need some explaining to a nontechnical reader while still being a relatively basic concept to grasp. I aimed to keep my overall document as concise and easy to digest as possible. After receiving my peer review, I added more detail to my document as this was critic from my partner. Specifically, I expanded on the context of who the term is being explained to and added an operational explanation to the Analysis of Parts section.

When editing my partners document, I had a background on his chosen technical field and found his definitions very well done. I also saw that his assignment was quite more in depth than mine which made me reconsider the simplicity of mine, as mentioned above. I found some minor mistakes in my partners definitions but nothing that took much away from the overall assignment.

Something that I enjoyed, and I think also helped with my learning was going through and reading other definitions apart from just my partners. This gave me an idea of where mine stacked up and what things were consistent in others that I missed. The main thing that stuck out to me was length/detail, which was mentioned by my partner Glen as well. I would say I had the shortest assignment of any that I read. This also contributed to why I decided to add more detail. The main thing I took out of this assignment was being mindful of jargon and unnecessary terminology that does not add much to a person’s understanding. I had to watch myself when writing my own definition and will take this into account for future use.

301 Money Dhaliwal Rewritten Definition

Glen’s Review of my Assignment

From: money_sd@hotmail.com
To: cathyliu0627@gmail.com
Date: May 25, 2020
Subject: Re: Invitation

Hello Cathy,

Thank you so much for reaching out to me. I appreciate you taking the time to review my application and respond. I am glad to accept your invitation to work together and look forward to being in a team this summer.

Best,
Money Dhaliwal

From: money_sd@hotmail.com
To: kathrynsimone95@gmail.com
Date: May 26, 2020
Subject: Invitation to Join Writing Team

Dear Kathryn,

After reading your application I think you’d be a great addition to our team. Your experience in technical writing in a laboratory setting, along with a psychology background would be useful for editing team documents. Additionally, your professional experiences, such as writing technical documents and communicating with your clients online appear relevant to this course.

If you would like to join a team with Cathy Liu and I please let me know.

To: Dr. Erika Paterson, Instructor, ENGL 301 98A
From: Money Dhaliwal, Student, ENGL 301 98A
Date: May 22, 2020
Subject: Application Letter

As requested, I have posted a letter of application to my blog and included it along with this memo.

To summarize, the letter of application includes:

• My professional, academic, and volunteer experiences relevant to ENGL 301
• The strengths I believe I would bring to a technical writing team
• My learning philosophy

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me at money_sd@hotmail.com. Thank you for taking the time to read this document.

Encl. 301 Money Dhaliwal Application Letter

14917 95 Ave
Surrey, BC V3R 7W4

May 22nd, 2020

ENGL 301 98A Technical Writing
University of British Columbia
2329 West Mall
Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4

Dear Classmates:

I am excited to be taking ENGL 301 with you this summer and am writing this application in hopes of being considered for your technical writing team. I am going into my last year as a Kinesiology student and am motivated to work hard for myself and my teammates. Below, I go over some of the things I may lack but also the strengths I believe I have to offer as a team member.

My classes here at UBC have offered little in terms of professional or technical writing. Apart from communication with professors, I have not learned or practiced much that would be relevant towards ENGL 301. With that said, I believe my strengths come from my workplace experiences rather than formal writing skills. For example, my most recent position has my coworkers and managers located all over, which means lots of e-mails being written to give updates, send results, provide information, or to ask questions. Through these interactions, I have seen the format, tone, and style used by other employees and have integrated that into my own communication. While far from perfect, I believe I have a good foundation to improve on. Additionally, all the jobs and volunteer positions I have had, working as a sales associate, activity coach, or rehab assistant, have involved lots of professional interactions with customers, coworkers, and managers. Although this is mostly verbal, I believe there are skills that can be carried over to the written communication we are working on in ENGL 301.

As for my learning philosophy, I enjoy asking lots of questions, but particularly in person rather than through email or on discussion boards. I think the knowledge and experience I have gained by asking questions of colleagues in clinics or hospitals, or talking to a professor after lecture has been as equally valuable as my university education.

If you think I’d make a good team member and are interested in forming a team please contact me at money_sd@hotmail.com. Thank you for taking your time to read my application.

Sincerely,

Money Dhaliwal

301 Money Dhaliwal Application Letter

Welcome to UBC Blogs. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!