I’ve always felt like I don’t completely excel in written communication. The skill of effectively communicating my thoughts directly through words and expressions seems to never come easily to me. I often have difficulty quickly putting into words what I am thinking and take too much time planning than actually writing. This assignment certainly assisted in helping me overcome some of these writing challenges, mainly due to having an accompanying peer review. Having someone check and give constructive criticism proved to be useful because they were able to evaluate the validity and suitability of my written work as well as provide strength where I exhibited weakness.
This assignment required writing that was unlike what I am used to commonly writing (which is research papers). I previously was unaware of all the various ways a complex word could be described to accurately define it. I found the expansion techniques introduced to be very valuable and I think they will further be useful in the future during my academic and professional career, particularly when wanting to explain something to a diverse range of audiences.
While peer-editing, I read my teammate’s assignment three times. Atlasi demonstrated an exceptional ability to define ‘Magnetic Resonance Imaging’, and I initially thought it would be difficult to recommend changes. However, the blog post and document were an excellent guide. First, I read the piece without stopping to see if I fully understood what was being presented and if the overall flow was ideal. The second time, I nitpicked and checked to see if all the requirements were met (ie. what was missing and what could be added). During the final read, I made sure all the changes I had recommended actually allowed the piece to flow better.
The suggestions Atlasi had made were clear and beneficial. I incorporated the feedback to the best of my ability and made the changes to my written piece. After revision, I also felt more confident to repost my assignment as this sometimes is a challenge for me. This process helped me understand that assessment feedback is important in learning how to compose good written communication. Through being a peer-reviewer myself and as a student receiving feedback, I developed a sense of awareness of what I can do and what needs to be improved on.
https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-98a-2021sa/2021/06/09/assignment-13-revised-definitions/