English 301

Drafting Formal Report

In the process of drafting the formal report for the unit three assignment, I found my topic to be more challenging than expected in regards to research. In the past, I have completed several research papers and am familiar with what good sources are compiled of and the techniques that can be used to find the desired topic of research. However, my chosen topic proved to be quite specific. Although there was ample data available on the general topic, there was limited research specifically for individuals with special health care needs. Organizing my formal report draft was less challenging as we had created an outline for the formal report and the topics of discussion were already organized in the progress report completed prior to the draft. When completing the outline, I kept in mind the flow of the formal report that I wanted for easier organization in the future. While compiling my draft, I followed the outline I had created as well as the guidelines provided by the instructor. Something that I learned during this process was how to write a letter of transmission and the abstract. In my previous research papers, I had not been required to write these. An error on my part was that I spent a good amount of time researching and learning how to write the letter of transmission and abstract as this was my first writing experience with it, I did not allocate enough time to work on “data selected” or report of the actual draft prior to the peer review. I also learned that the letter of transmission and abstract are not usually submitted with the initial draft.

Peer Review

As the course progresses, I have learned more about the process of peer reviewing. This particular peer review was interesting as I had also reviewed my partners proposal for this assignment. Seeing the progress of the report from the proposal provided good background information on what to expect in the formal report. During the peer review, I learned that proper formatting with any type of writing is critical. My teammate had posted a great draft with ample amount of information and research; however, due to incorrect formatting, the research paper was not reader friendly and made for a challenging read. I also learned that the tone of the paper is very important. We all chose topics that we feel strongly about and hope to see some positive change. Although, as a writer we may be biased, it is important to keep an objective, professional and positive tone throughout the paper and follow the YOU-attitude. This ensures that the reader does not feel attacked and appreciates the time and effort put into the research and the report.

DRAFT – formal report engl 301

LinkedIn Profile

The process of doing research on best practices of LinkedIn was very interesting. Being in the dental field, social media networks such as LinkedIn are rarely used. I had very little knowledge about LinkedIn and was unaware of all the other perks of joining this professional social media network. During my research, I learned so much about this platform and felt intrigued to join. Creating such a platform allows professionals to represent themselves and gives them an opportunity to display all that they can offer. It is a great space for networking and having an online community of other professionals that you can interact with and expand your social and professional life.

Formal Report

The topic I chose to do my research and formal report on came quite naturally to me. The topic I chose was “Increasing Community Oral Hygiene Programs Tailored to Individuals with Special Needs.” It is a subject that I often wander about and can empathize with patients or their care takers that I see in my clinic on a regular basis. I often feel that an hour appointment with only five to ten minutes of remaining time to go over home instructions for their oral health every 6 months or more is not nearly enough time to educate our special needs care patients. Therefore, I felt that this is a topic of interest to me and can be useful in real life in most communities. The research for this assignment will be a new experience for me. Prior to this course, I had never created a survey or interview questions to be used for research. Once all my data is gathered, I plan to use the outline for my formal report that I have created to ensure all aspects of the assignment and research is completed and thoroughly analyzed for my report.

Peer Review Process

Completing a peer review for my partner for the proposal was a good learning experience as this time around the process of doing the peer review was a little more detailed. I had an opportunity to review my partner’s proposal first then review each section of the proposal separately. This allowed me to be more detailed with the review process and I was also able to give more positive feedback for each section. Using this method of completing the peer review, allows the partner being reviewed to recognize which section of the proposal needs more attention – as most likely that section pertaining to the formal report may require more details as well.

Reviewing Team’s Writing

Reading and reviewing my teams writing through the team forum has taught me a lot. I can see that some team members are stronger in writing skills while some are exceptional at keeping their writing assignments well organized and easy to follow. Reviewing others work also allows me to reflect on my own writing. What can I learn from them? How can I organize my writing so the reader can follow my train of thought? I am also attempting to switch my writing tone from a more casual conversation tone to a professional writer’s tone. Completing peer reviews has impacted my writing because I now write with an audience in mind. I want to assure that my readers can understand my thoughts clearly and concisely.

Revised Proposal: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl30198a2022s12/2022/07/18/revised-proposal-rida/

Peer Review Received: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl30198a2022s12/2022/07/01/rida-irshad-peer-reviewed-by-izabel-lopez/

Original Draft of the Technical Definition

In the first unit of the ENGL 301 course, we were assigned to write a definition of a technical term related to our own profession for a non-technical reader. Since I had no previous experience in writing definitions, I found this assignment to be daunting at first. However, with the help of reading the instructional blog as well as the readings in the textbook, I was able to complete the process of writing a parenthetical, sentence, and expanded definitions of the term “Periodontitis.” Normally, I would not consider this term to be technical as being a dental hygienist and working in a dental clinic, this term is considered to be common dental language. However, from my experience of explaining the term to my patients, I understand it is quite a foreign term to the general population. A parenthetical definition provides the audience with a simple version of the definition that can use a synonym of the term or a clarifying phrase in parenthesis. Sentence definition is a more elaborate definition compared to a parenthetical definition; it uses more distinguishing features to describe the term. Expanded definitions are used when the audience requires a general understanding of the term. To better define the term Periodontitis, I had used expanded definition methods of Etymology (to describe the word’s origin), comparison and contrast (to describe the difference between gingivitis and periodontitis), analysis of parts (to describe what causes periodontitis) and visuals. Using these methods and creating definitions gave me a deeper understanding of technical writing and appreciate the challenges of describing a term to a non-technical audience.

Peer Review Process

In this stage of the assignment, I was responsible for critiquing and reviewing a team member’s definition assignment as well receiving constructive feedback for my own assignment. Given my limited experience in peer reviews, I once again relied on my readings from instructional blogs and the guidelines in the textbook. Having completed the assignment and being familiar with the term chosen by my team member, I found the peer review process easier than expected. The challenge for me during the peer review was to look at the definitions from a perspective of a non-technical audience. Looking at my own peer review, and recognizing the strengths and weaknesses in my assignment, I was able to recognize the positive points as well as some suggestive changes for my team member. During the peer review process, I was also able to refresh my memory on some other methods of expanded definition used by my team member. This process allowed myself and my team members to provide constrictive feedback to each other and allowed us an opportunity to learn new terms as well as a chance to make changes and improve our definitions.

Revision Process

After reviewing my peer assessment, I found the constructive feedback to be very helpful. It helped me acknowledge the mistakes I had overlooked such as using dental jargon that I once again assumed was common language. I also had an opportunity to rephrase my parenthetical definition as my first draft had similarities between parenthetical and sentence definition. Peer review allowed me to see how well an individual who is considered a non-technical audience to understand the term defined in my assignment. My team member also provided me with positive feedback which has encouraged me to be proud of the work I have completed. Overall, this assignment has expanded my knowledge in many ways, and I am excited to learn and enhance my writing skills in the upcoming lessons.

Definitions Assignment, revised – Rida

Peer Review for Rida

Hello Jessica,

I hope you are enjoying the change of your career paths and finding computer sciences to be of more interest for you. I am quite impressed by your educational and professional careers and believe you would be a great asset to have on my writing team. If you are interested in being my team member, please see attached for my application letter and leave me a response at your earliest convenience.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you for your time,

Rida

301 Rida Irshad Application Letter

Hello Izabel,

I hope you are having a good start to summer and enjoying this course so far. I have had a chance to read your application letter and believe we would make a good team for this technical writing course. I share your interest and recognize the importance of time management and being organized for all tasks and assignments. If you are interested in being on my writing team, please see attached for my application letter and leave me a response at your earliest convenience.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you,

Rida

301 Rida Irshad Application Letter

Hello Olivia,

I have also had a chance to read your application letter and must admit I am quite impressed by it! It is inspiring to see a fellow hygienist also have a purpose for writing professionally aside from clinicals only. You have been a great team member to work with in the past and I would gladly accept your invitation to be on your writing team for this course.

I look forward to working with you and to meet our other teammates.

Thank you for your interest,

Rida

301 Rida Irshad Application Letter

MEMO

To: Erika Paterson (Instructor)

From: Rida Irshad, Student at UBC

Date: May 30, 2022

Subject: Application Letter Posted

I have posted my letter of application on my English 301 UBC blogs website. Please find attached file below for my complete application letter.

Few key points from my application are listed below:

-Interest for joining a professional writing team

-Experience in writing – professionally, academically and creative writing

-Ability to be a fast-learner, detailed oriented

-Recognition of areas to improve my writing and introduction to my learning philosophy

I look forward to reading application letters of my perspective writing team partners.

Word Document:

301 Rida Irshad Application Letter

3187 Checknita Way SW,

Edmonton, AB. T6W 4W7

May 30, 2022

The University of British Columbia

2329 West Mall

Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4

Subject: To Produce an Ideal Writing Team to Coordinate Assignments of ENGL 301

Dear Fellow Students,

Are you seeking a reliable, hard working and committed teammate who would be an ideal candidate for your writing team? If so, please consider this application letter as a proposal to join your writing team. I have been practicing as a Dental Hygienist for over six years now, this has provided me with opportunities to write in a professional setting such as describing the assessments and diagnosis of a patient and their proposed treatment plan to other professionals in the dental/medical field. In addition to that, I have previous writing experience from my diploma program of Dental Hygiene as well as my recent writing experience from completing extensive research papers and essays that were necessary to fulfil the requirements of courses such as literature review courses, oral epidemiology, or bio-medical ethics.

To be accepted into my diploma and degree completion program for dental hygiene, I was required to write an essay to display my interest for the program as well as to prove that I possess proficient writing skills. I was accepted into both programs. Throughout my educational career, I have been exposed to a range of different forms of writing including program planning, proposal letters, research papers, presentations, and peer reviews. In addition to that, my volunteer experience in the dental hygiene field provided an opportunity for creative writing such as designing educational pamphlets regarding smoking and its relation to oral hygiene or brochures to advocate good oral hygiene by inviting individuals to be my patients during my clinicals. My strengths with writing include proof-reading, detailed and to the point. My vulnerability with writing is that I am unfamiliar with various styles of reference formatting. However, I am confident in my fast-learning skills and know that I can improve this skill with practice.

My learning philosophy is to be passionate about my learning and be inspiring to my fellow learners. I am excited to gain more writing experience throughout this course and look forward to hearing from my ideal writing team. I trust you will take my experience and enthusiasm into consideration. If you feel I could be valuable to your team, please do not hesitate to contact me through my email at rida9503@student.ubc.ca.

Sincerely,

Rida Irshad

Word Document:

301 Rida Irshad Application Letter