Coming from a science background I have a new deep found appreciation for creative and technical writing. I have always seen art and science as one in the same and I am really glad I have taken this course. I believe that my writing skill has increased after completing ENGL 301: Technical Writing and I am considering taking another writing course as an elective in the next school year.

When designing my web folio at first I was considering making a new website but I decided against that. I felt that I rather be efficient and instead of taking up another web page, I would instead just alter my existing ENGL 301 web page. Figuring out the best layout took some trial and error but I believe I have found a good balance. There are some shortcomings as I can not find out how to include my posts into one page on my blog tab. I have no previous experience designing a web page so this whole process is entirely new to me. That being said, I really enjoyed my first attempt at making a web folio!

Honestly though, this course was a writing assignment marathon in my opinion. So many assignments due weekly but I have always been punctual with due dates. However when taking five courses in a semester there are times when the quality of work does not meet the standards we set for ourselves. It is such a delicate juggling act to have five courses under control along with taking care of life necessities such cooking, cleaning and exercising. Is life after school more strenuous? Perhaps it is. Since when you are out in ‘the real world’ money is on the line. You mess up an aspect of your job you might lose some body else a lot of money. At school, if you mess up on an assignment you get a bad grade. In all truthfulness though I believe that my academic career is providing me with a resolute demeanor and the necessary skills to persevere through my journey in this life. I have gained new skills in technical writing, in GIS and I have also learned to enjoy group work this past semester. I only have one more year to complete at UBC in order to acquire my Bachelors of Science in Geographical Biogeosciences so I am going to savour it as much as I can!

When creating my web folio I decided to use my existing ENGL 301 website. However I felt the need to alter the layout and spice things up a bit. Tinkering with certain aspects of the website has given me more experience with and appreciation for WordPress. At the beginning of the term I was excited that we were tasked with building our own website but upon designing it I felt a bit confused as to how to structure everything. Now at the end of the term, I feel I have a good grasp on how to change my website. I have no figured out how to organize pages on my website in any fashion I please. I transferred my original home page that was designed for ENGL 301 and moved that to entirely different page titled ENGL 301 which has a sub-category containing another page with my proudest work completed in the course. I have also decided to make a page which provides a link to my GIS project for GEOB 370: Advanced GIS. My teammates and I put in a ton of energy into that project and I feel we did an outstanding job. There are numerous other alterations I made to the website but I will not go into specifics. All in all, I am happy with the final product and I will use this experience with WordPress to create another website in the near future.

MEMORANDUM

TO: Erika Paterson

FROM: Samuel King

DATE: March.18,2016

SUBJECT: Progress Report on Job & Volunteer Opportunities

I am looking into a few job and volunteer opportunities for this summer and beyond. I will be attending UBC this summer so my availability for work hours may limit my employment opportunities. Here are some of my options for job and volunteer positions.

• My professor for GEOB 370 Advanced GIS mentioned he had some volunteer work available to us in class recently. I have emailed him detailing my desire to acquire some GIS experience outside the classroom. Hopefully I hear back shortly.
• After I graduate next year I would much like to teach English in Japan. I have been notified by friends and colleagues about the JET Program(Japan Exchange and Teaching Program). However my Japanese skills are limited to 3 years in high school and 1 course at UBC. That being the case, I am looking into contacting the Japanese Embassy in Vancouver to find other possibilities of teaching in Japan.http://www.vancouver.ca.emb-japan.go.jp/
• I have also recently checked out Careers Online UBC(http://students.ubc.ca/career). There might be a job that suits my summer schedule. Currently I have looked at becoming a Circulation Assistant for one of the libraries at UBC.

I will aim to have an application package for one of these positions completed by March.25th. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to email me at samwhyz@gmail.com.

This unit was even more challenging the last unit. I am overwhelmed with other school work but this class appears to take up most of my time in order to complete assignments. However I feel we are being taught important aspects of professional communication.

The assignments in this unit were interesting to say the least. I really enjoyed the Complaint and Bad News assignment. I have had trouble in the past with receiving incorrect bills from telephone/internet companies so I drew on my experience from those situations for that assignment. It really does pay off when you keep a cool head, stay on topic and express concern along with disappointment when communicating with big companies. It is almost a guarantee that a person who is angry, aggressive and/or rude when contesting bad service will not get the outcome they want. I found when writing emails such as the Complaint assignment that it is best to write some thoughts down but not send the email it right away, save it as a draft. Let your emotion temper off and recollect your thoughts before returning to what you have written. This should allow you to better assess the situation and formulate a cohesive argument. The formal report draft was somewhat disappointing for me actually. I have yet to collect my data but past assignments including the formal report proposal and table of contents did give me a solid foundation in which to work from. Honestly, this part of ENGL 301 feels like a graduate level course since we have to go collect our own data. For the peer review of the formal report draft, I didn’t really have much to critique since my partner also hasn’t had the time to collect their data. Hopefully I will be able to collect my data and finish my report by the end of March.

In conclusion, the end of this unit represents another milestone completed. It always feels great to get assignments done and handed in on time. I am also glad I was able to switch peer review partners as well. Just a one more unit to complete and then…..FREEDOM!

Unit 2 for ENGL 301  has been quite a lot of work to be honest. I have taken a few online courses and each time I feel that the amount of workload is heavier than in-class courses. Be that as it may this unit had some interesting assignments.

This unit was comprised of completing a Formal Report proposal, a peer review of a Formal Report proposal, setting up a LinkedIn Profile, completing Formal Report Outline, and submitting a progress report regarding our report. The proposal assignment was the most intriguing part of this Unit in my personal opinion. I think that it is really important and also a great skill to be able to write a good proposal especially if you want to get grants for research or if you are pitching a business plan. It was great to learn how to properly structure a proposal and to always consider who your audience is. Truthfully, completing the peer review for this unit was very difficult for me. My partner didn’t post their proposal until a day after the peer review was due and didn’t provide any heads-up on the matter until I emailed them the day the peer review was due. I hate losing marks unnecessarily especially in English courses since I do not do that well but I guess the onus was on me to contact them earlier as to why they had not submitted their proposal on time. However we are all post-secondary students at the University of British Columbia and it goes a long way, not just now but later on in life to respect your peers and colleagues. Anyways, I found setting up a LinkedIn Profile to be the most enjoyable assignment in ENGL 301 to date. It was encouraging to see past accomplishments and work history laid out on a profile page that prospective companies can check out. I still need to get a professional taken photograph of myself to put on my LinkedIn Profile but it needs to be cheap. Maybe I can find a friend who will help me…

Overall this unit showed me something new, how to write a proposal, something I do not like, handing assignments in late, and something I need to improve, polishing up my LinkedIn Profile. It has been a lot of work so far but there are only two more units remaining, let’s go!

My LinkedIn Profile can be accessed here

ENGL 301 Report Proposal

Peer Review of Proposal for Taj Tatla

TO: Dr. Erika Paterson

FROM: Samuel King

DATE: February 22, 2016

SUBJECT: Progress Report for Formal Report

The following is an update regarding my formal report. I have attached 2 documents at the bottom of this post

1. Survey Questionnaire
2. Interview Questions

Audience for my report:

City of Vancouver and Translink representatives in charge of public restrooms at or around train stations in Vancouver.

Purpose: 

To determine on whether public restrooms can be installed at or around train stations and gauging public interest/demand.

Significance:

The lack of public restrooms in the City of Vancouver is alarming. Even more so is that public transit train stations in Vancouver do not even have them. Citizens and visitors are left with finding a store that will allow them to use restrooms usually at the cost of purchasing something. Adding public restrooms to train stations will help eleviate stress while travelling across the City of Vancouver.

Schedule:

• Feb.29-Hand out surveys at City Hall Canada Line Station
• Mar. 4-Phone Interview City of Vancouver & Translink representative
• Mar. 10-Finish first draft of formal report
• Mar. 14-Complete peer review for a group member’s final report
• Mar. 15-Look over feedback from peer review of my own formal report
• Mar.18-Start writing formal report
• Apr.8-Submit formal report

If you have any comments, concerns or suggestions please feel free to leave a comment below.

2-3 Survey Questionnaire for Gauging Interest of Restrooms at Train Stations in Vancouver

2-3 Interview Questions for Translink & City of Vancouver Representative

MEMORANDUM

To: Dr.Erika Paterson
From: Samuel King
Date: February 3rd, 2016
Subject: Formal Report Proposal

I have attached to this memo a document of my formal report to determine the demand for a installing lavatory facilities at Translink train stations throughout the City of Vancouver.

The attached formal report proposal includes:

• An introduction to the problem of a lack of train station restrooms in Vancouver
• An overview of the problem along with a proposed solution
• Issues that I will address in the formal report
• My qualifications for attempting to resolve this problem

I would very much like to hear your feedback and suggestions regarding this formal report proposal. Please let me know if you require any more details. Thank you for your time.

Enclosure: Proposal for formal report

Formal Report Proposal

The first unit of ENGL 301 has been tough but it has also given me a valuable opportunity to practice my technical writing skills. I joined the class very close to Add/Drop registration deadline of January.18th, 2016, so there was quite a lot of catch up for me to complete. This introductory unit was comprised of, but not limited to, setting up a UBC personal blog page that contains a home page for ENGL 301, a biography page and a blog posting page. We were also tasked with forming a writing team, defining a complex term from our field of study and then peer reviewing one of writing members definitions. For the peer review assignment I was paired with Taj Tatla.

I found that the peer review process was quite challenging as I have not done one before. This assignment was difficult for the fact that we had to analyze, compliment and give constructive feedback on our partners definition assignment. It took longer than I originally envisioned because it required attention to detail and careful choice of words so as to not come across as being negative. That being said, I think it was a great chance to catch a glimpse of the fascinating subjects my peers are studying.

The peer review report that I received from Taj was informative as it identified my weaknesses and oversights in the definition assignment.  At the same time, Taj gave me some very encouraging compliments that helped boost my confidence when revising my Cartography definition. I have definitely developed an appreciation for the peer review process after this assignment and I now see the benefit in having a colleague look over my work.

To view my Cartography definition please click here

To view my Peer Review please click here

MEMORANDUM

To: Erika Paterson
From: Samuel King, English 301 Student
Date: January 18, 2016
Subject: Application Letter for English 301 Writing Team Posted to my Blog

My application letter to apply to an English 301 writing team has been uploaded to my course blog: English 301 The Technicalities of Writing. You can access my blog at the following:   https://blogs.ubc.ca/samuelking/blog/

The attached letter details

• Current academic standing and past academic accomplishments
• Skills gained from work experience outside of academia
• Plan after graduation

Please let me know if you have any concerns or require additional information. I look forward to hearing from you.

Enclosure:  301 Samuel King Application Letter

2142 Collingwood Street
Vancouver, BC V6R 3K9
January 18, 2016

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

Dear ENGL 301 classmates,

Please consider my application to become a member of your professional writing team as advertised on the ENGL 301 course blog. I am a third year Geographic Biogeosciences student at the University of British Columbia(UBC) focusing on Geographic Information Systems and Biogeography. I plan on working in environmental health research once I have graduated in 2017.

Although I am a late addition to the class and have no previous experience in the field of technical writing, I did acquire two Associates Degrees with one in Science and one in Arts, in 2014. I contribute a calculated and methodical voice of reason as well as creativity. My past accomplishments have helped me develop a driven work ethic along with honing my communication skills in group dynamics.

My work experience outside of academia includes attending business fairs in Vancouver and Toronto and even working on farmland in Cobble Hill, Vancouver Island. These settings gave me the experience in both the professionalism and punctuality of commerce and the energy required to run a long term operation such as a farm.

If you have an opening and you believe that I suit your writing team, please contact me at samwhyz@gmail.com. I am looking forward to working with each other throughout the duration of ENGL 301. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Samuel King

301 Samuel King Application Letter