In Unit One of ENGL301, we were introduced to the fundamental principles and practices of technical and business writing as set out in the course textbook, Technical Communication (Lannon and Gurak). I learned how to set up a blog to build a portfolio of my work, applied to join and formed a professional writing team with three of my classmates, and practiced writing an application letter, professional emails, an email memo, technical definitions, and a reflection.
Original Definitions
I chose the term ‘suburbanization’ for which I wrote a parenthetical, sentence, and expanded definition. This is a term often used in my field of study, Geography, to describe a process of population migration and consequent sociospatial transformation. When I began writing the definitions, it occurred to me that I had never actually tried to define this term before, as I have always used it casually in settings where my peers and professors are familiar with the general history, context, and nuance surrounding the term. This time, as I was writing to my team who are all studying in diverse disciplines, I aimed to write my definitions with the following questions in mind:
- What would a student from another field already be familiar with? (e.g, Suburbs, what a suburban lifestyle entails, the idea that many people work in cities. I tried to incorporate these well known ideas into my definition to form points of relatability, as I know that people are more likely to remember and internalize new information by connecting it to what they already know. I also contrasted the term with another common term, urbanization, employing one of the expansion strategies presented in the textbook.)
- What might a student from another field find interesting? (e.g., Knowing the suburban/urban divide is more complicated than is commonly portrayed, that the introduction of personal vehicles vastly transformed the geographic range that people could travel in their daily lives. I added in this information in my expanded definition to provide a more interesting insight into the term, while simultaneously employing several more of the expansion strategies, including history and operating principle.)
- How can I illustrate this term in a clear way? (e.g, with a real geographic example grounded in time and place.)
By creating these questions for myself, I believe I was able to create an accessible and hopefully interesting piece of writing.
Peer Review Process
My initial three definitions were reviewed by my team member, Graham, who highlighted areas where my writing was redundant or could be more concise, and parts that strayed from the purpose I had stated. This process was useful to me, as Graham point out things I may have never noticed as areas for improvement even if I had reviewed my work many times. For example, he suggested that I delete the final few sentences relating suburbanization to the similar concept of urban sprawl – this correctly did not align fully with my purpose of defining suburbanization, and deleting it allowed for a more concise expanded definition. One thing that struck me about this part of the assignment was how few chances I have had in my university career to not only receive feedback, but to be able to act on that feedback and re-submit an improved version. Having such a process for work in other courses would be hugely beneficial for my continued improvement.
Editing
I found the editing process straightforward due to the extensive and highly specific guiding questions provided in the Peer Review document and in the textbook, which Graham used in his review. Had the peer review consisted of vague statements, I might have found it more difficult to know what to edit, but this format allowed for specific and efficient revisions.
Links:
Peer Review
Original Definitions