The whole definition process was quite challenging, but I learn a lot from writing definitions and peer view. The course textbook gave me a couple of techniques to expand my definition on which I initially assume my team has some related base level of knowledge. The first version of my definition was kind of disorganized due to the ambition to cover all the information I desire to give to readers. However, I found it is better to focus on one or two points which could give readers a clue what I am going to present and what I expected my reader to learn. With the enclosed code, I attempted to explain the term I delivered in a story-telling way which guarantees that my audience from all educational backgrounds will be able to relate and understand the term.

The technique introduced from the textbook seems to work for Enguang. He clearly understood the term and where to implement the coding technique, but some jargon, such as “nested function”, “SECD machine”, did prevent him to further explore my definition. Having a clear estimation of the potential audience’s background is key to make sure your reader has no issues understanding your writing.

Another part of learning through peer viewing Enguang’s definitions gave me a sense of what my definition lacking and how to organize them in a reader-friendly way. His work was insightful and employed a similar expansion technique mentioned in the textbook. From the perspective of the reader, I was able to identify the blind spots I missed as a writer. Giving readers a clear logic walks through the writing to ensure them on the same page with you. I adopt this technique to my own revised assignment and I realized that all the techniques do not aim to make your works look fancy but to help the audience to get a better understanding. Following this rule, analogy stands out to me as the term I delivered saw some complexity in the process. Simplifying the definition with an interesting analogy guarantees my audience will be able to find at least the key point of the definition not missing.

Kind regards,

Shuge