Trisha Bhamra WebFolio

In this reflection I will discussing my strengths and weakness as a writer.

Strengths

Completing assignments in this course, I have typically felt that my strengths were a product of my past writing experience through research courses such as Literature review and Oral Health trends. During these courses I was required to research and write academic papers that were concise and clear.These papers required specificity with no room for ambiguity in the information being conveyed to the audience. Consequently, I have felt that my experience from writing in these courses has prepared me well for the technical writing course. Looking back on previous assignments this semester, initially there was a lack of detail my peer reviews and reflections in unit 1. However, this was remedied by adding more details and depth to my peer reviews and reflections in the consequent assignments.

I am good at taking feedback and implementing the necessary changes. I appreciated the feedback I received regarding mistakes in my work and suggestions for improvement. Receiving constructive criticism and suggestions for improvement from my peers has allowed me to address weak points in my writing. I find that I am less likely to make the same mistakes moving forward if I receive constructive feedback. For example, on of the earliest pieces of feedback I was offered through Erika was to carefully read the instructor blog and follow the example formats for the assignments. My mistake was not reviewing the instructors blog for examples of assignments and formatting prior to submission of my work. After internalizing this feedback, I made it a point to review instructors blog and my peers work prior to submitting assignments. I have received positive feedback in latter assignments following this track.

Weaknesses

In my writing, I understand that I have a tendency to make simple grammatical errors often. Although I feel I have made improvements in this area, it is still a weak point of mine, and one that I will need to continue working at following the completion of this course. Another weak point of mine has been the lack of technological aptitude. I have had a hard time navigating and working with WordPress. I often get frustrated with technology as I can lose patience when something is not easy to navigate. This course really pushed me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to sit with discomfort of not being good with technology. It pushed me to sit there and work through the problems and figure out WordPress.

I believe that being aware of my strengths and weaknesses will benefit me a great deal moving forward in my career. When drafting assignments or documents to submit, I will ask for feedback from my peers to address any weak points in my writing. This will help me excel at all future writing endeavours.

The technical writing course was a worthwhile time investment as it has helped me improve my writing skills.

Process of creating the WebFolio

The process of creating the WebFolio started with determining who the audience is and what is the purpose of this WebFolio. As a practicing Registered Dental Hygienist (RDH), I decided it would be ideal to create the WebFolio catered towards dental professionals who are hiring RDH for their clinic. The actual creation and organization of the WebFolio was a little challenging in the beginning as I tried to navigate WordPress. The settings to ensure all the topics were placed appropriately under pages and posts was a little challenging. Once the settings were sorted out it was relatively easy to add the content and images to individualize the WebFolio.

Revision Process

The revision process was lengthy as I had to review an entire semester’s worth of assignments and make changes based on the feedback. Luckily, I over the semester I did make some edits immediately after the feedback, so it made the process of revision slightly easier. Initially, my mistakes revolved around not following instructions properly during peer review process and grammatical errors. Over the semester, I was able to improve my peer review process, blog reflections and reduce grammatical errors in my assignments. Most of the feedback from Erika and my peers was useful in nature and has helped me become a better technical writer. I have learned a lot through the process of trial/error and regular editing of my work and I can confidently say my writing skills have improved tremendously.

Overall, after finishing the WebFolio it was wonderful to see all the different projects I successfully completed over the semester.

Process of researching and creating a Linked In profile

I created my LinkedIn profile when I was looking for my first professional job post my BSc. Microbiology degree in 2015. Having a professional picture, listing academic experience, volunteer and work experience were the only guidelines followed to create the profile. Researching how to create a unique profile to market one’s skills and accomplishments was not something that had occurred to me. Assignment 2:2 provided me with the opportunity to research how to optimize the existing LinkedIn profile and market myself to improve job prospects. As I researched and completed assignment 2:2, I also made some changes to my LinkedIn profile. As someone who plans to establish a dental hygiene business and practice as an independent Dental Hygienist, having an optimized LinkedIn profile can make or break my practice. I am excited to use the skills I have learned in this course to market my dental hygiene practice to its potential on LinkedIn.

Process of brainstorming and preparing a Research report and proposal

Assignment 2:1 and 2:3 allowed us to explore how to create a research proposal and report. Over the course of my two BSc. Degrees I have written many secondary research papers and literature reviews but never created a research proposal. The idea of creating a research proposal has always seemed daunting to me. It is overwhelming to think about what topic to research, whether it is valid, how will the research be conducted, timelines, grants and many other things that make up a research proposal. With working full time and taking four courses it was feasible to consider a research project that could be conducted without having to pile on additional time commitments. For the research proposal assignment, I chose “green” dentistry as it applies to my current practice at Flagship dental and it will be applicable to my Dental Hygiene business in the future. I am motivated to do my part in reducing the carbon footprint at home and at work. It is still early in the research process, but my secondary research is yielding a lot of interesting information I wasn’t aware of. I look forward to changes the research project will bring forth in my dental hygiene practice.

Peer Review Process

Over the last two units, I was peer reviewed the work completed by Alexander Clements while he peer reviewed my work. The process allowed for some much-needed insight into improving my work. I learned how to make things stand out, be mindful of grammar and how to articulate my thoughts better. Alex used writing techniques that led to a clear, concise, and well-read assignment. I was able to learn from him and use some of his techniques within my work during unit 2 assignments. For example, Alex pointed out some major areas of improvements to be made under the “Scope” section in my research proposal. The questions were not as clear and needed more explanation. Integrating his feedback into the revised research proposal led to an approval to conduct the research. Most importantly, Alex was very good at providing positive comments about the assignments as well. It wasn’t all related to areas of improvement. Overall, the peer review process was extremely helpful as we both provided each other with constructive feedback to improve our writing skills.

Revision Process

Peer review and feedback from the professor provided me with insight onto technical writing areas I can improve on. Integrating the feedback into my original work allowed for removal of unnecessary parts of the assignment. I was able to reword a few things and make them more concise and clearer while removing any ambiguity. It seems I need to get better at grammar by reviewing my work a couple times prior to submission. Overall, I am in a good position as my writing skills are not below average. I believe unit 1 and 2 have furthered my technical writing skills. I look forward to the future assignments for more opportunities to improve my technical writing skills.

Please see the link to revised Report Proposal

https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-99c-2021wc/2022/02/15/formal-report-proposal-trisha-bhamra/

Please see the hyperlink to the Peer Review 

https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-99c-2021wc/2022/02/18/peer-review-proposal-for-improving-environmental-practices-at-flagship-dental-to-reduce-its-carbon-footprint/

Process of researching different forms of definitions

As a dental hygienist, I often explain dental health concepts like gingivitis to my patients. Assignment 1:3 provided me with an opportunity to explore different ways of defining a concept. Gingivitis was explained via a parenthetical definition, statement definition, and an expanded definition. The purpose of each definition was to build on the last with the expanded definition providing the most detailed explanation of gingivitis. The technical writing book used in ENGL 301 course was very useful in understanding how to create the above three definitions. Definitions can be expanded using different methods such as etymology, history, negation, operating principle, analysis of parts, visuals, compare/contrast, required conditions, and examples (Lannon, J.M., and Gurak, J.L., 2022). I used etymology, visuals, compare/contrast to create the expanded definition for gingivitis.

Peer review process

I peer reviewed “Cloud Architecture” by Alexander Clements. He successfully used visuals, compare/contrast, etymology to explain cloud architecture. The work was clear, concise and easy to understand for a layperson. I misunderstood the peer review process initially and didn’t provide the feedback in the format suggested by Erika. This was adjusted for the final web folio later in the semester. Based on my peer review feedback for “gingivitis”, it seems I had mostly grammatical errors, APA referencing error and minor sentence structure concerns. All easily adjustable errors that could have been avoided had I spent more time on the assignment. It will be in my best interest to review my work a few times prior to submission. The revisions and editing of the original assignment were easy to complete as it required minor changes. I found the peer review process fair and very easy.

Overall, the assignment 1:3 was an important step towards developing my technical writing skills. I learned how to communicate complicated concepts in a concise, clear, and comprehensible way to someone who is not an expert in the subject matter.

Revision Process

The feedback from Erika and Alexander provided me with guidelines to make meaningful revisions to my work. Incorporating the feedback into the revised work was a straightforward process.

Assignment 1:3- Writing three defintions

Peer Review of “Gingivitis”

Revised Definition – “Gingivitis”

Reference: 

Lannon, J.M., and Gurak, J.L.(2022). Technical Communication (15th ed.). Pearson.