This particular unit began with learning how to write with a “You-Attitude”, progressed with writing professional communication on both ends of an issue and ended with the opportunity of conducting research and drafting a formal report.  Overall, there were several core skills that were developed throughout completing my draft report, and although there were complications from time to time I found the instructions and peer review extremely effective in helping my writing.

Collecting data for the formal report was a new challenge that required the creation of a survey regarding students’ drink vendor experiences on campus at UBC. To acquire this data, I reached out to my classmates, cohort members in my program and groups I am a part of on social media platforms. By word of mouth, I was able to gather a sample size of 68 individuals and was able to overcome the initial barrier of not collecting enough data within the first few weeks.

The process of arranging an interview with the Food Services director at UBC was fairly straightforward in comparison considering I had previously interacted with him through my previous work position under the Faculty of Applied Science. Although we initially scheduled for a date and time that was well in advance of the formal draft submission date, due to circumstances we had to reschedule. This was definitely an inconvenience, but it taught me the valuable skill of having to adapt to changes and still manage to produce quality work.

The process of writing the first draft was surprisingly difficult and challenging. I found myself often rewriting passages because I wasn’t writing with a “You Attitude”. After rereading my work, I was able to increase the readability by concisely summarizing my introduction section. This experience of writing a rough draft created a rewarding experience because it was easy to visibly see an improvement in my writing style. Through the instructor blog notes and textbook hints, my writing has gotten more succinct and professional, and I’m excited to work on the final draft to create the best version of my formal report.

The peer review process had its own challenges, with the biggest being able to critique a team member’s work while providing constructive feedback and positive affirmations. While reading through my team member’s draft, I was able to identify the use of pronouns, imperative verbs and the occasional informal speech. This process of peer reviewing has enabled me to become a better self editor in addition to a better peer editor. I found myself rereading my own draft after constructing a peer review post for my team member as I caught myself making similar mistakes at times. The peer review process overall has given me an appreciation for others’ work and allowed me improve my methods of written communication. The concept of peer reviewing is truly amazing since it really benefits both ends of the writing spectrum.

Link to the Formal Draft Report:

Memorandum – Formal Report Draft for Peer Review

This reflection blog summarizes the skills and ideas I have learned throughout unit 2.

During the process of researching the ten best LinkedIn practises, I realized how valuable a social networking platform LinkedIn is, which encouraged me to update my profile. I have also attended a few zoom networking events with professional experts in the CS industry, and have used LinkedIn to network with them recently. I was able to use a few of these practises that I learned about during this assignment when reaching out to individuals to learn more specifically about their company or role.

When I first started brainstorming of ideas that could be investigated for the formal report, I came across the idea of implementing Tim Horton’s self-serve kiosks across campus similar to how McMaster University had implemented them after seeing a surging demand in this franchise. I chose this topic because as a student, I would frequently find myself refilling on caffeine on campus but would wait in absurdly long lines just to retrieve a quality yet affordable cup of coffee on campus, and I found that problematic. My proposal followed this idea in week 1; however, following the progress report and outline assignment I quickly realized this wouldn’t be quite as feasible considering UBC’s values in place in regards to food vendors. After further research, I decided to pursue the idea of implementing subsidized hot beverage vendors on campus instead that could be affordable yet ethical and originating from locally sourced ingredients. This process of brainstorming provided me value by allowing me to test different ideas and revise my final investigation topic before proceeding to conduct a formal report. It ensured that we had thoroughly thought through the aspects of our research idea and how feasible it would be in addition to how it could be investigated, which proved to be a valuable experience.

While peer reviewing my partner’s proposal, I was able to practise providing quality feedback and suggestions for improvement. By learning to review my peer’s writing, I improved my own writing abilities by critically self-evaluating my writing in order to make appropriate revisions. This skill would otherwise have not been developed if I were taught only how to interpret others’ feedback. For example, after reading my partner’s proposal, I was prompted to reread my own proposal and put myself in the perspective of a reader who didn’t have any context. From this, I was able to revise and improve my own proposal.

Link to survey:

https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/preview/SV_0NGlvUsbVVQwHeS?Q_CHL=preview&Q_SurveyVersionID=current

Revised formal report proposal:

Revised Research Proposal – Implementation of Additional Tim Horton’s Locations Campus-Wide

Peer review of formal report proposal:

Peer Review on “Implementation of Additional Tim Horton’s Locations Campus-Wide”