When I initially enrolled in this technical communications course, I was skeptical of whether it would prove to be applicable in real life settings especially considering the entirety of the course takes place online. Now that I am nearing the completion of this course, I can gladly say that I gained valuable insight, developed many critical skills and discovered important tools that will help me achieve my professional goals as I move forward with pursuing cooperative education.

For instance, a practical application of this course is developing key written communication skills that are important for a professional career. This course focused on writing letters of reference, email memorandums, resumes, cover letters, and periodically proof-reading and revising these written documents. Writing assignments and peer reviews of these literary mediums cemented the importance of professional technical communication.

The most eyeopening assignment personally throughout this process was creating the LinkedIn post regarding best practises. As an individual who did not previously utilize LinkedIn for all it’s professional benefits, this assignment allowed me to research and learn all about the important ways in which this platform can help you grow your professional career, and make connections with industry leaders through the simple click of a button. Since then, I have been regularly been using this networking application as I prepare for my upcoming co-op terms.

The Web Folio assignment was a great way to bring all the technical skills learnt throughout this course into one final showcase. As a mature student will be entering into co-op soon, this was an extremely important assignment that can be used to present myself as a professional student to potential employers.  In total, the Web Folio is composed of an about me section, a blog page consisting of reflections I’ve made throughout this course, an application page, a page displaying my resume and a section dedicated for my best work.  All of these assignments helped me ground myself in the business world, and they help create a foundation for all of my important documents that potential employers may be interested in.

While putting together the web folio, an important outcome was that I was able to reflect on my progress throughout this course. As I went back to edit and revise my previous posts, I noticed the errors in concepts and formatting and was able to improve the quality of these works immensely. Within just four months, I see that my technical communication skills have improved. Having all the best works, reflections, and pertinent job application resources in one location really showcases the effort put into the course over the semester.

When designing the web folio, I put a special emphasis on ease of navigation. For this reason I included detailed breakdowns of each page, easily accessible pages located at the top of each page, and plenty of descriptions of each element on each page. It has an intuitive user interface displaying the most important documents that a potential employer would find useful . A webpage that is informative and easy to use shows that I am detail-oriented, patient, and empathetic because I understand the importance of other people’s time.

Lastly, my favourite aspect of the web folio is how it is personalized. Depending on the industry fields, students can add additional pages that showcase their work. As an aspiring software developer, I will return to my web folio and update it to showcase a few of my personal software projects once I have completed them before applying for co-op. A pictorial breakdown of my projects would offer an alternative and simpler way for an interviewer to review my accomplishments.

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”

Through this week’s assignment, I was able to develop my technical communication skills by creating, and revising my own definitions in addition to providing constructive feedback for my partner.

Initially when I started this assignment, I was fairly confident in my ability to clearly define the term “full stack developer” to senior high school students. Throughout this process, I continually devised and revised my definitions while referring to the textbook guidelines and reading various definitions of this term using credible resources which I then cited. However, after reading through my partner’s peer review report, I became aware of the knowledge gap in the terms “front-end “and “back-end” which would similarly be unfamiliar to my targeted audience. I decided to replace these terms with analogous words that would improve the readability of my article.

In short, I have learned that it is important to often reread your work multiple times, but it is equally important to have another individual with a fresh pair of eyes to proof-read and reap the benefits of catching mistakes you otherwise would have overlooked. When peer reviewing for my partner, I learned to ask questions while reading to evaluate the clarity of the piece. This is a valuable editing technique that I can apply to my own self-editing process to ensure that the targeted audience can understand the term without any technical knowledge.

Revised Definitions

To: Dhara Bhatt

From: Varneega Theva

Date: January 24, 2021

Subject: ENGL 301 – Prospective Writing Team Partners

Hi Dhara,

After reading your professional application letter posted on your blog, I think we would make a great team for the remaining assignments to come in our course ENGL 301: Technical Communications. It was particularly interesting to note that we are both currently in the same program, and we coincidentally both attended McMaster University where we completed our first degrees!

Below, you can find my application letter attached that briefly outlines my academic background in my first degree while completing a Bachelor of Science in biology and psychology in addition to details regarding my current computer science degree in progress at UBC. While reading and comparing the key details that are outlined in our letters such as learning habits, I became convinced that we would be able to complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses, overall contributing to the success of each other’s development in this course. For instance, I can appreciate that you are able to clearly and succinctly communicate your thoughts which would help improve the clarity of my written pieces during peer reviews, whereas I can provide insight at the technical level with a grammar and spelling-focused approach.

Once you’ve had a chance to review my application below, please let me know if you have any questions. I can be reached at varneega.theva10@gmail.com if you wish to accept my offer. I hope to be working with you in the near future!

Best regards,

Varneega Theva

Attachment: 301 Varneega Theva Application Letter

To: Duffy Du

From: Varneega Theva

Date: January 24, 2021

Subject: ENGL 301 – Prospective Writing Team Partners

Hi Duffy,

After reading your professional application letter posted on your blog, I think we would make a great team for the remaining assignments to come in our course ENGL 301: Technical Communications. It was particularly interesting to note that we are both in the same program, and originally from Ontario!

Below, you can find my application letter attached that briefly outlines my academic background in my first degree while completing a Bachelor of Science in biology and psychology in addition to details regarding my current computer science degree in progress at UBC. While reading and comparing the key details that are outlined in our letters such as learning habits, I became convinced that we would be able to complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses, overall contributing to the success of each other’s development in this course. For instance, I can appreciate that you have great time management and organizational skills which would help the team set and meet deadlines, whereas I can provide insight at the technical level with a grammar and spelling-focused approach.

Once you’ve had a chance to review my application below, please let me know if you have any questions. I can be reached at varneega.theva10@gmail.com if you wish to accept my offer. I hope to be working with you in the near future!

Best regards,

Varneega Theva

Attachment: 301 Varneega Theva Application Letter

To: Ali Hasan

From: Varneega Theva

Date: January 24, 2021

Subject: ENGL 301 – Prospective Writing Team Partners

Hi Ali,

After reading your well-thought-out application letter posted on your blog, I think we would make a great team for the remaining assignments to come in our course ENGL 301: Technical Communications. It was particularly interesting to note that we are both in the same program, with previous research experience!

Below, you can find my application letter attached that briefly outlines my academic background in my first degree while completing a Bachelor of Science in biology and psychology in addition to details regarding my current computer science degree in progress at UBC. While reading and comparing the key details that are outlined in our letters such as learning habits, I became convinced that we would be able to complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses, overall contributing to the success of each other’s development in this course. For instance, I can appreciate that you are great with constructing arguments coherently, whereas I can provide insight at the technical level with a grammar and spelling-focused approach. 

Once you’ve had a chance to review my application below, please let me know if you have any questions. I can be reached at varneega.theva10@gmail.com if you wish to accept my offer. I hope to be working with you in the near future!

Best regards,

Varneega Theva

Attachment: 301 Varneega Theva Application Letter

To: Dr. Erika Paterson

From: Varneega Theva

Date: January 20, 2021

Subject: Application Letter

Please see the attached application letter below regarding the following topics:

• A brief introduction of my academic background
• A summary of strengths I can bring to my team, and skills in progress
• My understanding of the term “learning”

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you.

301 Varneega Theva Application Letter

2001 Balsam St

Vancouver, BC

V6K 4L6

January 20, 2021

ENGL 301 99C

The University of British Columbia

2329 West Mall

Vancouver, BC

V6T 1Z4

Dear fellow classmates:

I’m looking for three individuals in this course who could provide me with insightful and meaningful feedback for the coming assignments. The goal is to create a writing team in which we have differing strengths to complement each other and bridge the gap between our weaknesses. This is an exciting opportunity to give and receive positive feedback that will hopefully help us all in our prospective careers.

As someone who is in the second-degree computer science program (BCS), I have been well accustomed to years of previous undergraduate writing experience through assignments, lab reports, professional emails in pursuit of internships, and even a published research article. My expertise lies in my great attention to detail such as when proofreading texts for grammar or spelling mistakes. I can also offer creative input when it comes to brainstorming ideas for topics, while respecting the ideas and opinions of other team members. A skill that I am practising and developing is the ability to set deadlines for myself so I can adhere to my commitments. I stand by the view that learning in a collaborative setting happens best when everyone can contribute and communicate with each other clearly. I truly believe we can all learn something from each other, and every group member can add value to the team and contribute towards each other’s learning goals.

If you like working in a respectful, communicative team atmosphere please feel free to reach out to me at varneega.theva10@gmail.com. I look forward to speaking with you further.

Kindest regards,

Varneega Theva

301 Varneega Theva Application Letter