Lesson 1:3 was a very useful and beneficial assignment. It made me aware of three different types of definitions, and how to write properly in a simple, yet engaging format.
Writing the definitions was a challenging and thought provoking assignment. Euroscepticism is a term I was not very familiar with prior to this assignment, but one that seemed interesting and relevant to my field of study. While writing the different definitions, I attempted to consider that my audience would be those who are unfamiliar with my field of study. This made me attempt to write as simply as I possibly could, using terms which would be familiar to a general audience. The choices I selected to further explain the expanded definition were also picked with the same goal.
The peer review was the most challenging and thought provoking part of the assignment. I found Emily Lam’s (my partner) definition on “equilibrium” very well done and an interesting read. The assignment was challenging because it can be difficult at times to critique someone else’s work, when we are learning the same material. However, I attempted to keep a completely objective view, and think of the assignment guidelines in order to present the best peer review I was capable of. I also found it interesting to read in-depth into someone else’s writing style, and to try to analyze what their thought process was when creating their assignment.
The self-editing was a very interesting part of the assignment as well. I found that when writing my definitions, I would sometimes lose thought of who my audience was intended to be, and only consider those who knew the context of my definition. When proofreading my definitions, it still was not obvious that this was overlooked. I was thankful for my peer review, as it allowed me to view my work from a fresh set of eyes. Once the mistakes were pointed out, it was quite obvious where the mistake was made, and how simple it was to fix.
Overall, I found the assignment a very enjoyable and beneficial assignment for my future. I believe it will help me write in a technical style much better, and it gave me an understanding of how to write for a certain audience.
http://engl301.arts.ubc.ca/2017/02/01/peer-review-for-william-clarks-assignment-13-definitions/