This final post identifies the strengths and weaknesses of my learning process and writing. It also discusses the skills and strengths that I possess to support my future career. 

It’s hard to imagine that the technical writing class has come to an end. Throughout the semester, I have honed my writing and research skills in a professional setting via various assignments. I have also identified areas of improvement. I can’t wait to apply the skills that I have learned in this class to my future career!

The Learning Process

At the beginning of the semester, I had a hard time getting used to the concept of writing concisely, which is so crucial in technical writing. Throughout my previous education and work experience, I was always instructed to write out as many details as possible. This course taught me how to communicate efficiently. On the contrary, one of the strengths that I have is my ability to identify the purpose of an assignment. Thus, this helps me to consolidate ideas and begin composing faster.

The Assignments

One of my weaknesses in writing is self-editing. However, through the process of peer reviewing other classmates’ writing and vice versa, I am slowly improving that aspect of my writing technique. After learning the reader-centered writing style, I am confident at my skill to identify a specific audience and tailor the writing to that audience.

Image from Google Images

The Future

Along with the technical knowledge I have learned in school, the ability to communicate professionally will better prepare me for my future career. My ability to adapt quickly to different environments based on my previous experience studying and working in various parts of the world will also help me to adjust to the fast-paced technology industry. As a motivated learner, I am looking forward to seeing what the future holds!

This post concentrates on the process of creating my web folio.

It has been a rewarding experience for me to create a web folio. I was able to use what I have learned so far from the technical writing course and apply them to this project. The creation of my web folio is centered on audience selection, design, and organization.

Audience Selection

The first and foremost task was to select my audience. Since I am a third year computer science undergraduate currently looking for a co-op opportunity, I chose to design a web folio that would highlight the marketable skills that are relevant to the technology industry. Once this was decided, the rest of the web folio should be tailored to my potential employers.

Design

The text book provided much assistance when I began to design the web folio. It reminded me to use a friendly yet professional tone throughout. It was also a good idea to write concisely to  maintain the reader’s attention. By implementing the F-shaped reading pattern coupled with visuals, the web folio would be more attractive and easier to navigate.

Image from Google Images

Organization

The content organization was again tailored to the potential employers. As a result, I kept the bio page for more information about myself. In the Best Works page, I related the success of each of the writing piece to a skill that is transferrable to the technology industry.

This post addresses the importance of using a reader-centered writing style to complete the formal report. Through researching, composing the paper, and peer review, I was able to finalize my casual and feasibility report on “Expanding and Enriching the BCS  Study Room”.

Unit three mainly focuses on writing with the “You Attitude” and the process of completing our formal report draft. These two topics tie nicely together with each other as the formal report draft uses the “You Attitude” writing style.

Process of Researching

The process of researching for my formal report involves creating a survey, collecting survey responses, conducting on-site observations and taking photos. I learned the importance of using a positive tone in constructing a survey.  It is also equally important to include a survey introduction. This helps the respondents to learn more about the nature of the survey and also fulfills research ethics. I also had fun conducting on-site observations in the ICICS building. There are so many available space to use for my proposed solution to move the BCS study room. After walking around for some time, I was able to find the ideal room for the relocation. In order to provide some ideas for enriching the BCS study room, the UBC Computer Science Student Society club room was selected as a comparable club in my report. It has some nice features that the new BCS study room can implement. As a result, some photos of the club room are featured in my report. After gathering all the research data, I learned that a thorough research takes time and on-going efforts.

Organizing and Writing the Formal Report

Both the textbook and the report outline helped with organizing my formal report. I did restructure my report outline after collecting all the research data to better align with the research results. From this, I learned that structuring a formal report is an ongoing process and it does not end until the completion of a report. The knowledge of the “You Attitude” came in handy when I started to write out the formal report draft. It constantly reminded me to tailor the tone to the intended audience and ask the question “how does this solution benefit the audience?”

Image from Google Images

Peer Review

Pedraum has a very interesting research topic that affects all UBC students. His introduction is very detailed and emphasizes the end goal of his research which is very lucrative to the intended audience. This calls for immediate attention and action. It is an effective use of the “You Attitude”. I believe by completing the rest of the Data Section, his report will be very informational to the audience.

Enclosure: 301 Yingying Wu- Casual and Feasibility Report Draft

This post discusses the process of creating two of the most important assignments of the course. It illustrates the importance of conducting research.

After successfully completing Unit 2 of the course, I gained valuable insights on how to systematically update my LinkedIn profile and structure a formal research paper.

Process of Creating a LinkedIn Profile
Before this assignment, I already had a LinkedIn profile page. I created it a long time ago and only updated it when I was in transition of jobs. It was when I researched for the best practices on LinkedIn that I realized a lot of my information was either outdated or missing. I then had the opportunity to update my page. I was able to scrutinize my page as a whole and identify what sections needed more attention. I was glad that I put most of my research to use.

Brainstorming and Preparing Report Proposal and Outline
Coming up with an appropriate topic for my formal report was the hardest part in this process. I spent two days thinking about the potential subjects that I could write and have the passion to write. I tried to get insights from rereading the textbook content. It was also important to select a topic that I was comfortable to investigate effectively and thoroughly within the target length of 12 to 15 pages double spaced. Eventually, I found a topic in regards to expanding and enriching the current BSC study room.

Once I had the topic, it was easier for me to prepare my report proposal. Since this was a topic that I was passionate about, I was able to quickly identify the main areas in my report. It was also extremely helpful to have an outline example in the textbook for me to refer to.

After finishing my formal proposal, I was a bit uncertain about how everything is going to come together. The progress report assignment soothed my concern by allowing me to structurally online and think more about the content of my research paper. It helped me identify the details of my research plan and put a concrete date beside each of my writing plan.

Peer Review for Kevin Huang’s Proposal
I am surprised to see how different Kevin’s research topic is from mine. Given my hospitality background, it helped me to understand Kevin’s statement of problem and solution. I enjoyed peer reviewing his proposal. One thing I learned from reviewing his writing is the importance of identifying an audience and tailor the tone to that audience. It is also equally important to always have a positive tone in a professional writing.

Image from Google Images

Peer Review Process
It was always great to have another fresh set of eyes to peer review my writing. Kevin helped me to spot the citations section that I accidentally missed. He also pointed out a couple of sentence structures that I could improve. As he is also in the BCS program, it was great to receive a positive feedback from him about the topic of my research paper. One thing I learned by continuing doing peer reviews is to never stop proofreading your own writing. You will always find something to improve by reading it one more time.

enclosure: 301 Yingying Wu Formal Report Proposal
link: Proposal Peer Review Link

This post is created to reflect on the process and the choices I made while writing, peer reviewing and self-editing the definitions assignment. I chose to define the technical term “STAR” using three different levels of details. 

After successfully completing Unit 1 of the course, I gained a lot through self-learning and peer reviews. I enjoyed the concept of a writing group. Having people with different writing skills means we all can contribute in our own ways.

Original Writing

My original definitions writing was on a commonly used report –STAR in the hospitality industry. I found that reading the textbook really helped me with the assignment. Through clear instructions and ample examples, I was able to understand the topic and complete the writing. I also learned that no matter what you are writing, it is crucial to identify the intended audience in advance. This will help you better structure your writing and be selective on the amount of details to include in a writing. This assignment perfectly demonstrated the importance of selecting your audience. The three different types of definitions are meant for three different types of audience. For people who are outside of the hospitality industry, parenthetical or sentence definition is enough for them to grasp the concept of a STAR. However, for my intended readers who are hospitality students, the expanded definition is appropriate. The students would need more details to understand the term.

Peer Review Process

Overall, I enjoyed the peer review process. I was not used to it at first but the peer review form really guided me along the way. It helped me to pay close attention to details that I would otherwise miss. I also found it particular interesting that the more times I read, the more things I can spot that needed modifications. My partner Polly is a very good writer. She writes concisely and eloquently. This made my job harder as I was not able to spot a single thing that needed touch up after first reading. I had to refer back to the peer review form and read that line by line. With all the criteria in mind, I went through Polly’s writing a few more times, focusing on different criterion each time.

It was also very beneficial to receive Polly’s review on my writing. She correctly pointed out the additional “report” I had after my acronym STAR. She suggested me to note the source for my visual aid and helped me with some grammar mistakes and tone selection. It was nice to have a fresh set of eyes to review my writing and provide constructive feedback.

Image from Google Images

Editing Process 
Thanks to Polly, my editing process was straight forward and easy. Because of her detailed suggestions, I was able to spot and change my mistakes right away. I also noticed through reading Polly’s definitions assignment, she had a clear objective statement in her introduction paragraph. I quickly realized that I lacked one while editing my own piece. As a result, I modified my introduction to include a clear objective statement. This is another thing I learned through peer reviews. Editing does not stop after peer reviews. It is just the beginning.

For more information on my updated definitions assignment and Polly’s peer review, please see the below links.
Definitions Assignment
Polly’s Peer Review