Blog Response Week #11

ENG 301

3/30/15

Word Count: 844

Introduction:

From what I have been able to view on my own in the course content, I have attempted to prepare myself for the upcoming Employment Project. I have learned that I will have to compose multiple technical documents that will ultimately assist me in applying for potential employment opportunities. The aforementioned documents will assess my current skills set and how I plan on applying them in a work environment; these include a resume, an application letter (or a letter of intent), a skills inventory, and a job advertisement analysis. 

Description:

Having already created several resumes as well as application letters to multiple employment opportunities, I feel- for the most part- fairly confident beginning this project. I have acquired certain technical literacies throughout the course of this class and these skills will allow me to improve the documents that I have already composed in the past. The most challenging part for me, I think, will be planning the job search and deciding on what type of position I want to apply for. I have had a lot of experience in the customer service industry, both food and retail, which I know I could apply to other jobs in the future. However, I am very interested in the arts (as it is a part of my studies here at ASU, along with my business minor) and have been hired for commission on several occasions to complete projects for both companies and individuals. I would love to be able to find a job opportunity where I can utilize my artistry, my business knowledge, and my recently developed technical communication skills. 

There are many ways in which to begin a job search; I could go through a university placement office, a published job advertisement, I could look through websites of certain organizations, use personal connections, and much more. Once I come across an organization that peaks my interest, it is essential that I learn as much as possible about it using appropriate techniques of primary and secondary research (Markel, 400). Once I have decided where I would like to apply, I will need to reevaluate the resumes that I have already developed in the past, making sure that these documents have generous margins, clear type, adequate spacing, and that the organization of the information is specific and balanced. Elements of the chronological Resume include: identifying information, summary of qualification, education, employment history, interests and activities, and references- professors or previous employers who are will to speak or write on your behalf and with whom you have worked closely with (Markel, 415).

An application letter, or a letter of intent, needs to be planned carefully and composed specifically for the organization that one might to apply to. In the introductory paragraph, I will identify the position I am interested in and I wish to be considered for said position. Next, an education paragraph will be included and it will discuss the aspects of my education that most directly fits the job requirements; the following employment paragraph will develop an idea that my work background has given me special skills that will make me well suited for the available position. “The purpose of the concluding paragraph is to motivate the reader to invite you for an interview” (Markel, 428).  In order to ensure success, I must make sure to reference my resume, politely request for an interview with confidence, and include my phone number and email for contacting purposes.

In past employment experiences, I have developed many professional literacies, even though I may not have been aware of it at the time. Recently, I was commissioned by Copper Blues: Rock Pub & Kitchen to compose elaborate chalk drawings throughout the interior of their newest location in Tempe. In order to keep track of what I charged, I created an invoice which allowed me to report the work I did, the amount of time it took me and the correlating prices. In my current job as a retailer, I am constantly using both verbal (in-person meetings with peers and employers) and written communication (writing and receiving formal emails to supervisors about upcoming events or time requested off). I communicate and collaborate effectively with teammates by using the appropriate level of formality, and by communicating honestly and correctly (Markel, 373). 

Conclusion:

A study of over 400 U.S. companies found that some “very important” skills for new college graduates to have coming into the workplace included oral communication, teamwork and collaboration, professionalism and work ethic, and written communication (Markel 3). I believe that through my past work experiences, I have developed all of these over time, however, I believe I could benefit from participating in more written communication since my current occupation is driven mostly by verbal communication. I exude a strong work ethic, I work well with others, I can compose successful technical documents, and I am currently working on improving speaking professionally and confidently in a formal setting. I hope that these skills I have acquired will assist me in finding a good employment opportunity.

Blog Response Week #10

ENG 301

3/23/15

Word Count: 754

Introduction:

            “Writing a proposal calls for the same process of planning, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading that you use for other kinds of documents” (Markel, 440). For my group’s Proposal Project, we need to really utilize all five of these processes in order to compose a successful report and recommendation about our selected institute- the Institute for Humanities Research. Each component of our report will reflect on how much we have learned and how we have developed our professional literacies throughout this course.

Description:

            On the first day of class, myself and my peers evaluated ourselves by filling out a professional literacies self-assessment. We were asked to rank ourselves based off our own experiences working with certain literacies on a scale of “novice” to “expert”. For instance, I ranked myself as in between “low-intermediate” and “high-intermediate” for my Meeting Literacies because I have had many experiences with formal meetings in the work place; however, I do not feel as though I am an expert just yet. When it came to Proposal Literacies, I definitely felt like a “novice”; I have written research papers in previous courses, yet the way a proposal is written was entirely new to me. I learned about the different “deliverables” of proposals, which is what the presenter will deliver to their audience at the end of the project- these will reflect whatever research was performed for the purpose of the report. Proposals require their presenter to be persuasive and one must persuade their reader of three things: 1. that you understand the audience’s needs, 2. that you already figured out what you plan to do and that you will be able to do it, and 3. that you are a professional and you are committed to fulfilling your promises (Markel, 444). This project will hopefully reflect my group’s overall progress in developing our professional literacies. I feel as though the best way to learn and to improve our writing skills is to practice creating these types of documents; I have definitely learned a lot so far.

            The Proposal Project has also reinforced knowledge that I have already acquired from past assignments about the importance of writing collaboratively. There are some definite advantages of working collaboratively, although I usually prefer working alone if I am unfamiliar with my partner or team members because I am nervous about how much our work ethics may vary. However, I understand that collaboration can be critical to being successful in the work place so I am willing to apply it to my school work. First of all, writing documents with other people can draw on a greater knowledge and a greater skill base (Markel, 58). Documents can be more comprehensive and accurate when multiple people are composing them, plus having several authors will offer more questions and suggestions on how the document could be improved. Communicating effectively is critical in writing collaborative documents, especially when you are unable to meet up with your teammates in person on a regular basis.  It is important to utilize the time you do have to spend with your group, and to work productively. We need to listen to each other carefully, allow everyone a chance to speak, don’t become too emotionally attached to your own ideas, and always ask pertinent questions (Markel, 67). Being able to participate in team projects in this course (amongst others), as well as in my own working environment, has definitely taught me that you will not always get along with the people you work with on a personal level, however, it is critical that you find a way to be helpful to one another and to pull your own weight.

Conclusion:    

Through the use of effective teamwork and our new knowledge on writing proposals, I hope that I, as well as my team members are able to successfully understand and execute this our recommendation report regarding our institute. “A recommendation report can be the final link in a chain of documents that begins with a proposal and continues with one or more progress reports” (Markel, 514). Planning, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading are all essential parts of the writing process that I have practiced and developed for technical communication. Based on my team’s conclusion that the Institute for Humanities Research would benefit from participating more in social media, we will recommend that they engage in a flyer campaign which will promote their new social media addresses in order to increase awareness about the institute and therefore engage the public.

           

Blog Response #8

ENG 301

3/16/15

Word Count: 763

Introduction

            When composing a technical document, it is necessary to make persuasive claims and support them in an effective way. It is important to include appropriate facts as well as describing what these facts might mean for your argument. My group’s job as communicators is to convince our “supervisors” to agree with our particular viewpoint surrounding the Institute for Humanities Research.

Description

            My team’s central idea for our practical proposal is that our selected institute needs to be more involved in social media. This would be a great way to engage with the public, especially undergraduate Arizona State University students, who are not currently involved in- or even aware that it exists- the Institute for Humanities Research. We thought that it would be a good idea to create an awareness campaign and use flyers as a way to promote new forms of the institute’s social media, such as Instagram, and Twitter. “In planning a persuasive document, you need to work within the constraints that shape your environment on the job” (Markel 185). This means that it is vital that my team takes into account any time, financial, personnel, or even informational constraints that we might face in our argument. For instance, we will need to consider what the current flyer designs might look like, how they can be improved, how costly it is to print them, where the best spots to place them on campus might be, when and even how long we would plan on leaving these flyers up.

            However, before we suggest this awareness campaign, we first need to decide where in our presentation we would want to present our claim. “In most cases, the best place to state your claim is at the start of the argument. Them provide the evidence and, if appropriate, the reasoning. Sometimes, however, is it more effective to place the claim after the evidence and the reasoning” (Markel 192). What is the best way to approach this? I feel as though this decision could make or break our argument; we want to make sure that we receive a desirable reaction from our audience, so I think that the order of our presentation is critical. I suppose we will have to wait to take a look at all of our collective data before we come to any conclusions.

            Secondly, in order for my group to be able to convince our audience that the future benefits will outweigh any current costs, we need to focus on three important things. It is essential that we show our audience that 1. We understand their needs, 2. We have already figured out what our overall plan is and that we will be able to do it, and 3. We are professional and are committed to fulfilling our promises (Markel 445). We will be able to support these with a thoroughly written, structural proposal, closely similar to the one provided to us an example in class. This report will include a memo, title page, an abstract, table of contents, executive summary, introduction, our research methods, the results, a conclusion, and of course any and all references used to support our argument. The summary- which covers the major elements of the proposal- is perhaps the most crucial section of this report, because it might be the only thing the readers study in their initial review of the proposal (Markel 449).

Conclusion

            Since our data will ultimately make or break our claim, we really need to make sure that it reflects what our central idea is. Instead of simply using online articles relating to our institute, we want to also find sources that support the idea that participating in social media will be beneficial to it. From a randomized survey we conducted, we determined that very few undergraduate ASU students have ever even heard about the Institute for Humanities Research, which I found to be surprising since there are so many students that attend this university. The vast majority of college students check through various types of social media on a daily basis; what better way to reach out to and connect with such a large group of people than to promote yourself somewhere they coexist so consistently? Although the Institute for Humanities Research does have a Facebook page already, I believe that this organization would really benefit from branching out and creating accounts with Instagram, Twitter or any similar sites.  By including these account names on flyers posted around campus for everyone to see, I think that more students will become aware that this institute even exists.