The weblog portfolio asked us to create a weblog which included all of our major assignments from English 2311. The assignment required us to discuss our course performance, our reflections on the major assignments we turned in, and a reflection on the course overall. 

First, I would like to point out why I chose to take English 2311. This course was not required for my major. I could have chosen any English course, from introduction to poetry to introduction to non-fiction. So, why did I choose to take this course? I knew that I would be going into the working world soon and that I needed to improve my writing skills. I wanted to learn how to adapt my writing style to the professional world. I had little experience in writing important materials, like resumes and memos, that are necessary for some level of success. Also, I wanted to improve my grammar and sentence structure. Any other English class would not have helped in this arena. English 2311 was the only class that would. I did not need an A in course to help my GPA, I needed a course that would help me improve my writing skills, and English 2311 did this for me.

With the ending of the semester approaching, I feel that I have a greater understanding of the coarse goals. My written communication skills have improved dramatically. I now have a better understanding of the importance of being clear and efficient in my essays. The necessity of knowing and researching one’s audience is key to creating better documents. I will remember to always make sure my tone and stated goals are acceptably written for the audience I wish to address.  

Of all the assignments we have submitted, I feel the resume and job letter were the most beneficial. These assignments will have relevance no matter what I do. From applying to graduate school to applying for my first job.

In the end, I am not sure exactly what my grade will be for this class. The grade really doesn’t matter. What did matter was that because of this class I improved my writing skills. My writing style has the ability to adapt to the needs of the professional world. I now have more experience in writing resumes and memos, experience I did not have before taking this class. Though some of the assignments did not help me directly, thier intended goals (such as editing) did help. I do not regret choosing to take this coarse at all.

Resume

Word Count: 420

Here is my resume & job letter assignment.

The assignment required us to create a resume and job letter designed for a specific job position. I chose to tailor my resume and job letter to a graduate school I plan on applying to here in the near future. I was asked to effectively communicate my skills and qualifications, organize them according to my audience, and format the overall product efficiently.

The goal of the assignment was practice. The project helped me to practice my communication skills, practice my layout and design skills, and practice my overall professionalism. This assignment was intended to help me to research my audience, and to tailor my resume and job letter to their needs.

Since I had chosen to use this assignment for my graduate school application, I learned how to accomplish these goals. I first researched my chosen institution for background information and to try and find out what they believed was most important for an applicant to portray. I found the said data and structured the assignment around my audience. I worked on my communication skills, design skills, and professionalism.

Dr. Fricke helped me to continue my progress by critiquing my final project. First, he questioned whether the layout was truly effective or not. This prompted me to do further research on how other graduate school applicants designed their layout. Next, Dr. Fricke commented on the necessity of certain information on my resume and job letter. In retrospect, he was justified in questioning their purpose. I removed the excess information from my resume and job letter that day. A third and final critique Dr. Fricke pointed out was the lack of elaboration on my work history. Dr. Fricke noted that I must convey more information about quantitative data. This would help the audience fully understand how significant the provided numbers are.

In reflection, I learned a great deal from this project. I had had little experience with designing resumes and job letters. This assignment helped me to understand how to effectively reach out to a specific audience and appeal to their needs. Proper background research of my intended audience will become the first step I will take before applying to any institution, be it academic or professional. I not only learned a lot from this assignment overall, but I also enjoyed it. It has helped me prepare for future job prospects.

I made a seventy-one on this assignment. This shows I have lot of room for improvement.

Word count: 402

Here is the formal memo you requested.

The formal memo assignment asked us to create a complex memo that was both clear and efficient. We were asked to pick an audience and a problem that needed to be addressed. We were expected to format the memo to the chosen audience, explain the problem we wished to address, and provide a clear solution. We were also supposed to write our memo in a tone fitting to our chosen audience.

 The goals of this assignment were to practice practical judgement when defining the specific subject and goals of the memo, work on our organizational skills, and using analytical and persuasive writing to appeal to our audience.  

When looking at these goals, I tried my best to achieve them. My chosen audience was my group partner, Winston Saldivar. The purpose of my memo was to give my partner all the information I had gathered. The goal of the memo was to give Winston an idea of what relevant information I had found for our upcoming class project. I chose a more direct tone considering my audience was a peer. I addressed the subject and goal of the memo at the beginning of the project. I outlined the formal memo to appeal to my partner by organizing the information in the order of our upcoming project.

Dr. Fricke had a few critiques on my final formal memo. He noted the chosen title of the memo. Dr. Fricke stated that I should make the memo title clearer to my audience, such as using the subject or goal of the memo as the title. Dr. Fricke also pointed out a number of grammatical and spelling errors in the final memo. In the future I plan on making memo titles more direct and having outside help in looking for grammar mistakes before I hand in documents such as these.

Upon reflection of the assignment I learned a great deal. I had little to no experience in writing formal memos. I know that in the future I will need to write memos such as this to colleagues and bosses. This assignment is relevant to every person who plans to work after college.

I made an eighty-three on this assignment. This shows some level of improvement from the resume and job letter assignment I turned in previously. As stated before, there is still room for improvement.

Word count: 349

Here is the instructions selection memo you requested.

The purpose of this assignment was to find a set of instructions and user test the guide book. The student had the choice of testing either complex or simple instructions to test. From the instruction manual, each student had to figure out the goal and the audience it is intended to address. After determining the goal and audience, the assignment asked for the tester to user test the manual on the audience to determine whether or not it met its goal.

I chose the Ipod nano instruction manual. The Ipod nano instructions were simple and easy. They used a pictorial guide to help the purchaser of the new Ipod nano. The intended audience of this manual was college students or people in their latter teens. I determined this by the cost and computer terminology used.

I had chosen the Ipod nano instruction manual because I had recently purchased one. The instructions were simple to test and the intended audience was easy to find. I had an array of choices, but in the end I chose an easy route for this assignment.

I believe I chose correctly on this assignment. Testing complicated instructions and finding their intended demographic would have made this assignment more difficult than it needed to be. If I were to do this assignment again I’d probably only have to have someone check my grammar.

There is little relevance of this specific assignment to my future. But, the intended general goal of helping me to improve my editing skills by testing does apply.

This reflection is short because there is nothing else to say on the instructions selection memo. I didn’t really enjoy this assignment, but I figure it helped me improve my overall editing skills. The test instructions I chose has nothing to do with my major.

I made a seventy-nine on this assignment. Once again, this shows that there is room for improvement. I should have listened to critiques on my grammar. In the future I will review my assignments better.

Word count: 420

Here is the instructions analysis you requested.

The assignment asked us to find an instruction manual, analyze the instructions, test the manual on the intended audience, and note the effectiveness of the instruction guide. This assignment was not exceptionally trying at all as long as you chose a manual that was intended for a broad audience. I chose to make this assignment easy for myself by choosing instructions intended for college students.

The goal of the assignment was for us to practice editing. Dr. Fricke noted that we will not necessarily have to edit how-to manuals ever, but the editing will be necessary for future documents we’ll have to create in our professional careers.

For this assignment I chose to user test the Ipod nano instructions. I chose the Ipod nano instruction manual because it was straightforward, the goal of the guide was simple, and the intended audience was easy to find. The instruction manual was picture based, the goal of the instruction guide was to be concise, and the audience was college students.

When looking back on the stated goal of this assignment I feel I did achieve it. The stated goal was for us to practice our editing skills. Even though the manual I chose was easy to follow, the user testing I did showed that the manual could be improved upon. Proficient editing skills will be necessary for any individual who plans on becoming a professional.

In reflection upon this project, I learned a great deal. What may seem straightforward and easy to understand to you may not be for others. Editing and user testing help people convey information better. The next time I write a memo or a list of requirements, I will definitely have outside help in making sure that the final document is clear and easy to understand.

 To be honest, I did not really enjoy this assignment. Though the assignment did help me with my editing skills, analyzing instructions wasn’t really fun. If we were to re-do this assignment I think I would still choose the Ipod nano instructions. These instructions were exceptionally easy to apply to the assignment. I had no trouble in finding people to test them on. I would, on the other hand, work on my grammar.

I made a seventy eight-on this assignment. Once again, I failed to adequately review this assignment. My grammar mistakes and unclear sentence structure were the reasons for this low grade. I should have had outside help on my instructions analysis assignment.

Word count: 433

Here is the proposal plan memo you requested.

The assignment required us to create a plan for our group report. We were asked to write out our ideas, plans, and time estimates. This was intended to help us manage the upcoming group report by setting goals and defining what we want to accomplish.

The goal of this assignment was to help us learn how to manage projects under the control of more than one individual. We were asked to create a realistic and detailed time line to help us set goals to grade our own progress. The assignment also required us to look ahead for any possible problems in the future so our group could be better prepared to address them.

When looking back on the assignment, I believe I achieved the intended goal. My proposal plan memo was outlined in an easy-to-understand format. I broke up the memo into three separate parts. First, I noted the problem I wished to address and how I would go about solving it. Second, I described the intended audience along with the tone and format I planned on designing the final proposal plan to use. The final part of my memo stated my conclusion and noted theoretical pot holes my partners and I were likely to come across.

Though I felt I had achieved the intended goal, Dr. Fricke pointed out a few things that needed improving. The main issue he saw with my memo was the description of my audience. Dr. Fricke believed that the stated audience was too broadly defined and that I should be more specific on who the proposal will go too. The other issue Dr. Fricke saw was my grammar. In retrospect, I should have had outside help in reviewing my memo for grammar errors. What I think sounds correct may really not be.

In reflection of this assignment as a whole, I learned that I need to be more exact and work on my grammar. Though I thought my explanation of the intended audience was acceptable, it is clear that it was not. After reviewing Dr. Fricke’s comments I quickly narrowed my audience. As far as my grammar mistakes, this seems to be a trend of mine. It is necessary for me to not only review my final memos myself, but get help from others as well.

Our group made an eighty-four on this assignment. Failing to follow directions and grammar issues hurt our overall group grade on this assignment. I should have looked over the paper better. There is always room for improvement.

Proposal Rough Draft

Word count: 407

Here is the proposal rough draft and progress memo you requested.

This assignment required us to turn in two separate works. The proposal rough draft was meant to show our group topic, the audience, the overall goal, and the strategies we intended to use in our group proposal. The individual progress memo was suppose to convey how we saw the project going, show who is responsible for what, and note some problems we were facing in order to get some help.

The goal of this assignment was to help our group on the final project. The rough draft was a basic outline of how our project was going to be formatted. The progress memo was meant to show Dr. Fricke how things are going and see if we had any problems he could help out with.

My partner and I did achieve the goal of these assignments. We were able to work together to create a rough idea of what our final proposal would look like and able to give Dr. Fricke sufficient updates in our individual progress memos. These two assignments, I think, really helped us finish our project in a more efficient manner.

Dr. Fricke did help out our group by giving us some good feedback. He claimed that the goal was too difficult to achieve. Dr. Fricke thought that the goal should be simpler and more achievable. Dr. Fricke also noted that our audience might wish to have more white space in the final proposal. Both of these critiques were addressed between my partner and I.

I learned much from this assignment. I now know that creating a good outline that clearly states your intended goals and audience can help the progression of your final project. I also learned how to give praise and critique other individuals in a formal progress memo. Both of which will be useful for the future.

Though I may not have really enjoyed doing this assignment, it was beneficial for me. In the future I will create rough drafts before attempting to start a paper or proposal.

Our group made an eighty-four on this assignment as well. Our goal was too vague and we had a number of grammar and spelling errors. Once again, we should have reviewed the assignment better. Or at the very least had someone outside of our group review the assignment for us. This would have helped a great deal.

Word count: 482

Here is the formal group proposal you requested.

For this assignment we were required to create a group proposal. This assignment was supposed to help us practice presenting information, analyzing an issue, and proposing a solution to the audience. We were asked to choose a problem, offer a persuasive solution, and effectively use supporting information to get our point across.

The goal of the assignment was to use all the experience we had gained in the previous assignments and apply it to this one project. In other words, prove that we had learned the point of all the assignments we had turned in.

Unlike the other groups, our group was made up of only two people. My partner Kevin and I chose to address teen sexuality (teen pregnancies & sexually transmitted diseases) in the Lubbock school district, specifically in the Lubbock high schools. Our group chose Wayne Havens, the LISD superintendent, to be our audience. We stated the current issue, used supporting information to validate our concerns, offered three solutions, and stated the overall goal of our proposal in a clear and professional manner.

My partner and I had few problems when writing up our formal group proposal. Kevin and I were able to agree on a topic and solution easily. Our group also agreed on a professional layout and audience with ease. The only problems our group experienced was personal scheduling differences. Kevin and I had very different schedules; so much of our project was done independently. If we had questions for one another we contacted each other by phone or by e-mail.

If I could do this project over again, there would only be one thing I’d like to change. I would have liked to have taken the time to create charts or graphs to give our audience a visual picture of the problem faced by teens in Lubbock. I believe that would have helped to improve our chances of achieving our stated goal, which was to instigate discussion and further research into alternative programs on sex education.

I enjoyed this assignment. Since Kevin and I were on the same page when it came to this issue, there were no arguments on what we needed to do. Our group got to choose a topic we both feel passionately about. I believe we took a very professional and palatable approach in creating our formal group proposal.

This assignment experience has helped me to understand the importance of mixing the correct tone and persuasive argumentation. I know in the future I will have to work with others on group proposals, and this experience has helped me to prepare for those upcoming situations.

Our group made a ninety-one on this assignment. This shows that we did improve upon our rough draft proposal a great deal. Still, grammar issues was the cause of us not attaining a higher grade.

Class Handout

My Proposal Presentation Memo

Word count: 468

Here is the proposal presentation memos and handout you requested.

The purpose of this assignment was to prove that our group could design a professional summary of our group proposal. We were also asked to type up a proposal presentation memo in order to praise and critique our fellow group members.

Since my partner and I had a scheduling conflict, I took care of typing up the group presentation slide show. After I had completed it, I sent Kevin the handout (which was the slide show itself) via e-mail. Kevin and I showed up early to discuss how we would address the class and how to convey the overall message of our proposal effectively. The handout, as I have previously stated, was the slide show itself. I felt that the handout needed the same information as the slide-show in order for the class to be able to really grasp the presented numbers fully. The handout was to be taken home, the presentation was not.

Our group chose to type up the memos separately. We did this so that both of us could competently and tactfully type up how we felt the proposal project went. I believe this is how it is done in the working world, so this seemed to be the correct approach.

Overall, our group proposal presentation went very well. Kevin and I were able to read the feedback on our presentation. Almost all of the critiques our classmates gave were positive. There were a few individuals who felt that we did not clearly define the goal of our proposal or that graphs would have helped our presentation. If our group could do this project over again I would try to address these critiques more effectively.

Our group did a great job. My partner, Kevin, did a great job on doing his half of the project. Kevin also did a good job in presenting the overall material persuasively. Any questions posed by the class were effectively answered in a professional manner by both of us.

This assignment has helped me to understand how to effectively work with others on group assignments. Though we had very few problems throughout the project, I feel my partner and I really learned a lot from the presentation.  I learned to trust in the abilities of my partner. This will be helpful for the future when I will have to work on multiple projects with many individuals.

Our group made an eighty on this assignment. This was because I failed to follow directions. I did not put our course and section number on the handout. This took away fifteen points right off the bat. I should have checked the directions better. That one little thing cost our group an A.