The final reflection
- 1. Final Reflections English 2311 Technical Writing: Final William Mouzon Engl 2311-034
- 2. Rhetoric 01 Table of Contents Writing 02 Design 03 Collaboration 04 Ethics 05 Cultural Considerations 06
- 3. 3 Rhetoric Rhetoric was very specifically involved with the first lectures of class when discussing the importance of modes of communication. Rhetorical analysis is especially important in Technical writing because it helps address how to make the message clearer to the audience by considering “Where, When, Why, and How” of the text. This class dealt specifically with the Poster Genre of communication which deals primarily with academic or educational types of communication which is what the mobile app was used for. The first twitter assignment involved modes of communication when we were asked to find a set of instructions and identify these modes. The understanding of modes of communication is important in technical writing because it is the essence of what makes instructions and other forms of communication, effective. Understanding these concepts makes for an effective instruction. Documents can solve problems if the modes of communication are used properly. Overuse of words or visuals makes an instruction set too convoluted, but an underwhelming amount might make the document seem ambiguous, so understanding the balance of linguistic, spatial, visual, and aural communications will help consumers solve problems. Rauch, Susan. "Intro to TC Review: Ethics, Culture, and Context of Use." Technical Writing. Lubbock. 6 Sept. 2016.
- 4. 4 Writing Over the course of the semester I have learned how to be a more concise writer. In the process of writing instructions for the app, I learned how to eliminate fluff words and only include the words that enhance the instructions to make them easier for the audience to read. Towards the beginning of the semester we had an in- class assignment that focused on revising poorly written instructions on paper; this activity helped me understand the importance of better instructions. Rauch, Susan. "Resume and Cover Letter." Technical Writing. Lubbock. 8 Sept. 2016. Lecture.
- 5. 5 Design The design of a resume shows professionalism and it is important to be able to make a professional resume with appropriate designs. This class dealt specifically with the Poster Genre of communication which deals primarily with academic or educational types of communication which is what the mobile app was used for. Though I had problems at first with the overall format of the Resume I learned how to effectively organize the resume to better reflect my professionalism, such as putting the resume in a reverse chronological order, making sure all the fonts and sizes are consistent, and providing spaces in between the different parts of the resume. Using the Spatial mode of communication was important for the Resume because it makes the entire resume seem organized and more accessible for employers. The design aspects of the app proved to be one of the more challenging parts of making a good app. We used the Marvel App and a blank phone template as the background for the app, but my group also had to design the app in a way that was easy and usable for users. Ball, Cheryl. "Chapter 3: Choosing a Genre and Pitching Your Project." Writer/Designer: A Guide to Making Multimodal Projects. First ed. London: Macmillan Learning, n.d. 42-56. Print Rauch, Susan. "Resume and Cover Letter." Technical Writing. Lubbock. 8 Sept. 2016. Lecture.
- 6. 6 Applied Technology Ball, Cheryl. "Chapter 3: Choosing a Genre and Pitching Your Project." Writer/Designer: A Guide to Making Multimodal Projects. First ed. London: Macmillan Learning, n.d. 42-56. Print. . LookBack was used for the majority of the semester for both the procedure of tracking for the volunteers for the app and the video presentation. LookBack tracks what the user is doing while operating the app. Using this app helped the group to identify which arts of the app the users would be referring to if they made a specific comment on the app. Adobe Premier was used for the video presentation, and though it was difficult to understand it helped with the editing and recording of the video presentation. The group that I was in had problems with the editing software for Premier which was due to a lack of experience with the program, however, over time we were able to address this and fix some of the major issues it caused with the presentation. The video presentation dealt heavily with gestural , and aural communication which meant we would need technology to be able to demonstrate different parts of the app and we were able to do that with the use of LookBack and Adobe Premier. Now that I understand Adobe Premier I can now use it for any video presentation for a career as well as for a personal brand.
- 7. 7 Collaboration The collaboration aspect of the mobile app was very important for the video presentation because it required communication from all members of the group to be able to successfully make the app. The video presentation required communication and cohesiveness among the group. It was challenging to read the parts while simultaneously trying to navigate through the app, but after many trials we were able to make the video presentation. The usability test report also required a good deal of effort from the group; we each assigned different areas to talk about to explain the outcome of the app and we ended up turning out organized and effectively reported how the app was used. Because the test report heavily relied on spatial communication it was imperative that we all abide by the standards of this type of communication. This test I now feel better equipped to deal with team or project- based work because of the collaborative efforts of my group Ball, Cheryl. "Chapter 4: Working with Multimodal Sources." Writer/Designer: A Guide to Making Multimodal Projects. London: Macmillan Learning, 2014. 57-76. Print.
- 8. 8 Ethics & Cultural Considerations Ball, Cheryl. "Chapter 4: Working with Multimodal Sources." Writer/Designer: A Guide to Making Multimodal Projects. London: Macmillan Learning, 2014. 57-76. Print. I have learned through working in the class it is important to consider cultural differences, and the way to show consideration is by not including slang or jargon that people of other cultures cannot understand. Ethical considerations are very important and we had an assignment that demonstrated the use of ethics of apps. I learned that unethical procedures such as false promotion, uncited work, and privacy infringement. These unethical approaches are rarely forgiven. In one of the earlier lectures we discussed how important it is as a technical writer to manage what the readers see in a document, and not to overload information for the readers. Knowing the right amount of information to present is crucial to the ethics of technical writing. As a class, we were able to demonstrate what ethical technical writing is with the second twitter assignment where we were assigned to tweet an article about unethical use of social media. Being able to identify unethical uses of media is very important with the climate of technology in the world, and the use of mobile apps indicates that is essential to take measures to avoid unethical communication.
- 9. There is a lot to be said about the applicability of this class to any career field but I feel that this class will be especially helpful for any professional career. I now feel equipped to collaborate, use unfamiliar technology, identify ethical writing skills, and design an efficient means of communication that will one day impact many lives in a positive way. The skills I have learned in this class are timeless and will prove to be necessary in my future endeavors. Learning Outcome
- 10. In Conclusio n The skills taught in this class are applicable to all fields of work, and is essential for any professional career.