In my last post, I discussed a digital portfolio that I would be putting together soon. I have currently selected two of the three pieces I will be putting into the portfolio. I have selected a memo that I wrote for another class and the press release I wrote for this professional writing class. I have not yet decided on a third piece.
The memo I selected was for a class entitled Integrated Marketing Communication. The guidelines for this memo were to select a brand and write a convincing argument about a celebrity (actor/actress, athlete, model, politician, etc.) who we felt should be chosen to represent that brand. We were asked to tell why we think this celebrity should be chosen and what significant connections that link the celebrity to the brand. I picked the brand Gillette and said that NHL player, Patrick Kane, should be chosen to represent it. During the playoffs Patrick Kane, along with most other professional hockey players, began to grow out the playoff beard. He eventually became known for his impressive beard and mullet. Hockey fans from all over spread around pictures of his playoff appearance across social media websites. Patrick Kane would be able to successfully endorse this product by vouching that this product can shave his playoff beard, at the end of the season, without issue or extra blades. This piece of writing demonstrates my skills for memo writing, my use of creative ideas, and my ability to respond accordingly to a task given to me.
The second piece I chose was my press release which I've explained in previous posts. Alike the memo, this piece also happens to pertain to hockey. I wrote about the Kraft Hockeyville competition and the events that were going to take place in Johnstown as a result of the win.
I plan to edit these pieces very thoroughly and to make sure they appear professional to not only my professor, but also future employers. I feel confident that my writing skills will really be able to show throughout these pieces.
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Friday, April 15, 2016
Digital Portfolio Thoughts
As the semester is coming to an end, we have discussed our final project for my Intro to Professional Writing class. We are going to be designing our own digital portfolio. This assignment will have a variety of uses in my future besides just a grade on a piece of paper.
The digital portfolio I create will be a way for me to show off my writing skills and the experience I have as a writer to future employers. I will include pieces of writing in this portfolio that will be similar to things I could be writing in my future career. We were asked to keep our dream career in mind when choosing the pieces of writing we put into it. The dream job that came to my mind first when asked was working for the Pittsburgh Penguins. I could work in PR for them. With this in mind, I searched through the Pittsburgh Penguins website, even though I know plenty about them, I thought why not try to gain a better understanding of the audience that would be viewing my work. I'd like to try to figure out what skills I think they'd like to see demonstrated throughout my writing pieces.
I came to the conclusion that they'd like to see pieces of writing that appear to be very professional with little to no errors. I also thought they'd like to see this digital portfolio appear to be well organized and with a structure easy to understand, yet done in a creative, unique way. I need to put together a group of pieces that would reflect their values that they instill as a whole. Though their mission statement mostly reflects the well being of the hockey players, I believe it can also relate to how I'd be expected to conduct myself as an employee of their organization. I'd be expected to promote team work and a strong sense of community to others through the pieces I'd put together for the organization. With my audience in mind, I will be putting together a strong group of my writing pieces that could potentially help me reach a dream career.
The digital portfolio I create will be a way for me to show off my writing skills and the experience I have as a writer to future employers. I will include pieces of writing in this portfolio that will be similar to things I could be writing in my future career. We were asked to keep our dream career in mind when choosing the pieces of writing we put into it. The dream job that came to my mind first when asked was working for the Pittsburgh Penguins. I could work in PR for them. With this in mind, I searched through the Pittsburgh Penguins website, even though I know plenty about them, I thought why not try to gain a better understanding of the audience that would be viewing my work. I'd like to try to figure out what skills I think they'd like to see demonstrated throughout my writing pieces.
I came to the conclusion that they'd like to see pieces of writing that appear to be very professional with little to no errors. I also thought they'd like to see this digital portfolio appear to be well organized and with a structure easy to understand, yet done in a creative, unique way. I need to put together a group of pieces that would reflect their values that they instill as a whole. Though their mission statement mostly reflects the well being of the hockey players, I believe it can also relate to how I'd be expected to conduct myself as an employee of their organization. I'd be expected to promote team work and a strong sense of community to others through the pieces I'd put together for the organization. With my audience in mind, I will be putting together a strong group of my writing pieces that could potentially help me reach a dream career.
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Presentation Success
My proposal group presentation is complete and we believe it was very successful for us! We began with an opening to the (pretend) social science curriculum committee and thanking them for their time. My group member, Des, then gave her personal story in connection as to why we chose to propose this new major to them. After her introduction story, she handed the floor over to me. I discussed the purpose that this new major would serve to our campus. I had points discussing why it will be beneficial to anyone affiliated with any University of Pittsburgh campus or in the local area. I then handed it over to Alex, who discussed the personnel and time frame. Des talked again about the budget. Lastly, Rebecca told them about how we would evaluate our progress then she wrapped up our presentation.
We received great feedback from both our peers and our professor. Our professor really seemed to like our opening which made us feel great about our hard work. She also seemed to really like our evaluation. Some tips she had for us were minor, yet I feel they will be helpful as we work on strengthening our proposal before the due date. She suggested that we lower the number of new faculty we would need to hire. Hiring part time professors saves money and also the professors we already have may be qualified to teach some of the classes we need taught. Once we rethink this suggestion, we will be able to come up with a more logical number of faculty. The other suggestion we got was to look into this major at Pitt Oakland's campus. This will help us get a better idea of how it will function at Pitt Johnstown and we will be able to develop a more accurate, successful plan.
We received great feedback from both our peers and our professor. Our professor really seemed to like our opening which made us feel great about our hard work. She also seemed to really like our evaluation. Some tips she had for us were minor, yet I feel they will be helpful as we work on strengthening our proposal before the due date. She suggested that we lower the number of new faculty we would need to hire. Hiring part time professors saves money and also the professors we already have may be qualified to teach some of the classes we need taught. Once we rethink this suggestion, we will be able to come up with a more logical number of faculty. The other suggestion we got was to look into this major at Pitt Oakland's campus. This will help us get a better idea of how it will function at Pitt Johnstown and we will be able to develop a more accurate, successful plan.
Friday, April 1, 2016
Proposal Update
The deadline for my group proposal is approaching. We divided the proposal into sections and each group member has a section to be working on about the content we already discussed in class. We decided we are adding the whole new major relating to speech therapy instead of just a few classes on it. We think this is a better way to attract the audience we are hoping for.
My job was to complete the audience and purpose section of the proposal. I have finished my section and in it I discuss how this major will provide students with the opportunity to obtain a bachelor’s degree in Communication Science and the choice to stay at Pitt Johnstown. For a student attending the Johnstown campus, fulfillment of this major requires transferring to Pitt Oakland after the first two years. Considering tuition prices at Oakland, this will potentially alienate Johnstown’s students from achieving this major. Many students would have spent two years making friends and memories before being forcibly uprooted from Johnstown. Understandably, it would be very upsetting as many students start their collegiate experience friendless. We hope this will help the university gain the recognition it deserves and differentiate itself from neighboring competitors. This will then bring in more money to the university.
An increase in student attendance means more employment opportunities available at the university. Advertising this new, unique major to the area would attract a diverse interest among students and faculty, creating a more diverse, academic community. Students with undeclared majors already attending Johnstown may gain an appealing option, one they may not have considered. An undeclared student benefits from a variety of different options where as speech therapy is one unlike any others that Johnstown has to offer.
A major in Communication Science will appeal to numerous people affiliated with the any University of Pittsburgh campus. This list would include students, professors, administrators, and donors from all University of Pittsburgh locations. This addition would even involve the community members near Pitt Johnstown’s campus due to the lack of speech therapy classes offered near by. Prospective students will be involved with the advantage of the new major that other schools that they are considering may not offer to their students. This major will overall enhance the opportunities for those affiliated with the university.
As we put the final touches on our proposal, we are preparing to give a presentation to our class on Monday. In our presentation, we will touch on each section of our proposal and present it to our class as if they are the curriculum committee of our university.
My job was to complete the audience and purpose section of the proposal. I have finished my section and in it I discuss how this major will provide students with the opportunity to obtain a bachelor’s degree in Communication Science and the choice to stay at Pitt Johnstown. For a student attending the Johnstown campus, fulfillment of this major requires transferring to Pitt Oakland after the first two years. Considering tuition prices at Oakland, this will potentially alienate Johnstown’s students from achieving this major. Many students would have spent two years making friends and memories before being forcibly uprooted from Johnstown. Understandably, it would be very upsetting as many students start their collegiate experience friendless. We hope this will help the university gain the recognition it deserves and differentiate itself from neighboring competitors. This will then bring in more money to the university.
An increase in student attendance means more employment opportunities available at the university. Advertising this new, unique major to the area would attract a diverse interest among students and faculty, creating a more diverse, academic community. Students with undeclared majors already attending Johnstown may gain an appealing option, one they may not have considered. An undeclared student benefits from a variety of different options where as speech therapy is one unlike any others that Johnstown has to offer.
A major in Communication Science will appeal to numerous people affiliated with the any University of Pittsburgh campus. This list would include students, professors, administrators, and donors from all University of Pittsburgh locations. This addition would even involve the community members near Pitt Johnstown’s campus due to the lack of speech therapy classes offered near by. Prospective students will be involved with the advantage of the new major that other schools that they are considering may not offer to their students. This major will overall enhance the opportunities for those affiliated with the university.
As we put the final touches on our proposal, we are preparing to give a presentation to our class on Monday. In our presentation, we will touch on each section of our proposal and present it to our class as if they are the curriculum committee of our university.
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Class Lecture
For class on Wednesday, we discussed a piece of writing we read entitled "Notes from No Man's Land." In class we discussed this piece relating to how it would help us achieve unity within our groups to succeed while putting together our proposal.
The class talked together about how the different parts of this essay connected, and also where the author signaled these parts and why. We came up with race, conflict, fear, and place to be the similar ideas that were kept throughout the writing.
The author also used techniques to keep the ideas connected in the different sections. We discovered the main key to this was to a provide a variety of specific examples that all led back to the overall main idea. This ensured that the essay all appeared to be connected and not just a bunch of random ideas thrown into the same piece of writing. We also found that consistent thematic language was used, for example the idea of being afraid of something or afraid for their safety. These ideas were all introduced in each section but involving a different situation. The final technique we came up with was the author's use of ideas and themes. Since these ideas and themes sounded familiar throughout the piece, the reader's are able to gain a better understanding of the point the author was trying to get across.
After discussing this piece of writing, our professor had us get into our groups, that I previously wrote about, for our proposal assignment. In class, we used these newly learned techniques to relate it to our proposal assignment. We thought using key ideas and consistent language throughout our writing would be beneficial for us considering that we would be writing the different sections of our proposal separate from our other group members. Our sections include an abstract, problem/need, plan, personnel, budget, time-frame, and the evaluation/progress. We decided it would benefit this proposal to include consistent language about gaining opportunities for both students, staff, the university, and bringing in money. We also discussed incorporating points about diversity for the students and staff. We determined bringing people together with a common interest would be a common key idea throughout our proposal.We believe that our proposal will have better successful after our discussion of implementing these techniques and language consistently.
The class talked together about how the different parts of this essay connected, and also where the author signaled these parts and why. We came up with race, conflict, fear, and place to be the similar ideas that were kept throughout the writing.
The author also used techniques to keep the ideas connected in the different sections. We discovered the main key to this was to a provide a variety of specific examples that all led back to the overall main idea. This ensured that the essay all appeared to be connected and not just a bunch of random ideas thrown into the same piece of writing. We also found that consistent thematic language was used, for example the idea of being afraid of something or afraid for their safety. These ideas were all introduced in each section but involving a different situation. The final technique we came up with was the author's use of ideas and themes. Since these ideas and themes sounded familiar throughout the piece, the reader's are able to gain a better understanding of the point the author was trying to get across.
After discussing this piece of writing, our professor had us get into our groups, that I previously wrote about, for our proposal assignment. In class, we used these newly learned techniques to relate it to our proposal assignment. We thought using key ideas and consistent language throughout our writing would be beneficial for us considering that we would be writing the different sections of our proposal separate from our other group members. Our sections include an abstract, problem/need, plan, personnel, budget, time-frame, and the evaluation/progress. We decided it would benefit this proposal to include consistent language about gaining opportunities for both students, staff, the university, and bringing in money. We also discussed incorporating points about diversity for the students and staff. We determined bringing people together with a common interest would be a common key idea throughout our proposal.We believe that our proposal will have better successful after our discussion of implementing these techniques and language consistently.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Upcoming Proposal
My professional writing class has another assignment that we have began the planning stage for. This assignment is a little different from the ones we have previously done. This assignment differs because it requires group work. In groups we will be designing a proposal in response to a need.
The proposal I chose with my partners will be a (pretend) proposal aimed towards our university. We plan to write to the university in hopes to add a speech therapy course to the curriculum. We decided that it would be beneficial for UPJ to provide a course for students who plan to major in speech therapy but do not wish to continue their education at Pitt main. This class would also discuss the brain and how speech disabilities come about from the very beginning.
This proposal is an unsolicited, internal type of proposal. I say unsolicited meaning the organization (UPJ) did not specifically put a request out for proposals to be written. We will provide reasons why there is a need for the course we want to have added. We will also provide a detailed plan as to how we will go about making this additional need successful. It will be internal meaning the authors are a part of a target organization. We are writing this proposal on behalf of the university because we consider ourselves to be a part of a team that helps make it a better place for everyone.
One of my group members is a speech therapy major who plans to continue her education at Pitt main campus. She shared a personal story with us as to why she decided to pursue this major. It is a personal story that we could share with our class during the presentation part of this assignment. This story helped our group members gain a better understanding of the major. It also made us want to pursue this proposal and we hope it would also to be able to convince others of its importance in the university if it would become real.
The proposal I chose with my partners will be a (pretend) proposal aimed towards our university. We plan to write to the university in hopes to add a speech therapy course to the curriculum. We decided that it would be beneficial for UPJ to provide a course for students who plan to major in speech therapy but do not wish to continue their education at Pitt main. This class would also discuss the brain and how speech disabilities come about from the very beginning.
This proposal is an unsolicited, internal type of proposal. I say unsolicited meaning the organization (UPJ) did not specifically put a request out for proposals to be written. We will provide reasons why there is a need for the course we want to have added. We will also provide a detailed plan as to how we will go about making this additional need successful. It will be internal meaning the authors are a part of a target organization. We are writing this proposal on behalf of the university because we consider ourselves to be a part of a team that helps make it a better place for everyone.
One of my group members is a speech therapy major who plans to continue her education at Pitt main campus. She shared a personal story with us as to why she decided to pursue this major. It is a personal story that we could share with our class during the presentation part of this assignment. This story helped our group members gain a better understanding of the major. It also made us want to pursue this proposal and we hope it would also to be able to convince others of its importance in the university if it would become real.
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Brain Break Opinion
I believe everyone can relate to feeling as if they need a brain break every once in a while! With that being said, I am going to discuss a brain break strategy that occurred in my professional writing class. For our brain break we got a day in class to bring laptops and work on assignments for that particular class. While we worked we got a choice to listen to music or a video that related to the class. I was relieved to hear about this brain break because college can get overwhelming. I was just starting to feel that way with the 18 credits semester I have beginning the get the best of me.
We had a memo and a press release assignment we could have been working on during this hour. We could also sit near students with the same majors to discuss ideas and advice. I think this method is effective because we got to use class time to work on assignments that we would have normally had to take time outside of class to complete. This left me more time outside of class later that night for other school work. For example, it left me with more studying time later for the two exams I had to prepare for, for the following morning. I also liked that we had the option to converse with classmates that we normally would not have had the opportunity to do outside of class. It is always helpful to me to get peer advice regarding certain assignments.
Overall, I really like this idea every once in a while. These brain breaks are not necessary to be held every week or anything too time consuming like that. However when this tactic is used sparingly or during stressful times, for example midterms/finals, they can be very beneficial to a student and also act as stress relievers.
We had a memo and a press release assignment we could have been working on during this hour. We could also sit near students with the same majors to discuss ideas and advice. I think this method is effective because we got to use class time to work on assignments that we would have normally had to take time outside of class to complete. This left me more time outside of class later that night for other school work. For example, it left me with more studying time later for the two exams I had to prepare for, for the following morning. I also liked that we had the option to converse with classmates that we normally would not have had the opportunity to do outside of class. It is always helpful to me to get peer advice regarding certain assignments.
Overall, I really like this idea every once in a while. These brain breaks are not necessary to be held every week or anything too time consuming like that. However when this tactic is used sparingly or during stressful times, for example midterms/finals, they can be very beneficial to a student and also act as stress relievers.
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