Instructions
What was I asked to do?
For this assignment, I was asked to create a pair of instructions for a semi-challenging task that is a part of my major. The first set of instructions were meant for a reader that had completely no idea how to do the task. The second set of instructions were for a reader who had intermediate knowledge of what my major was.
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What did I do?
Since my major is Information Systems (IS), I choose to write instructions for how to code a database.
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What did I learn?​
As this was my first assignment, I learned a lot of basic writing concepts. Like the difference between writing for novice and intermediate audiences involves such things as using simple language and defining certain terms for the former, while writing for the latter requires less simplifying. Or the use of images to further convey what the text is saying. I also learned how to be more concise to fit a page limit.
Press Release
What was I asked to do?
For this assignment, I was asked to write a press release from the perspective of a member of a university, the press release would convince a news reporter to look more deeply into the story.
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What did I do?
I made a rough draft, however I was unable to finalize it due to an unfortunate family incident that occurred during the week I was supposed to work on the assignment.
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What did I learn?
This assignment was all about being able to persuade the reader. I mainly learned about the different forms of rhetoric, and how they can make an argument more persuasive. About opening with headline or story to grab the attention of a reader to make them read more of the work.
Flyer
What was I asked to do?
For this assignment, I was asked to create a flyer that advertised a concept or theory related to my major to students at UMBC.
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What did I do?
Since my major is IS, I created a flyer depicting the difference between Information and Data.
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What did I learn?
Creating this flyer was where I learned more about the use of color and images to convey a message. I also learned how important it is to use images more familiar to a wider audience than images that are more seen or more related to people in a specified field. I learned about color balance to make the flyer more readable. Lastly, I learned more about having to convey a message with very limited words.
Grant Proposal
What was I asked to do?
For this assignment, I was asked to write a grant proposal from the perspective of a worker from an non-profit organization attempting to get grant money from another organization, to fund the non-profit organization's project.
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What did I do?
I wrote the grant proposal from the perspective of a worker in the Parkinson's Foundation requesting money from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
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What did I learn?
This was the longest assignment for me, while writing the grant proposal I learn more about using rhetoric. Like writing to grab the reader's attention with informing them of recent events. Or spacing my writing out into paragraphs rather than walls of text to make reading easier to the reader. Also, I learned more about employee motivation.