Date: May 13th, 2016

To: Amanda Amstutz

From: Kalob Haynes
Subject: English 219, Reflectance #4
With this final reflectance, I will first go over some of the concepts I learned
in the class, and which projects or assignments gave me a better
understanding of those concepts. Next, I will reflect on the three projects I
did by going over what form their technical communication took and my
topic of choice for them. Then I will give commentary on the cover letter and
resume I created for my application letter. Finally, I will discuss the student
learning outcomes, and how I achieved each one in this class using examples
from the projects or assignments I completed.
One of the major concepts I learned about in this class, that I find extremely
effective and easily applied to any document one could create, is white
space. It seems so simple to me, yet I now know how big of an impact the
absence of letters/pictures make. Utilizing white space correctly creates a
clean and professional document. Pairing white space and subgroup
headings also helps with understanding where sections begin and end in a
fantastically useful way. I learned, or honed, my understanding on when to
use white space in every assignment I did. That is how critical and useful
white space really is. To give an example, while I was creating my resume I
had it all written in a single clump in the middle of the page to begin with,
which made the document messy which decreased the resumes readability.
But once I had spaced the individual components, I feel as if it made my
resume far stronger though nothing else except where the white space was
located changed.
The topic we first encountered in project one was the creation of an
instruction set. An instruction set is the instructions one should follow when
doing something they are not familiar with, making it imperative to create
clear and concise instructions while creating this form of professional
document. For this project I found a recipe that has meaning to me and then,
using the original recipe as a template, altered it to create something new
based off the original. I then created instructions on how to make this new
recipe so that others could make it too.
In project two we were tasked with analyzing our field to find an issue it
contains. We then had to research this issue further, and then create a report
so as to communicate our issue with others. For this project I chose to
discuss the interaction psychology has with ethics, and how ethics is handled
or discussed in the field of psychology. I found three prior psychology
experiments that are often discussed as examples on the ethicalness of
research studies that affected how people are treated within a study. In
writing my report I attempted to convey that sentiment to the people that

may read my report.

The third project was supposed to further the topic that was researched in
project two, however, I found a different issue within Psychology that I felt
was more suitable to create a recommendation report on. For this project I
decided to analyze and attempt to come up with solutions for the many
college students that are currently studying Psychology to increase job
opportunities for them, teach them more about their field, and what they can
do with a BA or BS in Psychology.
The final assignment we did was the creation of a resume and cover letter
for a prospective job in our field that we could create a mock resume and
cover letter for. I found a job as a health care worker from Baylor University
that, if I did have my degree, I would apply for. In applying for this job I
tailored my resume and cover letter to reflect what makes me a strong
candidate for that job. This includes my prior history within the health field
as an emergency worker, as well as my future psychology degree.
The first student-learning outcome is analyzing rhetorical situation. Analyzing
the rhetorical situation means looking at what you want to write, why you
want to write it, to whom you writing too, as well as the limiting factors that
impede your writing, all to achieve a goal. This student-learning outcome
was achieved in many ways. Every assignment required a specific form of
technical writing to achieve the affect that was wanted or required. If you
wanted to address a problem, and then broadcast a potential solution to
readers, a recommendation report is sufficient and appropriate. If you are
applying to a job, then a cover letter and a resume are then the appropriate
form of technical writing to employ.
The second student-learning outcome is to find and evaluate information.
This student-learning outcome is achieved while researching for the topic of
choice. Every project done also utilized this skill. In the second project, we
were tasked with identifying an issue within our field. This required us to
search within our field to find something that was at issue, that we could
then further research and understand how the problem came about, what
others are doing/saying about it, and finally what the future outlook on that
problem was. I chose to research ethics, which is a concept psychology walks
hand-in-hand with. I had to look up instances where an issue regarding ethics
came up within psychology. I found three previous psychology research
projects where ethicalness was called into question. This was on topic for my
project that also supported claims I had made.
The third student-learning outcome is composing information from the
research done and then utilizing that information to produce a clear and
concise professional document. While doing this, the writer is also supposed
to consider ethical aspects and while working with others or alone in creation

of a professional document. This student-learning outcome was achieved in

every assignment simply through the genesis of its creation. Take for
example the assignment on careers. To develop a good resume and cover
letter, you must curtail the information you supply to what the job offering is.
This requires research into what the career field is, what skills are favored in
that environment and what prior work history you have that matches up with
the expectations of the job. I found a job from Baylor as a community health
professional. I utilized the information on the job listing, as well as
information learned from psychology (thus completing research) and then
used that information to compose the cover letter and resume in a way that
reflected the what the original job posting sought.
The final student-learning outcome is the presentation of information, which
is the final product that includes proper grammar and rhetoric, which has the
added benefit of giving your writing the level of professionalism a
professional document should purvey. This student-learning outcome was
achieved through refining the rough drafts of all the projects or assignments.
An example of this is the Weebly website I created. All of the documents
therein contained are what I am presenting to the world. Each has been
refined and checked for grammar and proper use of rhetoric. Aspects of each
document were cleaned up so as to look their best and therefore achieve
their desired affect.
I hope to have enlightened you on what concepts Ive learned in this class,
what types of projects and assignments I did, and on what topics I chose for
them and how I successfully learned concepts during each of them that
achieved the student-learning objectives.