It's Not Goodbye, Just See Ya Later!

As the semester comes to a close, I can now say that I consider myself to be well informed in the field of Technical Writing and Communication. With that being said, I believe that I am ready to take on any technical writing/communication project that my future employer may throw my way.

The different projects that we were required to do throughout the semester all had different aspects of technical writing embedded in them.  The projects included writing a precise set of instructions, preparing a resume and cover letter for a mock interview, using a Power-Point alternative to give a presentation, and write a formal proposal with the letter of recommendation, abstract, the actual proposal, and the conclusion.

This class has taught me some very unique things such as how to work in teams, work with Power-Point alternatives, the do's and don'ts of interviews, 
how to write company-wide memos, and many others.

picture from: hdimagelib.com

 
As I close my last post I want to thank Sami, our wonderful Technical Writing instructor, for a memorable semester full of laughs, and valuable ideas that she has taught us!

I hope you all have a wonder life in the future that lies ahead of each of you!

Why YOU should blog again!

I'm not going to lie, but for this blog I really did not have any desire to do it because it was for one of my English classes. I would honestly consider blogging again in the future on my own time. The reason that I think it is beneficial to have a personal blog for yourself is that it keeps you in touch with the technical writing skills that you have already acquired and you may even learn more along the way.

To stay in touch with blogging, here are three blogs that I would recommend following. One is about makeup (my obsession!!), one is about women in engineering, and the other is Huffington Post.

picture from: photo-dictionary.com

The Blog About Makeup gives great advice on which eye shadow colors go good with the different eye colors people have, and any other advice on makeup that you make need. I recommend this blog because makeup is my obsession, and I cannot live without it.

picture from: pinterest.com

Celeste Baine's Blog is one that gives advice to engineers, articles on women in engineering and is used to motivate students to pursue a degree in engineering. She provides information and resources to promote, and spark an interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) with a particular emphasis on Engineering. I recommend this blog because I am a female STEM major. I also find this quite interesting.

picture from: http://www.gupsa.org.au/gupsa-news-update/

The Huffington Post is updated daily just as any newspaper website would be. It is a news site that reports about events from all around the world, not just local events that are happening. I recommend following this blog because I am nosy and like to know what is going on around the world.

Formal Research and Proposal Review

Technical Writing and Communication involves not only documentation but some sort of oral communication. It can be in the form of a proposal, research findings, etc.

For our Formal Research Proposal Report project, we, as a group, were asked to find a problem that we want to see fixed around the city of Lafayette or on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. We chose to propose an increase in fees associated with tuition in order to get new supplies for the biology and chemistry labs. Those supplies include chairs, window blinds, new lab equipment, etc. Not to mention that those labs have not been updated since 1958 and 1978 respectively.

From doing this project we learned how to go about communicating with people to get them to take our survey we created, how to communicate with the lab instructors, and how hard it actually is to prepare documents for a formal proposal. We also learned about team work and how it is very important to communicate with the members in your group. 

picture from: mouthsofmums.com.au/finding-balance/

Technical Communication requires a balance between:

Politeness

• It was very difficult to be polite to the rude people we encountered while trying to get price estimates for our lab equipment, chairs, and other things. 

Assertiveness

• One of our team members had to be assertive towards another member to stay on task.
•  It is very hard to be creative and come up with different ways to say the same thing more than once. 
• We also had to be assertive in the fact that we needed volunteers to take our survey.

Specificity

• We also did not know how to write the same idea in different ways for the formal documents we had to create, such as the letter of transmittal, abstract, and introduction, body and conclusion of the actual proposal.
• We also knew what we wanted to propose, but did not know how to ask for what we wanted.

Review on Emaze

For our visual media project, we were asked to use a Power-Point alternative. I chose Emaze. I was very impressed and never had any problems in using it. 

With using Emaze, it actually got me interested in doing my presentation. In past times when we were only allowed to use PowerPoint, I was never really interested and didn't give much thought into doing it.

Emaze is not really a hard program to use, although it does take a little while to get used to.

Overall, my review on Emaze is it a great alternative. I definitely recommend and will be using it again.

Tips on Marketing Yourself

picture from: http://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/sell-yourself.html#details34863170

There are a few useful things that everyone needs to know about writing resumes and being interviewed for your potential career. Here are a few tips on marketing yourself:

• Resumes:

• 1 page
• 12 pt readable font
• Make use of blank space so it is easy to read
• Brag about yourself and accomplishments, but not excessively

• Interviews:
• Dress professional, have good hygiene, etc
• Be prepared to answer unusual questions
• DO NOT bring up MONEY! Avoid it at all costs.
• Greet and thank each interviewer separately
• Ask questions because it makes you seem more enthused about the job
• Know general information about the company you are interviewing for.
• Practice, practice, practice
• DO NOT BE NERVOUS 
• Write a follow-up email/letter a few days after the interview

Now that you have the fundamentals down, go out and show them that you really want the job!

Easy Sugar Cookies!

If you're looking for a recipe for easy sugar cookies, you're in the right spot! I will teach you how to make the cookies using the technical writing skills I have acquired!

Easy Sugar Cookies!

What you will need:

• 2 & 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder 
• 1/2 c. butter (softened, not melted)
• 1/4 c. nonfat plain yogurt
•  1 & 1/2 c. white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Combine butter, yogurt, and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl.
3. Then combine baking soda, flour, baking powder and vanilla extract.
4. Mix about 1-2 min.
5. Shape the dough into 2 in. cats, and place about 2 in. apart on a greased baking pan.
6. Bake in preheated about 8-10 min. or until golden brown.
7. Let stand about 2 min. before removing.
8. Frost each cookie to your liking, or use no frosting at all! 

picture from: https://www.etsy.com/listing/239622720/cat-face-kitten-face-sugar-cookies-cat

Now that your cookies are done and frosted, ENJOY!

**Warning** Use caution when putting the cookies in the oven and taking them out! The oven will be hot and so will the pan.

Hello everyone! My name is Shelby Lafleur and I am currently a sophomore majoring in Petroleum Engineering at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. I am obsessed with cats, but mostly kittens! My favorite cats are the orange long-haired ones in the picture that I took!

My blog will mainly consist of my experiences, good and bad, in Technical Writing. Technical Writing is part of my curriculum as a Petroleum Engineering major. It will definitely help my communication skills as a person and as a productive member of society. Hopefully this blogging whatever gets easier! So for now, enjoy!