Final Reflection =')

Another 13 weeks came and went. ES2007s had been unexpectedly enjoyable. Where do I even begin?

Honestly, I love writing. The only problem was my grammar skills (or the lack of it). That made me think twice before bidding for this particular module as I am afraid of how my peers would be one step of ahead of me. Having heard how useful this course was, I decided to take a gamble, and I am glad I did. The first weeks were hard due to the topics for blogging. It had been too long since I had to write something "formal" that was not a lab report. That being said, I wrote at least 3 lab reports each semester and never gotten back a single feedback. It gets frustrating after all the effort I put into it but never to learn how to make it better. So I am really thankful for the feedback from the class and Brad to improve my writing. I found that by reading different writing styles of my peers is, in fact, a great way to improve my own! I have definitely learned lots about writing and will continue to strive for improvement.

Another aspect of the class that made it so special was the resume writing. This was not like the other preparation course I had been to before. Eventually, the purpose of all these years of education is to pursue a desired career. Having to peer teach this particular topic and also to go through weeks of revising resumes and application letters had been an extremely rewarding. While I had a rough idea of the importance of these documents, it was not until we sat down to compare resumes as a HR team did it hit me how crucial it is to have a well crafted one that stands out. I may have not quite grasp the ability to perform well in job interviews, but the exercise have definitely made me more prepared.

I could go on forever about how useful the things we learned in this module, but I am sure you all know that well enough and I do not wish to repeat my thoughts of the OP. The most memorable part of the class was not the content but the environment. It was a good change to be in a small tutorial class where thoughts and opinions are easily shared and friends readily made. It was such pleasure to get to know everyone from our 4 short hours together every week. Thank you all for making the class an enjoyable one and I wish everyone all the best in your future endeavors, especially for those of you that are graduating and our lovely ladies on exchange!

Lastly, I want to thank you Brad. You have been an amazing teacher and never once made me feel silly or stupid despite the many mistakes I have made with my writing. The lessons would not have been so rewarding and enjoyable without you. Hope to see you around campus! =)

WORK HARD & GOOD LUCK FOR FINALS EVERYONE!!!

Reflections on Oral Presentation

The last time I presented to a class before this module, was two years ago. I have never been particularly terrified of presenting in front of a crowd but I knew that I was not a great speaker. Even then, I was not fond of scripts and preferred to elaborate from pointers on my slides. The result was unnecessary fillers. 

This time, I wrote a script for mock presentation and also partly, to be more persuasive. Though I intended to just familiarised myself with the crucial points, I inevitably ended up memorising them as I practiced. I never like the idea of memorising as I fear that I might blank out during the presentation itself. So to prevent this, my preparation included presenting to a mirror. My confidence grew as I practiced more and this greatly reduced my stage fright on the actual day. 

I feel that one of my weaknesses is that I become utterly unaware of my body language when I am focused on getting my points across to the audience. For the mock, I received feedback that I was too rigid. But for the actual OP, I heard I was moving in circles. I will definitely work on this for future presentations! 

One of the takeaways I had watching the other groups' OP was the importance of having effective slides. Having simple and aesthetically pleasing slides really helps the audience to pay attention. There is definitely more to slides making than I initially thought!

During our practice session, all of us were tripping over our words, having yet internalised the content. However, I felt that everyone improved tremendously by the time we had our actual presentation. So, thank you Christopher, Samantha and Sharlene for your hard work and contributions to this project!!!

Lastly, thank you all for the kind words regarding my presentation. I think the strength of my presentation stem from the fact that this issue is something that I am personally concerned about. I guess, in order to be persuasive and convincing, it helps to strongly believe in your proposed idea first. Either that, or fake it well :) 

If anyone is interested, this is the full version of the apology video we showed in class!