Jerrica has A Way with Words
High School Course Introduction
Plain Language (Introduction) - February 2025
This introduction was part of the final assessment in the Plain Language Tune-Up course. The task was to introduce a writing course and explain the reasoning and impact of it being added to the curriculum. It came at a time when it was up in the air as to whether our college program by the same name would be removed from offering, so it holds a little activism toward that as well.
Introduction
What is it?
Professional Writing is:
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A Grade 12 High school course
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1 year long
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Full-year mixed-level English Credit
While it is experimental at this level of education, professional writing has been a college level program at Algonquin college for ten years. This course condenses that program, and offers a base level of knowledge that will be helpful for students with plans to work in journalism, marketing, communications and a variety of other writing heavy careers.
Why are we offering it?
This course is being introduced in reaction to the cancelling of the college level program and the poor results of the recent Grade 11 & 12 English exams.
The college level program was a stepping stone for many high school students to writing programs at college and university levels. This high school course will provide that bridge and will be available to a wider group of students.
The results of recent provincial literacy tests and English exams have revealed a need for an English course that is focused on writing rather than literary analysis.
The course content
The course content will be split into three distinct sections each lasting three months of instruction. These three sections provide an overview of English basics and employable writing skills. They are presented in order of delivery below.
Rules of Grammar
The first section will start with a review of the basics, building from word types through sentence and paragraph structures to the structure of a short essay. In addition to learning modern rules, this section will also explain rules that have become outdated and why.
Creative Writing
The second section will build on the technical skills of Rules of Grammar. It will allow students to be on the other side of the literary devices and structures they know from previous English courses. This section will build from discussing story elements like character and theme through to writing a full short story. The Creative Writing section will also discuss and practice modern poetry.
Report Writing
The final section will showcase the writing of a more corporate setting and introduce the idea of plain language. Plain language is a style of writing that focuses on clarity and conciseness. This style of writing is essential to any workplace. Students will learn about common written documents like emails, reports, and summaries. This section will also contain how to do basic formatting in Microsoft Word and Google Docs, so students can not only write well but make their writing look good.
Churchill's Speech Excerpt Rewritten
Plain Language (Rewrite) - February 2025
This was more an editing assignment than a writing one because its goal was to transform unclear writing into plain language. The purpose of this is to make sure as many people as possible can understand what’s written. This practice is most useful when it comes to passing on jargon-filled information to the public. While we lose some specifics, we don't lose meaning.
Rewrite of Excerpt from Churchill’s “Mass Effects in Modern Life,” (1925)
Small family owned businesses built on community values have been bought or forced to close by large corporations. The cycle continues as these large corporations become part of larger groups. Despite the individuals’ hardships, in general, mass production has led to great social and financial advantages; prices of goods are lower and wages and job security are higher.
Industrial life is affecting more than just jobs; they affect education and art. Machines are changing how news is reported. News travels from anywhere at any time and the information is standardized and simplified for the public to consume. It is easier to print and hand out newspapers due to this technological evolution. While this is leading to widespread education, people are no longer required nor have the time to reflect on the news. It is an education “in at one ear and out at the other.”
Mass creation has led to more but lower quality books in developed countries especially the United States. More books means more knowledge and therefore a higher average intelligence. It also gives more opportunity for pleasure reading. However, people are spending less time thinking about what they read. Which may lead to higher stress and poorer mental health.
War times shine a light on these problems more than peace would. Modern commanders are separate from the once heroic images of leaders. Rather than being on the field with the soldiers, motivating, directing and sharing the experience, they are at a desk far away from the action.
The Excerpt:
Excerpt from Winston Churchill’s speech “Mass Effects in Modern Life,” (1925)
We have long seen the old family business, where the master was in direct personal touch with his workmen, swept out of existence or absorbed by powerful companies, which in their turn are swallowed by mammoth trusts. We have found in these processes, whatever hardships they may have caused to individuals, immense economic and social advantages. The magic of mass production has carried all before it. The public have a cheaper and even better article or a superior service; the workmen have better wages and greater security.
These instances are but typical of what is taking place in almost every sphere of modern industrial life … Public opinion is formed and expressed by machinery. The newspapers do an immense amount of thinking for the average man and woman. In fact, they supply them with such a continuous stream of standardized opinion, borne along upon an equally inexhaustible flood of news and sensation, collected from every part of the world every hour of the day, that there is neither the need nor the leisure for personal reflection. All this is but a part of a tremendous educating process. But it is an education which passes in at one ear and out at the other.
We must not forget the enormous circulations at cheap prices of the greatest books of the world, which is a feature of modern life in civilized countries, and nowhere more than in the United States. But this great diffusion of knowledge, information and light reading of all kinds may, while it opens new pleasures to humanity and appreciably raises the general level of intelligence, be destructive of those conditions of personal stress and mental effort to which the masterpieces of the human mind are due.
The intense light of war illuminates as usual this topic more clearly than the comfortable humdrum glow of peace. We see the modern commander entirely divorced from the heroic aspect by the physical conditions which have overwhelmed his art. No longer will Hannibal and Caesar, Turenne and Marlborough, Frederick, and Napoleon, sit their horses on the battlefield and by their words and gestures direct and dominate between dawn and dusk the course of a supreme event. No longer will their fame and presence cheer their struggling soldiers. No longer will they share their perils, rekindle their spirits, and restore the day. Instead, our Generals are to be found on the day of battle at their desks in their offices fifty or sixty miles from the front, anxiously listening to the trickle of the telephone for all the world as if they were speculators with large holdings when the market is disturbed.
Appropriate Workplace Language
This assignment was given with a simple prompt and not a lot of direction. The goal was to write a well organized, clear and concise introduction to a document about workplace language use without the document itself as a guideline. It’s more about the style of writing than the actual content; though I think I did a good job covering the bases of what would be in the document.
Plain Language (Introduction) - January 2025
What language is appropriate (or inappropriate) for the workplace?
Our Intentions
Firstly, we do not intend to restrict your speech; this policy is meant to enable smooth communication which avoids conflict. Within you will find resources to guide you in conducting yourself and your language in a workplace appropriate manner.
It will address written and verbal communication including:
Memorandum
Video calls
Meetings, and
General “watercooler” talk
These will be addressed in regards to the following sections:
Slang and Profanity
Inclusivity
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Gender neutral language
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Hate speech and microaggressions
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Harassment
We want all employees to feel safe at all times, so we also outline how to respond to and report inappropriate language conduct. While we cannot police you outside of the workplace we hope you will continue to treat each other with respect if you choose to spend time together socially.
We understand that everyone has different personal boundaries on what may be deemed inappropriate which is why this policy exists. This document may be updated as terms fall in and out of societal use so checking back regularly is important. Any major changes will be announced appropriately.
The Sections
The first section is “Slang and Profanity.” This will outline which terms are considered under this category, so there is no ambiguity. We choose to limit slang as it does not adhere to plain language and may alienate some coworkers. We choose to limit profanity as these terms are offensive to some groups of people.
The second section is “Inclusivity.” This section is further broken down into Gender Neutral Language and Hate Speech & Microaggressions. This will outline how to use gender neutral language and ways it sneaks into our everyday language. It will also discuss our policy on race, religion, gender & orientation and ableism langage, including commonly used terms to avoid and outright hate toward groups. We have a no tolerance policy toward this.
The third section “Harassment,” will outline what constitutes harassment beyond these other sections and refers more to behaviour of speech than word choice. This section will define harassment and provide examples to avoid ambiguity. It has sections devoted to sexual harassment, power dynamics and bullying.
The final section is “What Can I Do About It?” in which we outline how to handle situations head on as well as how and where to report misconduct. We encourage you to report any incident which includes you, whether as a victim or a witness. Our goal is to make it easier to report issues and take appropriate action immediately.
Our Expectations
By the end of this reading we expect you to understand our policies on how to conduct yourselves using appropriate language with your colleagues both in person and online. We also encourage you to read our guidelines and templates for written communications like emails and memorandums to make your communication as accessible as it is appropriate. Feel free to ask Human Resources or your manager any questions you have regarding this policy. If you think we have missed something important or misspoke we would appreciate your help in amending this policy. Thank you for reading.
"The Puzzle of Motivation" Summarized
Summary - April 2024
The goal of this piece was to summarize the main points of a video without losing too much of the nuance of the message. The video in question is a TedTalk by Dan Pink
"The Puzzle of Motivation" Summarized
In his TedTalk titled “The Puzzle of Motivation,” Dan Pink suggests we rethink how businesses are run because there is a mismatch in what science knows and what businesses do. Pink uses a few key experiments suggesting the current approach of punishment and reward doesn’t support the type of tasks 21st-century, white-collar jobs require.
The candle problem (Karl Duncker, 1945), and variations (Sam Glucksberg) of it, demonstrate this idea. Duncker’s experiment is designed to have participants overcome functional fixedness (i.e. force out-of-the-box thinking) while Glucksberg’s variations explore how incentives and removing that cognitive barrier affect the ability to do so. This experiment, and others done by MIT and LSE, suggest incentives work if the tasks require only mechanical skill, but once rudimentary cognitive skill is required, incentives cause poorer performance because they narrow focus and destroy creativity.
Pink’s solution is to switch from extrinsic (punishments and rewards) to intrinsic (desire) motivators. He focuses on autonomy but suggests intrinsic motivation relies on mastery and purpose. A well known comparison is the Encarta versus Wikipedia model. Encarta was created through a paid model while Wikipedia is produced with no external incentives. Pink says, “10 years ago you could not have found a single sober economist… who would have predicted the Wikipedia model” would succeed over Encarta. Other examples are Results Only Work Environment (ROWE), 20% time, and Fedex Days. Each of these examples relies heavily on allowing workers some degree of control over their time and activities. ROWE allows employees to dictate everything as long as they finish their job, while 20% time and Fedex Days grant time to work on non-job projects on company time. This allows employees to be more creative doing the cognitive skill based tasks of the 21st-century while the mechanical skill tasks of the 20th-century are outsourced or automated. Pink believes that repairing this gap in knowledge will strengthen businesses and allow for more real life candle problems to be solved.
Crisis Communications
Crisis Communications & Press Release - March 2024
This assignment provided us with a crisis and a template to create a press release with both inward and outward facing information. Its goal was to exercise fact hierarchy and clear, plain communication.
Acme Chemical Plant Crisis Communication
Key Messages
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At 8 this morning an explosion occurred at Acme chemical plant in Toronto.
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Emergency services have been working since 8am to get everyone out of the plant safely and to hospitals for proper care.
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Though we always hope an incident won't occur, we are prepared and following our protocols in regard to an explosion at our facility. We have notified those in nearby buildings that may be affected to evacuate and they have received accommodations at Sunshine Hotel.
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For more information about your loved ones meet us in conference room 102 of Sunshine Hotel down the street from Toronto General Hospital.
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Investigations are ongoing in regards to the cause of the incident. When we are certain of the cause you will know, until then we won’t speculate.
Rationale
What occurred and what we are doing are the most important things. Knowing we're aware of the situation and taking decisive action is key. Knowing that we have protocols to follow and are taking everyone and everything into consideration, not just the plant, will put the general public at ease as well as those directly affected. Holding that investigations are ongoing to the end allows us to get the important information out before the questions begin pouring in about the information we don’t have.
Media Protocol
Format: Protocol (rationale)
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Our spokesperson will be the CEO. (This is a serious event and we want the public to know we’re taking it seriously.)
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Both media (Room 103) and family room 102) will be welcomed to conference rooms at Sunshine Hotel. (Kept close together for quick succession of announcements)
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Family will always get information first; a separate room will be set up for personal conversations regarding specific individuals from location or hospital.
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Media will get information quickly following the family in lesser detail. Numbers of victims (injured or dead) but no names. They only receive confirmed information, no speculation.
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Communications avenues (as many as are available to us funneling people to the website and the meeting place)
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News alert to confirm we know,
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A press conference for media with basic information followed with a second one when more information is confirmed,
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The website will be a source of FAQs surrounding where to meet, what has occurred, what's being done to solve the issue, and safety precautions for those in the area.
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Social media will be used to answer questions, quick updates and funnel interested and affected parties toward where they need to be.
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Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ACME Addresses Explosion at Toronto Chemical Plant
TORONTO, ON., March 22, 2024
At 8 this morning an explosion occurred at the Toronto location Acme chemical plant. The company is working with local emergency personnel ensuring the safety of employees and others in the surrounding area; . At this time, the cause is still under investigation. We are holding informational announcements at Sunshine Hotel; family members will be welcomed in conference room 102 and press will be welcomed to conference room 103.
“We are disheartened that such an event has occurred at our facility. We are working around the clock to ensure safety and proper accommodation of all those affected,” John Johnson (CEO.)
All affected employees are being taken care of by medical professionals and anyone evacuated from a residence will be provided accommodations at Sunshine Hotel. Emergency services continue their search of the building. We have protocols in place and are diligently working through them to ensure the safety of all those affected. For up to date information please use our website and social media.
About Acme Chemicals
Acme Chemicals Toronto (subsidiary of Acme) is a polymer manufacturer specializing in silicones. Our silicones are used in a variety of products from construction to household utensils. For additional information please call 1-800-acmeFAQ, visit acme.com or get in touch with us on X (formerly Twitter.)
Contact Information
Media Representative: Jane Doe
1-800-acmeAID
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Q&A
Q: Is the situation under control?
A: Yes, our crew and emergency personnel are making quick work of recovering employees and mitigating further damage.
Q: What is being done in response to what happened?
A: Employees are being recovered from the building and those that are injured are being treated by medical professionals. Those in the possible unsafe zone have been alerted, and investigation and clean-up of the explosion are in the works.
Q: What could have prevented this from happening?
A: Until we know the cause of the incident we cannot know what could have been done to prevent this. As more information is confirmed we will be more than happy to share it with you.