Writing
Samples of both Technical Writing and Creative Writing
I have been actively writing stories since I was a preteen. The act of creating a story fascinates me. My love of stories led me to study Creative Writing and Literature at Boise State University. I've also had the opportunity to study Technical Communication. Although the ultimate goals of Technical Communication and Creative Writing are different, both focus on the audience and the necessity of the message. Studying both has improved my writing.
I have been actively writing stories since I was a preteen. The act of creating a story fascinates me. My love of stories led me to study Creative Writing and Literature at Boise State University. I've also had the opportunity to study Technical Communication. Although the ultimate goals of Technical Communication and Creative Writing are different, both focus on the audience and the necessity of the message. Studying both has improved my writing.
I have been actively writing stories since I was a preteen. The act of creating a story fascinates me. My love of stories led me to study Creative Writing and Literature at Boise State University. I've also had the opportunity to study Technical Communication. Although the ultimate goals of Technical Communication and Creative Writing are different, both focus on the audience and the necessity of the message. Studying both has improved my writing.
Creative Writing
from "The Inventor"
The following is a section from a short story I wrote in 2011.
Two houses down on the left was the white single story house with dark brown trim. The paint was chipping and there was a hole in the garage door. A chain link fence stretched across half of the backyard while the rest of the chain link lay in a pile. A large elm stood sterile in the front yard with several limbs broken and the weight of the snow threatening to buckle to the ground. Next to the garage was a large lavendar bush that had grown wild.
After another deep breath, she pulled out from the stop and she noticed that her knuckles were white while gripping the steering wheel. Across the street a few neighbors had gathered, one had a cell phone out and his cheerless expression spelled out an answer.
She finally let go of the wheel and turned off the engine, but couldn't bring herself to exit the vehicle. James had not yet noticed her arrival as he went about his business running between the front porch and the yard. It was a chilly winter day and after several days of snowfall everything was thickly covered, except for a few odd snow cleared holes in the driveway. James was in a light sweater and jeans, while everyone else, including herself were bundled in thick layers. He had just built a small, pitiable snowman atop one of the larger drifts in the yard about ten feet from her Bronco and was back on the porch fiddling with his latest contraption.
She had the door slightly ajar when she was suddenly thrown back, the door slammed shut. An explosion of white filled her vision and a vibrancy stole all the sound. With a metal heavy drummer beating a riff in her head, she jumped out of the car while it was still shaking, snow drifting down around her simulating the storm that had just passed.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" she screamed at him, at least she felt like she was screaming, her voice sounded distant.
He continued working, unaware of her presence. When she approached she ripped box of wires from his cold, raw hands finally snapping up his attention. A soft smile across James face welcomed her and his bright red cheeks got a bit brighter. He removed the orange earplugs.
"Hey Jodie!" he said brightly. "Did you see that? There's nothing left but a slight scorch to the lawn."
"Hey Jodie!" he said brightly. "Did you see that? There's nothing left but a slight scorch to the lawn."
She looked over at where the little snowman had stood and saw only a hole in the snow; it was a bit of an understatement since the yellow grass that had been under the snow was all burned away and a four-inch crater was left behind.
"Are you referring the crater you just left in the yard?" Her hands were balled up, and he could hear her teeth grinding together. "James, what the hell?" she asked pointing and gesturing to the char pit.
He paused a minute, looking at her flushed face and stern look.
"Ah, its my latest idea, Im trying to find an easier way to clear snow," he said cautiously. He waited a moment to gauge her reaction before saying excitedly, "Last night, while I was watching a documentary on the History channel about clearing mine fields, it got me to thinking about how to clear a driveway of the minefield of snow and ice - just blow it up! So, I've been blowing up the snow," his arms took flight gesticulating and punctuating each word.
His eyes moved from the blackened grass to Jodie's quickly blackening eyes.
"Whats wrong?" he asked.
She looked back at the whole and then across the street at the disproving neighbors. "I dont know where to start. Maybe with the fact that I will probably have to wear a hearing aid the rest of life, then there's the holes all over the yard and I suppose I could finish with the growing cracks in the windows!" Her voice rose steadily in tone while speaking, but quivered in its vigor.
He looked around and spotted the large crack that had splintered into four others in the front bay window. Across the street the neighbors looked ominous with their mob mentality growing.
"Okay, the idea needs some work, it has some flaws, but..."
"No, this doesnt have flaws, our marriage had flaws, this is a shit pile of of disaster!" she barked before marching into the house.
On the floor by the door a few picture frames had fallen off the table and the lamp was threatening, but she marched passed and headed straight for the office. James followed her into the house, and stopped to pick up the pictures and took care of the lamp. A few moments later, he found her digging through the file cabinet.
"What brings you by? Can I help you find something?" he asked imploringly.
Jodie stopped a moment and thought, "Yeah, where did I put the last ten years of my life," but she said nothing. A moment later she found the file and turned to leave, quickly brushing past him and down the hall. With gusto, she pulled the front door open, it slammed into the doorstop and the room resonated from the impact. She was nearly knocked on the head by the tall police officer standing at the door, who looked up just in time.
"Uh, hello. I'm responding to a call from your neighbors."
She gestured back to James. "They aren't my neighbors anymore." Pushing past the officer, she avoided the gawking and hawking neighbors as she climbed into her car. She blinked back tears as she put the vehicle in gear.
Technical Writing
from A Completion Report
The following sections, abstract and introduction, were taken from a report created for the class English 312 Technical Applications. Written in 2012.
One hundred percent of on-campus employees were dissatisfied with their jobs. Our in-store interviews of students on campus showed that 77% of the current customers are dissatisfied with the customer service and 80% would be willing to purchase coffee at any new shop in the quad. Boise State Universitys current number of four food-service locations that serve coffee is below average in comparison to other universities of similar size. The costs are greater in enlarging the Albertsons Library Starbucks instead of building a new coffee shop within the quad area. Of the four other buildings around the quad, the Business building experiences the largest volume of student traffic. We asked students which coffee establishment they would prefer and 93% chose Dutch Bros. We recommend constructing a Dutch Bros. coffee shop within the Business building at Boise State University. This would increase employee and customer satisfaction and provide additional income for both Boise State University and Aramark.
Keywords: Starbucks; Boise State University; Aramark; Albertsons Library; Business Building; Dutch Bros.; Einstein Bros.; expansion; new location; Concerned Caffeine Drinkers Group
Boise State University has approximately twenty thousand students. Thousands of these students travel the quad to their various classes everyday, which makes it the busiest area on campus. For students who are rushing between classes, there is only one location in the immediate vicinity of the quad where they can purchase delectable beverages and fresh food -- the Starbucks in the Albertsons Library. A student can spend as long as fifteen minutes waiting for their order. With only ten to fifteen minutes between classes, this can cause students to be late for their classes or even disrupt classes currently in session.
Abstract
Feasibility Study For Creating Additional Coffee
Purchasing Opportunities in the Boise State University Quad
A Completion Report
Prepared by: Concerned Caffeine Drinkers Group Members
Beth Blodgett, Jessica Duffy, and Melody Paris
The purpose of this research is to determine whether Boise State University and Aramark should expand the current Starbucks Coffee Shop in Albertsons Library or build a new coffee shop in another building on the quad. Customers and employees are dissatisfied with the current Starbucks location because of the inability to keep up with the high demand for service. At the request of Carol Ann Scott, General Manager of Boise State University Dining, the Concerned Caffeine Drinkers Group researched the need for more coffee purchasing opportunities on the Boise State University campus and the costs of building or expanding. In store interviews were conducted with both employees and customers at the Starbucks in the Albertsons Library, the Einstein Bros. in the Interactive Learning Center, and two off campus Starbucks locations. Phone interviews were conducted with other Universities of similar size to determine if they had bottleneck problems with their on campus dining services and how the issues were handled. The cost of expanding the current Starbucks location and the cost to build a new coffee shop in the quad area was analyzed by researching the costs of building materials, employee training, employee salaries, inventory purchases, and loss of income during construction.
One hundred percent of on-campus employees were dissatisfied with their jobs. Our in-store interviews of students on campus showed that 77% of the current customers are dissatisfied with the customer service and 80% would be willing to purchase coffee at any new shop in the quad. Boise State Universitys current number of four food-service locations that serve coffee is below average in comparison to other universities of similar size. The costs are greater in enlarging the Albertsons Library Starbucks instead of building a new coffee shop within the quad area. Of the four other buildings around the quad, the Business building experiences the largest volume of student traffic. We asked students which coffee establishment they would prefer and 93% chose Dutch Bros. We recommend constructing a Dutch Bros. coffee shop within the Business building at Boise State University. This would increase employee and customer satisfaction and provide additional income for both Boise State University and Aramark.
Keywords: Starbucks; Boise State University; Aramark; Albertsons Library; Business Building; Dutch Bros.; Einstein Bros.; expansion; new location; Concerned Caffeine Drinkers Group
Introduction
The Concerned Caffeine Drinkers Group observed the long lines and long wait at the Starbuck Coffee Shop in the Albertsons Library. The lack of student satisfaction when purchasing coffee drinks between classes is increasing. In the Spring of 2012, we received permission to research a way to improve the bottleneck at this location. We researched whether it would be better to expand the current Starbucks location or to build a new coffee shop in the quad area.
Boise State University has approximately twenty thousand students. Thousands of these students travel the quad to their various classes everyday, which makes it the busiest area on campus. For students who are rushing between classes, there is only one location in the immediate vicinity of the quad where they can purchase delectable beverages and fresh food -- the Starbucks in the Albertsons Library. A student can spend as long as fifteen minutes waiting for their order. With only ten to fifteen minutes between classes, this can cause students to be late for their classes or even disrupt classes currently in session.
Coffee is more than just a pick-me-up in the morning. There are several health benefits as well as academic benefits for students. According to a publication in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, coffee can help with proofreading (Brunyé). This improves students grades and skills. Coffee can help lower depression in women according to research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The research shows that women who drink two to three cups of coffee a day have a 15 percent lower risk, while women who drink four or more cups of coffee a day have a 20 percent lower risk (Chan 2). Dr. Albert Ascherio told Huffpost Healthy Living newspaper that drinking coffee could only be a positive thing. Coffee can also help fight cancer (4-5). Additionally, it can help fight against type 2 diabetes. The research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests, for every extra cup of coffee drank a day, a person's risk of Type 2 diabetes decreased by 7 percent (6).
All the employees interviewed at the campus Starbucks desired to leave their jobs within the next three months. When compared to only 16.5% at the off campus Starbucks. We can conclude that employee dissatisfaction is considerably higher at the on-campus Starbucks than at off-campus Starbucks locations. Our in-store interviews of students on campus showed that 77% of the current customers are dissatisfied with the customer service and 80% would be willing to purchase coffee at any new shop in the quad. Boise State Universitys current number of four food-service locations that serve coffee is below average in comparison to other universities of similar size. The cost of enlarging the Albertsons Library Starbucks is greater than the cost of building a new coffee shop within the quad area. Of the four other buildings around the quad, the Business building experiences the largest volume of student traffic. Additionally, the Business buildings entrance is located closer to the main sidewalk. We asked students which coffee establishment they would prefer and 93% chose Dutch Bros. We recommend constructing a Dutch Bros. coffee shop within the Business building at Boise State University.
We have provided, in the following sections, details about our research methods, the results of our research, the conclusion derived from the data, and our recommendation on how Boise State University should proceed.
Audience Analysis of Two Government Websites
The following is a memo of an audience analysis of two govenment websites for the class English 302 Technical Rhetoric.
MEMORANDUM
S
DATE: SEPTEMBER 12, 2011
