TrudyE.

Jones
AlbuquerqueBernalilloCounty
WaterUtilityAuthority
P.O.Box1293
Albuquerque,NM87103
azizachavez@cabq.gov

April29,2016

DearTrudyJones,

AsitregardstherequestoftheAlbuquerqueWaterUtilityAuthoritytoanalyzetheefficacyofits
publicrelationsinitiativesIamsubmittingtoyoumyreport,whichexploresthedegreeof
awarenessregardingwaterqualityinAlbuquerqueonthepartofstudentsattheUniversityof
NewMexico.ThegoalofmyfirmPublicRelationsAnalysisInc.is,andalwayshasbeen,to
presentthefactsaswefindthem.Thisreportshowsthat:

1) PublicawarenessamongcollegestudentsattheUniversityofNewregardingwater
qualityislacking.
2) MoststudentsknowthatinformationregardingAlbuquerqueswaterqualityisavailable,
buthasnotbeenmadedirectlyavailabletothem.

Duringthecourseofthisstudycollegestudentswereinterviewedandsurveyedwithpointed
questionsdesignedtoenableanassessmentoftheawarenessofthestudentsabouttheirwater
qualityingeneral.Dialoguefromtheinterviewsanddatafromthesurveysarecompiledinthe
resultssectionofthereport,followedbyashortdiscussionandaconclusionbasedonour
findings.

Sincerely,

JonathanP.Gordon
DirectorofResearchandReporting
PublicRelationsAnalysisInc.
1021StanfordAveNE
Albuquerque,NM87106

PublicAwarenessofWaterQualityAmongCollegeStudentsatThe
UniversityofNewMexico
JonathanP.Gordon

Introduction
:
In thehighdesertsof NewMexico (NM),where water isscarce,waterquality

is important. Albuquerque, the most populated city in the state, requires large amounts of
water inordertokeep itscitizens hydrated, anditisthe jobof theAlbuquerqueWaterUtility
Authority (AWUA) to maintain its quality. Tasked with assessing public awareness of water
quality at the Universityof NewMexico (UNM) bytheAWUA,and considering theimportance
of water as abasichuman need,therecentspill attheGoldKingMine,andthejetfuelleaksat
KirklandAirForcebase,IwasinterestedtofindouthowmuchstudentsattheuniversityofNew
Mexico knowabout thequality oftheirdrinkingwater.Initially,I myselfknewverylittleabout
the subject, and it was this lack of knowledge which led to my working hypothesis: that
students at UNM are, for the most part, unaware ofthequalityof their water
. Asubsequent
survey of 50 students was conducted to test this hypothesis. In formulating my survey
questions, I decided to focus on arsenic as a model contaminant because I felt that most
students would be aware of itstoxic nature,andtheknowledgeof one,serious,contaminant
couldlikelyberepresentativeofonesoverallknowledgeofwaterqualityingeneral.Theresults
were not surprising. The vast majority of studentssaidtheydid notknow thesource, northe
levels of arsenic present in their tap water. The majority of students did, however, say they
knew where to find that information. Personal interviews on the subject also supported the
findings of the survey. These results suggest a serious gap inthetransmissionofinformation
from the AWUA to the student population, and in all likelihood the general population of
Albuquerque.Thisconclusion, coupled with literature researchon the topicpromptedmyfinal
recommendationto the AWUA: that moreneedstobe done toensurethat thepublicisaware
of, andunderstands,theinformationpresented tothem regardingthequalityoftheirdrinking
water, and that such information is presented to them more often, through various media
outlets,andinamannerconducivetothescientificliteracyofthepopulation.

Methods
:

Primary Research
: Primaryresearch in theformofinterviewsandsurveyswereconductedin
person at the UNM Student Union Building (SUB) in order to assess the level of awareness
about water quality among the student population. Note the qualitative (interviews) and
quantitative (surveys)nature of the primary research. Inthe survey 50 studentswereselected
atrandomandaskedthefollowingquestions:

1) Doyouknowthesourceofyourtapwater?
2) DoyouknowhowmuchArsenicisinyourtapwater?

3) Doyouknowwheretofindthisinformation?

Datawascompiledbasedonthesurveyquestions,andwere specificallydesignedtoelicitayes
ornoresponse tosimplify theanalysis.Thepercentageofstudents,outofthe50totalstudents
surveyed, who answered yes to one questionwas compared with thepercentage ofstudents
who answerednotothesamequestionforeachrespectivequestioninabargraphproducedin
MicrosoftExcel(Fig.1).

To gather qualitative data about students awareness and knowledge of the issue two
interviews were conducted. One of these interviews was with a singlestudentand theother
was with a group of two students all of whom are researchers from the electrochemical
engineering research lab headed by Professor Plamen Atanassov at UNM. I began each
interview byintroducingthe topicand asking thesamequestionsaswereasked in thesurvey,
followedbya short discussionand an overviewof thefindings of the study.Ithenaskedthem
thefollowingquestions:

1) Howwouldyoufeelifyouknewyouweredrinkingwatercontaminatedwitharsenic?
2) Have you ever been presented with information about the quality of the water in
Albuquerque?

Pleaseseetheresultssectionfordataobtainedfromsurveysinterviews
.

Secondary Research:
Secondary research was conducted in the form of a brief literature
review on directly related topics. All academic sources cited in this report were obtained
through the UNM librarys internetresourceswebsite
in conjunction withgooglescholar.
Due
to thevastquantityofrelated articles availablethrough thesesources,Idecided to searchfor
thatwould serve toinformthe readerofthetoxicityof arsenic,aswell as illustratetheroleof
thepublicawarenessintheevolutionofwaterqualityandthepoliciessurroundingit.

Theresultsofthesecondaryresearcharedetailedintheresultssection.

Results
:

SecondaryResearch(literaturereview)
:
A 2009reviewpublished in the
AnnualReviewofPublicHealth,titledHealthEffectsofArsenic
and Chromium in Drinking Water: Recent Human Findings illustrates, in rigorous scientific
detail, the fact that arsenic in the water is bad for humanhealth. Thereview cites numerous
studies whichaddressthe associationbetween high levels of arsenicinthedrinkingwaterand
incidences of a wide range of health effects such as infant mortality, cognitive and physical
[1]
impairment, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and skin lesions
. A similarly related publication
[2]
Health Implications of Arsenic in Drinking Water presents more general information
regarding thehealtheffectsofarsenic exposure. Accordingtothesame review,arsenic is also
presentinfood andinthe air. Maximum ContaminantLevels(MCL) aresetbytheEPAandthe
World Health Organization(WHO), andthe authors ofthe above mentionedreviewarguethat
more research needs to be conducted for the MCL to protect public health as much as

[2]
possible
. The authors of Public Understanding of Participation in Regulatory
DecisionMaking: The Case of Bottled Water Quality Standards in India Conducted a study
similar to this one. The authors surveyed 97 people in India to assess their level of
[3]
understandingaboutacertificationstamponbottledwaterandfoundthat
:

Trustinstandardsappearstodependonlocalknowledge,exposuretomassmediaandthe
varioussocioeconomicparameters,besidesawareness

(481).

Finally, an article titled Role of Public Awareness in Groundwater Protection examines

instancesinwhich thetechnicalabilityofacommunitytochangeitswastedumpingpracticesin
ordertoprotecttheirwaterqualitywas thwartedbythelackofcontributiononthepartofthe
local authorities.The authorsuggeststhat people dontthinksomethingisa problemunlessit
directly affects them, but points out how these types of problems can be overcome through
[4]
increasedmediacoverageandeducationoftheissues
.

Primary Quantitative (survey):

74%ofstudentssurveyeddidnotknowwheretheirtapwater
came from,another88% ofthosesamestudents didnotknow howmucharsenicifanywasin
theirtapwater.However,56%ofstudentssaidtheyknewwheretofindthisinformation.

Figure 1: A survey of 50 students was conducted at the University of NewMexico to assess the level of awareness of water quality in
Albuquerque.Studentswereaskedtorespondyesornotothequestionsdepictedinthefigure.

PrimaryQualitative(interviews):

The following is the edited transcript of my interview with Rohan Gokhale, a post doctoral
StudentinthedepartmentChemicalandBiologicalEngineering.

Me
:Doyouknowwhatthesourceofyourtapwateris?
Rohan
:ImnotreallysurebutIthinktheRioGranderiver.

Me
:Yeah,Yeah,someofitcomesfromtheRioGrandeandsomeofitcomesfromwells
Me
:Doyouknowhowmucharsenicisinyourtapwater?
Rohan
:IassumedIdidntdrinkanyarsenic
Me
:Doyouknowwheretofindthatsortofinformationifyouwantedtoknow?
Rohan: No, No I dont know actually. Maybe the department of water management or
something.
Me
: How would it makeyoufeel toknowthatyoumightbedrinkingwatercontaminatedwith
arsenic
Rohan
:Yeah,thatwouldbereallyscary
Me
:Doyouknowhowtoxicarsenicis?
Rohan
:Yeahtheyused arsenic tokillNapoleon.Theyputarsenicinthepaintonhiswallssohe
graduallydied.

The following istheeditedtranscriptofmyinterviewwithAshleyMaesapostdoctoralstudent,

and Sarah Blair an undergraduate student in the department of Chemical and Biological
Engineering.

Me
:SoImwritingapaperaboutarsenicinthewater.
Ashley
:Istherearsenicinthewater?
Me
:Yeah,morespecificallyitsabouthowmuchpeopleknowaboutwaterqualityhere.
Sarah
:obviouslynothing
Me
:Doeitherofyouknowthesourceofourwater?
Ashley
:ItsfromtherivertheRioGranderiver.
Me
:Yeah,yeahsomeofitcomesfromtheriverandsomeofitcomesfromwells
Me
:Howwouldyoufeelifyouknewyouweredrinkingwatercontaminatedwitharsenic?
Ashley
:Iwouldwanttoknowatwhatlevel,andhowoftenitsmonitored.
Me
: FromwhatIunderstandthe maximum contaminantlevelis10partsperbillion,andinthe
last studyin2014the water utility authoritymeasuredashighas8partsperbillion.Ithinkthey
dothosestudiesevery4years.
Ashley
:What?
Me
: How often are you guys presented with or doyoueverreceive information about water
quality
Ashley
:No
Sarah
:No

Limitations:
Arsenic was used as a model contaminant to assess understanding of water
quality in general. Only studentsatUNMweresurveyedorinterviewed.Onlystudentspresent
at the UNMSUB participated in the survey. The students surveyed were not asked whether
theywerefromAlbuquerque.

Discussion:
The resultsfromboth thepersonal interviewsaswellasthesurveyssupportthe
notion that UNM students are generally unaware of the quality of their water. For example,
88%ofstudentssurveyeddidnotknowthattherewasarsenicpresentintheirtapwater.These
findings support my original hypothesisthat students at UNM are largely unaware of the
quality oftheirwater.Theresultsofthepresentstudyalsosuggestthatthereisnorelationship

between an individuals level of education and their knowledge of water quality in

Albuquerque. This is evident by the fact that the vast majority of the largely undergraduate
populationsurveyedattheUNMSUBknewjustaslittleaboutthearseniclevelspresentintheir
tap water as the postdoctoral students interviewed in the Department of Chemical and
Biological Engineering.Infact,100%ofpostdoctoralstudentsansweredthattheydidnotknow
thattherewas arsenicpresentintheirtap water. This wouldsuggestthatthe more education
anindividual receivesthe lessthey knowabout their water qualitybutonlytwopostdoctoral
students were interviewed, so the population size of the study is not adequate to provide
meaningful statistics about the correlation between the level of education an individual
receives and their knowledge of the local water quality; it was not the goal of this study to
makesuch a correlation,and I point outthesefindingsmerelytogive insightintothedepthof
theissuessurroundingthebroadertopicofpublicawarenessregardingnaturalresources.

Although we do not know for sure, based on the data presented in this report, whether the
relationship betweenanindividuals levelofeducationandtheirawarenessofwaterqualityisa
linearone,we cansee thateven educated individualssuchasthestudentswhoparticipatedin
this study are highly likelytobe unaware ofthe qualityofsuchabasic humanneedaswater.
Also,furtherstudies similar to thisonewouldprovideamorecomprehensiveunderstandingof
thelevel ofawarenessofAlbuquerquewaterqualityanditwouldbeinterestingtoseewhether
education,in general,isa contributing factoratall.However,havinggrownupinAlbuquerque,
and having witnessed the level of poverty that many of its citizenslive in, I wouldguess that
theirawareness of the local water qualityandwheretofindinformationinregardstoit,would
likely be even less than the already minimal knowledge possessed by the educated
populationofstudentsatUNM.

Most ofthestudents I spokewith were shockedwhenI toldthem that theremight beeven a

smalltrace ofarsenicintheirdrinkingwater.WhatIfoundconsistentthroughoutthestudywas
the participants desire to know more about the topic, which helps to illustrate an important
[3],[4]
finding of this project, both from the literature
andtheprimaryresearchthat the public,
although curious, does not receive enough information concerning water quality in
Albuquerque. To that end, it is interesting to note that, although roughly 60% of students
surveyedsaidtheyknewwheretofindinformationregardingthewaterqualityinAlbuquerque,
their actual knowledge of the issue (88% were unaware of arsenic contamination) did not
reflect adesireto researchthe issue.This suggestsa lackofeffort onthepartoftheAWUAto
advertisethesignificance ofthe issueandthis finding is furthersupportedbythefactthattwo
of the students interviewed (Sarah Blair and Ashley
Maes) said they had never received information
regarding thequality ofAlbuquerquetapwaterletalone
information regarding the significance of the issue.
Perhaps this lack of information distribution regarding
arsenic contamination in Albuquerque tap water onthe
part of the AWUA suggests that the AWUA does not
consider the issuetobeimportant.However, thehealth
effects of continuous low level arsenic exposure are
important, as is evident in the scientific literature

[2]
surrounding the issue
. More research regarding the health effects of low level arsenic
exposure, because there is not yet sufficient data to ascribe a minimum acceptable
contaminant level for arsenic in drinking water, even though the EPA and theWHOhaveset
[2]
standards which local water authorities must abide by
however arbitrary they may be; the
currentMCLforarsenicis10partsperbillion.

Conclusion: Based on theresearchpresented in thispaper,itismyopinionthatmoreneeds

to be done notonly to informAlbuquerqueresidentsoftheirwaterquality but alsoto inform
them ofthepossiblehealtheffectsthatthelevelofvariouscontaminantsdetectedcouldcause,
because, although people may know that information regarding a particular subject (such as
water quality) exists, if they do not know that they should be concerned or awareofitasit
pertainstotheirhealthforexamplethentheyhavenoreasontoinvestigate.

It is also extremelyimportantthatclinicalstudiesbeperformedastheypertaintotheingestion
of the tap water inAlbuquerque, in order to determine if,infact,the levels of contamination
reported by the AWUA are safe for human consumption. Such studies would require the
participationoftheAWUAaswellasphysiciansandhospitalsintheAlbuquerquearea.

Additionally, the findings of this studythat eveneducatedindividuals are unawareofarsenic

contamination in their waterappears to warrant additional research into the level of
awareness on the part of the entire Albuquerque population. This data would allow my
companyto make moredetailedrecommendationstothe AWUA regardingitspublic relations
policies.


WorksCited

[1]SmithA,SteinmausC.HealthEffectsofArsenicandChromiuminDrinkingWater:Recent

HumanFindings.
AnnualReviewofPublicHealth(2009):30,107122.Web.

[2]PontiusF,BrownK.HealthImplicationsofArsenicinDrinkingWater.
AmericanWater

WorksAssociation
(1994):86,9,5263.Web.

[3]BhaduriS,SharmaA.PublicUnderstandingofParticipationinRegulatoryDecisionMaking:

TheCaseStudyofBottledWaterQualityStandardsinIndia.
PublicUnderstandingof

Science
(2014)23(4)474488.Web.

[4]EkmeckiM,GnayG.RoleofPublicAwarenessinGroundwaterProtection.
Environmental

Geology
(1997)30,8187.Web.

[5]
HenrichN,HolmesB,PrystajeckyN.LookingUpstream:FindingsfromFocusGroupson

PublicPerceptionsofSourceWaterQualityinBritishColumbia,Canada.PLoSONE

(2015)10(11):e0141533.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0141533

[6]SivapalanM,BlschlG.TimeScaleInteractionsandtheCoevolutionofHumansand

Water.
WaterResourcesResearch
(2015)51,69887022.Web.

doi;10.1002/2015WR017896

Reflection:

FromtheverybeginningImadethisprojectharderthanitneededtobeinseveralways.
Forexample,IdidntputmucheffortintochoosingatopicandjustchosesomethingthatI
thoughtwasinterestingwithoutlookingattherequirementsoftheresearchsection.Iwanted
towriteaboutthewastewaterspillattheGoldKingmineinColoradothatpollutedtheAnimas
river,whichalsostretchesintoNewMexico,andIwantedtoactuallytestthewater.However,
thatwasbeyondthescopeofthisproject.

Ialsoprocrastinatedtremendously.Forexample,Ididntstartwritingthereportuntil
thedayitwasdue.Idid,however,haveallmydata,i.e.,surveysandinterviews,readyandI
managedtowritethereportandmakeawebsiteforsubmissionbythedeadline.Ilearneda
valuablelessonduringtheprocessofwritingthisreport,onethatIhavelearnedmanytimes
beforeandmanagedtoscathebywithoututilizinguntilrecently,andthatis,simply,notto
procrastinate.Procrastinationplaceswaytoomuchstressonaperson,suchasmyself,to
performatanintensepaceforextendedperiodsoftime,whichultimatelylowersthequalityof
thefinalproduct.Afterhavingsaidthat,Iwouldaddthatpushingdeadlinestothelimitis
thrillingandperhapsthatistheincentiveIneedtogetthingsdone.Regardless,itisdangerous
formetogambleinsuchawayonimportantassignments,andIneedtolearntositdownand
workonassignmentslikethesesooner,ratherthantryingwritethewholethinghoursbefore
thedeadline.

Ilearnedalotfromthisprojectthough.Specifically,Ilearnedthattherearequitehigh
levelsofarsenicinthedrinkingwaterhereinAlbuquerque,whichissomethingIneverknew
evenafterhavinglivedheremywholelife.Iwasalsointerestedtolearnmoreabouttherole
thatpublicunderstandingofscienceplaysintheprotectionofourbasichumanneedssuchas
foodandwater.Forexample,havingtheknowledgethatIknowhaveconcerningthequalityof
thewaterhere,Iammoreinclinedtospeakabouttheissue,andifIhadmoretimeonmy
handsIwouldprobablywriteletterstotheAWUAaboutmyconcerns.Othersmightfeelthe
samewayiftheywereinformedabouttheirwaterquality,butastheresultsofthisresearch
show:moststudentsatUNMarenot,anditislikelythatthemajorityofAlbuquerqueresidents
arenteither.Wearemoreofteninformedaboutadvancesintechnologyliketelevisionsand
mobilephonesthanweareaboutthetechnologyandpolicygoverningthingswhichareso
muchmoreessentialtoourlives,suchasfoodandwateraswasexplainedinoneofthe
researcharticlesIcitedinthisreport(PublicUnderstandingofParticipationinRegulatory
DecisionMaking:TheCaseofBottledWaterQualityStandardsinIndia).Ifindthistobea
fascinatingproblem.Somethingreallydoesneedtobedoneaboutpresentinginformationto
thepublicaboutissueswhichaffectthem,suchastheirlocalwaterquality.

Ireallyfeelgoodaboutthisresearchproject,regardlessofhowmuchIprocrastinated,
becauseIactuallyfeelthatIwaspursuingsocialjusticebyreportingontheissueofmylocal
waterqualityandthepublicawarenesspertainingtoit.

Ialsobelievethatthisexercisehasgivenmearenewedperspectiveonmyownresearch
practices.IrecognizethatthereisnowayformetobesuccessfulasascientistifIprocrastinate
untilthedeadlinetowritethepaper.Havingtheopportunitytowritethisresearchpaperhas
beenextremelyhelpfulinpointingoutmyflawsasawriterintermsofmytimemanagement.I
nowknowwhatIneedtoworkon,andthatisavaluablelessontohavelearned.

StudentLearningOutcomes

1. AnalyzetheRhetoricalSituation

Subject:
Thesubjectofthisreportiswaterqualityawarenessamongcollegestudentsat
UNM.ThetitleofthisreportPublicAwarenessofWaterQualityAmong
CollegeStudentsatTheUniversityofNewMexicowasconstructedinsucha
wayastomakethesubjectofthereportobvioustothereader.Ichosethis
topicbecauseIthoughtitwouldbeinterestingbecauseitpertainsto
chemistry,

whichIstudy,andalsopublicawarenessofimportantissues,whichIamthink

islacking.Togethertheyconstitutedanintellectuallycaptivatingtopicfor

research.

Purpose:
Thepurposeofthisreportistoevaluatequantitativelyandqualitativelythe
levelofawarenesspossessedbycollegestudentsatUNMregardingthequality
oftheirtapwaterthroughsurveysandinterviewsrespectively.Arsenicwas
chosenasamodelcontaminanttoeliminatevariabilityassociatedwiththeuse
ofvagueterminologysuchascontamination.InotherwordsIdidntwantto
askstudentsdoyouknowhowcontaminatedyourtapwateris?,becausethe
obviousanswertothatquestioniscontaminatedwithwhat.Rather,I
wanted
yesornoanswersthatIcouldquantifyandpresentgraphically,andthatis
exactlywhathappened(seeFig.1.intheresultssectionofthisreport).

Audience:
TheintendedaudienceofthisreportistheAlbuquerqueWaterUtility
Authority(AWUA).Thisisevidentthroughoutthereportandespecially
obviousifonereadsthecoverletter.SaidcoverletterisaddressedtoTrudy
JonesthechairoftheAWUAGoverningBoard.Also,thebeginningofthe
coverletterreads:
DearTrudyJones,asitregardstherequestofthe
AlbuquerqueWaterUtilityAuthoritytoanalyzetheefficacyofitspublic
relationsinitiativesIamsubmittingtoyoumyreport.Theprevioussentence
clearlyillustrateswhotheintendedaudienceofthereportis.

ConstraintsoftheAnalyticalReportGenre:
Writinginthisgenrerequires,firstofall,
theuseofthescientificmethodaswellasanunbiasedanalysisofthedatacollectedfor
thepurposeoftestingahypothesis.Forexample,inthisreportmyhypothesiswas:

studentsatUNMare,forthemostpart,unawareofthequalityoftheirwater.Itested
thishypothesisbyconductingpointedsurveysandinterviews(seethemethodssection
ofthisreportforspecificdetails)tofindoutifstudentsknewthattherewasarsenicin
theirtapwater,andaswaspointedoutinthePurposesectionofthisreflection
(above)Ichosemysurveyquestionsspecificallytoobtainanunambiguousresponse,
whichIcouldquantify.Additionally,thisgenreiswelladheredtothroughtheuseofa
particularstructure.TheacronymforsaidstructureisIMRaD,whichstandsfor;
introduction,methods,results,anddiscussion,allofwhichareincludedinthebodyof
thisreport.Sotoaremultipleothersubandmainsections,suchasthelimitationsand
conclusions,andaswellassubheadingsdesignatingvariouspartsoftheresearch
methodsandresults.Thatbeingsaid,itshouldbeclearthatIwas,andam,aware,and
havedemonstrated,throughthecontentofthisreport,anunderstandingofthe
constraintsoftheanalyticalreportgenre.

2.

FindandEvaluateInformation

Ifoundinformationinvariouswaysduringthecourseofresearchingandwritingthis
report.Forexample,Igatheredbackgroundinformationregardingthequalityofthetapwater
inAlbuquerquethroughtheAWUAwebsite.Indoingso,Inoticedthatthearseniclevelswere
quitehighinsomeareasofthecity;infact,therewereareaswherethemeasuredlevelsof
arsenicborderedonthemaximumallowablecontaminantlevels.Thisevaluationofthe
informationIfoundhelpedmedevelopmyspecificresearchtopic(whichatthispointIdonot
feeltheneedtorepeat).FromthesamewebsiteIfoundasuitableaudiencetowhomIwould
addressthereport(TrudyJones)anotherexampleofhowIfoundandanalyzedinformation.
Additionally,Igatheredpeerreviewedsourcesontwodistincttopics,(e.g.,thehealtheffects
ofarsenicexposureandpublicawarenessofwaterquality)usingUNMslibraryresources,
whichIusedtobuildmycredibility,andtoinformmyself,andmyaudience,aboutthetopicto
adegreewhichmyprimaryresearchcouldnot,i.e.,myprimaryresearch(surveysand
interviews)donotinformmyaudienceaboutthehealtheffectsofarsenic,whereasmypeer
reviewedsourcesdo.Myprimaryresearch,andanalysisofit,isyetanotherexampleofthe
waysinwhichIfoundandevaluatedinformationforthepurposesofwritingthisreport.For
example,IfoundmyinformationbyconductingsurveysandinterviewsandIevaluatedthat
informationbyquantifying(surveys)andinterpreting(interviews)theresults.

3.

ComposeDocuments

ThisreportwasgeneratedandorganizedbasedontheIMRaDstructure(seethe
constraintsoftheanalyticalreportgenresubsection(above)fordetailsregardingtheIMRaD
structure),whichwaspertinenttotheanalyticalreportgenre.However,Idemonstratedmy
abilitytodevelopstrategiesfororganizingthecontentsofthisreportbyincludingadditional
sectionsandsubsectionsasIsawfit,andwheninstructedtodoso,e.g.,BreannePotters
suggestiontoincludealimitationssection.Theseadditionalsectionthelimitationssectionin
particularallowedmetodevelopinformationthatIwasabletodrawuponlaterinthereport
withoutprovidingexplanationswhichwouldhavecrowdedaparticularsection.Forexample,I
didnotwanttoexplainthatonlycollegestudentsweresurveyedandinterviewedinthe

conclusionsection,ratherIwantedtogivepointedsuggestionsknowingthatmyaudiencewas
alreadyawareofthisfact.Asitpertainstothecollaborativeaspectofdocumentcomposition
thepreviousexamples(i.e.,incorporatingsuggestionsfromfeedback),aswellasthefactthatI
surveyedfiftystudentsandinterviewedthree,isevidencethatIwasabletoworkeffectively
withothersforthepurposesofwritingthisreport.Basedontheevidencepresentedabove,it
shouldbeclearthatIthoughtfully,andwithskill,composedthedocument,whichisthesubject
ofthisreflection.

4.PresentDocuments

Ifonecomparestheeditedandrevisedversionofthisreporttogetherwithitsedited
andrevisedfrontandbackmatter,i.e.,itscoverletter,workscitedpage,aswellasthis
reflection(whichnowincludesandextensivestudentlearningoutcomessection),tothe
previousversion,itshouldbequiteclearthatIhavemetthecriteriaregardingeditingand
revisingmywritingtoprovideunambiguousmeaningandcoherentstructure(course
syllabus,2),asitpertainstoStudentLearningOutcome4(SLO4),becausethatwasthepurpose
ofeditingandrevisingthisreport.InregardstotherequirementofSLO4thatIintegratevisuals
toaidintheunderstandingoftheinformationcontainedinthisreport,aswellastheprevious
requirement(editingandrevising)Ihaveincorporatedbothanadditionalimagewhichserves
asavisualargument(seeFig.2ofthisreport)andupdatedandrevisedversionsofprevious
visuals,e.g.,thebargraphandAWUAlogo,toenhancereadabilityandvisualappeal.These
examplesalsospeaktothedegreewithwhichIenhancedtheoveralldesignanddemonstrated
professionalism,insomuchasenhancedaestheticscanconveysuchathing,whichtheycan,
anddointhisreport.Ananalogy,expressesmypreviouspointwellonewouldnothostaparty
inamessyhouse,ratheronewouldenhancetheappearanceoftheirhometoconvey
professionalism.Inthatsensethefirstdraftofthisreportwasaverymessyhouse;ahousein
whichIwouldnothostaparty.Nowitscleaner,bigger,andfilledwithnicethings,andasa
result,looksmoreprofessional.Iwouldtotallythrowapartyinitifitwereahouse.

5.ComposeinVariousModes

ForthepurposesofthisanalyticalreportIincludedabargraph,whichIcomposedin
MicrosoftExcel.Ialsocreatedashortpowerpointandpresentedthefindingsofthisreport
orallyinadditiontoincludingavisualargument(Fig.2);thesealternativemethodsof
compositiondemonstratesmyabilitytocommunicateinformationbeyondthatofthewritten
text,whichpervadesthereport.Ishouldpointoutthatalthoughthereportitselfisaddressed
toTrudyJones,thepowerpointpresentationwasdevelopedforthepurposesofpresentingthe
reporttomypeers.Indoingso,IdemonstratedthatIwasabletochoosemymethodof
communicationeffectivelybasedonmyparticularaudience.