To: Corinne Shearer

From: Wen Qi Zhang

Date: April 23th, 2024

Subject: Project Proposal Group Assignment Reflection

Purpose: The purpose of this memo is to offer an overview of our group progress regarding assignment 3, “Project Proposal.”

Discussion:

On the first day of the assignment, my classmates and I were divided into multiple groups with 2 to 4 individuals per group and discussed our intended topic. My team members are Ahmed (Riya) and Mohammed, and we decided to research how to improve the public bike system. The idea was inspired when we reflected upon one of the major situations that our planet is experiencing: pollution. Pollution remains a significant problem, especially with the development of automobiles like cars, trucks, airplanes, etc, that produce greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels, which pollute the air we breathe and cause global warming and climate change. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, our idea revolves around promoting the usage of active vehicles like bicycles, which not only help decrease greenhouse gas emissions but also regulate the individual’s health. Although there are many benefits surrounding bicycles, not many will want to ride them because it is not as appealing compared to automobiles. Based on that, our solution in promoting public bikes was to install a point system for the public bike with rewards provided, which will incentivize people to ride more bicycles.

After we finalized the topic that we were going to do, we broke up the assignment into sections, which each of us was responsible for. My section included the method the solution that we came up with, the abstract summary, and the cover letter. Riya’s section included the anticipated results and title page, while Mohammad’s section included the conclusion and table of contents. Although we were responsible for our sections, we also helped out with each other whenever we needed to, but most of the time, we just focused on our own. I was grateful when Riya and Mohammad helped out with adding to the Method when I was stuck on how our point system was going to work. Thanks to their advice, I was able to roughly come up with an idea of how the point system is going to work. There were also times that I looked over my teammates’ sections and gave them my advice regarding what they wrote. For example, there was this one time that I looked over the conclusion that Mohammad wrote, and I noticed how short it was. Perhaps at the time, Mohammad was having trouble coming up with ideas, so I added some comments on the side to give him some inspiration. If there’s one thing that I learned from writing this assignment, it will be that working in a team is a lot faster and more effective than working alone. 

All of us are responsible for doing our research and writing two literature reviews on at least two scholarly articles. Each of us researched into different benefits of bicycles, as well as the connection between pollution to motorized vehicles and the effect of establishing a point system policy on the public. For me, I researched the latter two topics, while my other teammate focused on the benefits of bicycles. One thing that I struggled with the most was finding relevant articles, for there were so many to choose from. Given the quantity of the number of articles, I used the CCNY Library for the first time to find the articles I wanted. It was a new experience, for it was my first time using it, and I just learned how it works. Through the website, I found two articles that talk about the effect of gamification policy on public bikes. Since establishing a point system on public bikes can be considered a type of gamification policy, I figured it was a perfect article for my current situation. I also found a scholarly article recording the yearly pollution rate and the causes within the US; one of the causes is transportation, which occupies the largest percentile. 

Our Project Proposal was tailored to the Secretary of the US Department of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg because he is currently the manager responsible for the transportation sector within the entire US. Given that our proposal involves the Department of Transportation, we figure writing to Pete Buttigieg will be ideal for getting our intention across and having the power to create the change we need. To appeal to Pete Buttigieg with our writing, we try to be as professional as possible with our writing, but at the same time, highlight our concern for the environment and why our proposal will be a success and is necessary in hopes of getting his attention. 

One thing I struggled with the most in every writing assignment that I did was how to get started. There is nothing that terrifies me the most but a blank piece of paper because I don’t know where to begin or how my writing is going to turn out, which is why I often use a template as a model when I start drafting. Luckily, after some initial writing, it became much smoother to follow up. Throughout the writing process, I was constantly concerned about whether my writing was perfect or not, so I made many revisions. During the peer review, I observed what other group members did for their project proposals and noticed how detailed and organized some parts of their proposals looked, and I figured we could do something similar to ours, which we did. We also consider the other party’s advice during the peer review when doing our revision. I, for one, received great feedback regarding my Method section. For example, one of them mentions how the method I wrote contained some confusion regarding the currency exchange and how I should consider writing about our security measures regarding the possibility of our point system being taken advantage of. It was great advice, for, at the time, we didn’t consider those points when writing the methods, but now we were aware of what we were lacking.

Conclusion: 

Overall, the assignment taught me the importance and challenge of working as a team. If I were to work on the Project Proposal alone, then I might not have been able to finish it on time. Having someone to work with not only improves efficiency but also allows me to realize certain ideas that I might have never considered or known before. One of the struggles that I encountered when writing this assignment was how to start my draft. In the beginning, it’s hard to get ideas out on paper when you don’t know whether those ideas will meet the requirements and the word limit. Over time, I learned that I shouldn’t be bothered by my concerns and just start writing what’s on my mind and worrying about what happens later. Surprisingly, looking back at this moment, I really enjoyed the process of writing my project proposal with my team members.