I’m Stephen Josey, a psychology and professional writing student.
Over the past four years, I’ve been enrolled in college courses which have prepared me to embark on a career in science and writing. Please take a moment to review my works which range from psychology research essays to visually-appealing backgrounder reports.
A selection of my previous work
I have experience with
The Backgrounder
Francis Marion University
Business Writing
2021
This Backgrounder was generated for Sophie’s Soap’s–a traditional brick and mortar company moving into the world of E-Commerce. The company was struggling to understand the E-Commerce market, specifically worrying about the different platforms for an online E-Commerce store. The role I performed was to generate a report to highlight the differences among the top three E-Commerce platforms to allow Sophie’s Soaps to gain a better understanding of the available E-Commerce platforms for their store.
The first step in creating the Backgrounder was research focusing on the different types of E-Commerce storefronts. The research spanned from the official websites of the E-Commerce platforms to taking reviews from users of the platforms.
After research was completed, the data was reviewed and compared. The information was then designed into a visually-appealing and easy to understand Backgrounder.
When the Backgrounder was delivered, Sophie’s Soaps was able to learn details about the various E-Commerce platforms, allowing the company to make a decision on which platform would be best suited for their company.
Perfectionism (a short story)
Francis Marion University
Creative Writing Non-Fiction
2020
Perfectionism was written as one of the three primary non-fiction stories I shared with my classmates. As a part of the course, we were required to share our stories with the class. After the first round of stories, I was upset with the number of sad, upsetting stories my classmates shared. In response, I decided to compose my next story with a bit of humor and excitement to bring some uplifting content to the class.
When I sat down to compose the rough draft of the story, I thought back to a moment in my life that was intriguing and humorous. After some time in retrospection, I decided to recreate the story of my world record attempt. I began focusing on many of the elements of short story writing–the imagery, narration, and the rhetorical situation. Using these elements, I created an oultine of the story, frequently asking myself if I was doing an appropriate job at relaying a story to a general audience.
After the rough draft was complete, I used feedback from my peers to enhance certain pieces of the story to complete a final draft.
When the day came to share our stories with my classmates, I’m proud to relay that all of my peers thoroughly enjoyed the story with smiles and laughs.
The Employee Self-Evaluation Report
Francis Marion University
Business Writing
2021
Much like my classmates, my full-time student schedule was surrounded with innumerable assignments and assessments. With five classes in the semester, it was difficult to keep track of the assignments for each class, and it was typical to forget some of the information I learned at the beginning of the semester. To combat this potential forgetfulness, the Employee Self-Evaluation Report outlines the numerous new skills I acquired during the semester under the instruction of Professor Clemons.
To begin the process of outlining my new skills, I reviewed all of the work I had submitted in the previous months, specifically noting which assignments contained material which required skills I had acquired in Business Writing.
After collecting all of my new skills, I organized each into its own section within a memorandum, elaborating and reflecting on how the skills were developed over the course of the semester.
Alongside the recognition for the need for continuation of education, this report allowed me to review all of my newly-acquired skills in preparation for future courses and a career in business.
RFP for Lemon Squeezer
Francis Marion University
Technical Communications
2020
Stephen Josey Industries recently created a new device: The Lemon Squeezer. Stephen Josey Industries was excited for the new product, but they needed to locate a manufacturing company to mass create their product. To locate a manufacturer, I created a detailed and illustrated RFP on behalf of Stephen Josey Industries to inform and attract potential manufacturing companies.
This document required several key skills, including technical descriptions, technical drawing, and research. When studying the product, I made notes of the different features and lengths of the product. I used these descriptions to write a technical description of the product which included a table with a list of parts, dimensions of parts, and additional specifications.
Using this technical description, alongside having the physical product nearby, I used Adobe Photoshop to create a technical drawing of the product.
During the process of these two events, I researched the names of different parts of the product to ensure I was providing manufacturers with the proper, technical terminology.
Once the project was complete, “Stephen Josey Industries” was able to provide manufacturers with an RFP containing all of the appropriate and required technical information.
The Biological Bases of Alzheimer's Disease Research Paper
Francis Marion University
Brain & Behavior
2021
Many individuals have heard of Alzheimer’s disease, but few know the incredible impact it has on our society or how the disease progresses after its onset. The Biological Bases of Alzheimer’s Disease focuses on delivering the impact and causes of Alzheimer’s disease in a detailed, yet understandable language for a general audience.
The project began with an extensive amount of scientific research using several academic databases. Once the sources were located, software was used to keep each source organized with notes.
After the sources were collected and studied, I made the decision to focus on three biologically-based features of Alzheimer’s disease. An APA-style outline of the paper was created to allow for better organization.
After receiving feedback for the outline and references from the professor, a rough draft of the paper was created.
After revision of the rough draft, a final draft was created in APA 7 style formatting and submitted to the FMU Psychology Department.
This research paper allowed for two areas of development: it allowed me to develop my APA 7 skills, and it granted me an opportunity to participate in the research of understanding Alzheimer’s disease.
While the research benefited my personal growth, my development was not the intentional gal of this research; this paper may be distributed to the general public so they may have the chance to understand Alzheimer’s disease in scientific and comprehensible format.
