Changing How the World Works.
 
 
  • Feedback:   (4.98 of 5)
  • Percentile: 68%
    Based on 5 feedbacks
Hourly Rate: $18.00
Total oDesk hours:
226
Location:
Manila, Philippines (GMT+08:00)
English Skills: (self-assessed)
5.0
Member Since:
February 7, 2008
Last Worked:
November 19, 2008
Current Assignments:
5
Total Assignments:
11
oDesk Ready:  
Yes
 
 
 
 

Mark Aragona - Expert Creative Writer, Web QA Specialist, and Voice-Over Artist - Freelance Technical Writer, Philippines

As a writer: To provide my buyers with the best written content I can possibly create with my skills and 8 years experience of writing professionally for fiction, articles, and TV shows. My skill is meant for the world, and I will see it used to the greater good.   As a QA Specialist: To provide the highest quality of service I can provide as a tester, given my 6 years of experience in Software Quality assurance and to put my knowledge of Silktest, SQL, javascript, HTML, functional...
See All Work History & Feedback (11 items, 5 with Feedback)
Recent Work History & Feedback
Buyer ID From/To Job Title Paid Feedback
42846 08/2008 - Present Entertainment Writing / Ghost Writing $667 (32 hrs @ $14.44)
63333 11/2008 - Present Content Writer for Speech site $16 (fixed-price)
28480 02/2008 - Present Organized writer for ongoing blog promotion $1,283 (116 hrs @ $11.11)
61192 11/2008 - Present Study Guides for Teleseminar $313 (21 hrs @ $15.00)
61192 10/2008 - 11/2008 Study Guides / User Manuals $383 (fixed-price)
See All Tests Taken (4 items)
oDesk Tests Taken
Name of Test Score Percentile Date Taken Duration
English Test (Sentence Structure) 5.00 99% TOP 10% 1st Place! 04/07/2008 10 min
Editing Skills Certification 4.50 98% TOP 10% 02/08/2008 13 min
Creative Writing Certification 3.75 91% TOP 10% 08/01/2008 17 min
Software Testing Test 3.00 81% TOP 20% 02/07/2008 27 min
Recent Candidacies
Job Opening Title Initiated By Date
The strange job story Provider November 21, 2008
Article Writer Provider November 21, 2008
Native English Technical Writer Provider November 20, 2008
Creative and Motivational Writer Needed Now! Provider November 20, 2008
Review Websites Provider November 14, 2008
Online marketing for career network Provider November 3, 2008
Write and post news for website Provider October 30, 2008
Creative/Screenwriter Provider October 27, 2008
Content Writers for Ongoing Work Provider October 21, 2008
Corporate Launch of new Website service and B2B concept Provider October 14, 2008
Job Category Interests

Web Development

Software Development

Writing
Skills
Skill Experience Level Last Used Description
Article Writing (English) 8 yrs 5.0 2008 Mega Magazine

Role: Contributor

Wrote reviews on music, films and articles on travel.
Interviewed author Neil Gaiman and jazz artist Julia Fordham.

Manual Magazine

Role: Contributor

Wrote two in-depth articles on video gaming and films.
Critical reviews 7 yrs 5.0 2006

Creating reviews for music, games, and films for Mega magazine, Manual Magazine, and for game reviews. Please see my profile for examples of my work. 
Microsoft Excel 2003 5 yrs 4.0 2008
Microsoft Word 2003 6 yrs 5.0 2008
Silktest testcase creation 3 yrs 4.0 2007 http://www.thomson.com/solutions/legal/
Thomson-West 
This is a web-based knowledge database for the Thomson-West law firm, allowing users easy access to specific cases and their histories and bookmarking them for future reference.  
Responsibilities: Created Silktest scripts that test the website according to its functionality.
Software QA and Testing 6 yrs 4.0 2008 http://www.xacta.com

Xacta IA Manager Application
5 years - QA Technical Lead

This is a large web-based application that facilitates certification and accreditation for the client's system. 
Responsibilities: Performed regression, fucntional, integration, performance, ad hoc and upgrade testing, as well as product documentation and training for users and QA personnel. Also logged issues and monitored their fixes.

MusicArsenal.com
1 year - Website QA 
Provided testing and documentation services for the widely-known music website Music Arsenal, by Jimmy Winter. 
Responsibilities: Performed regression, fucntional, integration, performance, ad hoc and upgrade testing, as well as product documentation of features.Also logged issues and monitored their fixes.
 

 
Transcribing audio into text 3 yrs 5.0 2008

Transcribing recorded audio interviews into text.

I use voice recognition tools to dictate the interview word for word, turning them into text. I have used this to transcribe interviews for Mega Magazine and Travelife Magazine to turn them in to full-fledged articles.
Voice-Acting 1 yrs 3.0 2008 Globe 595 series of commercials for TV and radio.
Certifications
Date Earned Name Score Percentile Organization Description
2008 Creativoices Voiceworx Workshop [080310]     Creativoices Completed and graduated from the top voice-acting workshop in the Philippines.
2007 Digileaf Software QA and SDLC training [10032007]     Digileaf Completed a five-day training seminar on the role and future of Software QA and its part in the Software Development Cycle. Received a certificate of completion from Digileaf Inc. Completed in Regus offices, Enterprise Building, Ayala Ave, Makati, on March of 2007.
Employment History
From To Company Title/Role Description
03/2004 02/2008 Teloworks Inc. QA Technical Lead / Team Lead

Xacta Quality Technical Lead, March 2003 – January 31,2008

§           Product Expert, Xacta IA Manager Application

§           Performed manual regression testing on a large-scale application.
    Led the QA testing for my team and conducted training sessions for them
    Created test cases as well as documentation for the product
    Logged bugs and monitored their fixed

§           Completed a course of instruction in Software Quality in the Information Age under Digileaf.

For more information, visit http://www.xacta.com
01/2001 03/2004 SVI Philippines, Inc QA Specialist / Independent Contributor

Safeway Product Support Personnel, June 2001- March 2003

-- 1st tier Product Support; Team Lead from 2002 -2003

-- used Java, Javascript, SQL, JCL, and COBOL
-- Responsibilities included logging and monitoring customer issues and providing software solutions

Thomson-West Quality Assurance Team Member, March 2003-March 2004 

-- Learned and performed SilkTest automation for versions 5.0 and 5.5 
-- Responsibilites included creation of 4test scripts and logging of bugs found in existing scripts.
Other Experience
Voice-acting
Trained in a seminar by professional voice actors 
Provided voice-acting and script writing for shows in local television.
Performed mock interviews/user issues for product support personnel.
 
Education
From To School Degree Area of Study Description
06/1996 11/2000 University of the Philippines Bachelors Economics
06/1993 03/1996 Ateneo de Manila High School English

§     Graduated Honorable Mention, 1996

§     Ninth place overall, Batch 1996

  • Project Title: Manual Magazine feature: Game modding
  • Attachment: Mod Squad excerpt.doc - 26KB
  • Completed: 09/28/2008
  • Category: Writing > Blog / Article Writing
  • URL: none
  • Description: Write an article about the video game modding community.
  • Project Title: Entrepreneurship articles
  • Attachment: My Story.doc - 30.5KB
  • Completed: 03/28/2008
  • Category: Writing > Blog / Article Writing
  • URL: none
  • Description: Write 10 articles on entrepreneurship, on diverse topics such as motivation, hi-tech, team leadership, start-up companies, success stories, etc. Attached is a sample of my work.
  • Project Title: Mega Magazine feature article: Scene the World Over
  • Attachment: Scene The World Over.doc - 33.5KB
  • Completed: 03/03/2008
  • Category: Writing > Blog / Article Writing
  • URL: none
  • Description: Write an article that reviews scenic film locations all over the world.
  • Project Title: Fiction
  • Attachment: The Key.doc - 27.5KB
  • Completed: 07/09/1997
  • Category: Writing > Other - Writing
  • URL: none
  • Description: This a very short piece of fiction written for a project in Oxford academy.
Hourly Assignment History
Buyer ID From/To Job Title Paid Feedback
42846 08/2008 - Present Entertainment Writing / Ghost Writing $667 (32 hrs @ $14.44)
28480 02/2008 - Present Organized writer for ongoing blog promotion $1,283 (116 hrs @ $11.11)
61192 11/2008 - Present Study Guides for Teleseminar $313 (21 hrs @ $15.00)
31311 07/2008 - 09/2008 Web Marketing Writer $148 (13 hrs @ $11.11)
41528 08/2008 - 08/2008 Blogger with SEO Experience $92 (6 hrs @ $15.72)
31311 05/2008 - 06/2008 QA New Website. Testing and Reporting $642 (39 hrs @ $16.67)
Fixed-Price Assignment History
Buyer ID From/To Job Title Paid Feedback
63333 11/2008 - Present Content Writer for Speech site $16
61192 10/2008 - 11/2008 Study Guides / User Manuals $383
46272 07/2008 - 08/2008 Excellent blogger wrinting 10 facts kind articles $83
39386 03/2008 - 04/2008 Entrepreneurship Article Writer $44
39386 04/2008 - 04/2008 Price Adjustment $28
oDesk Tests Taken
Name of Test Score Percentile Date Taken Duration
English Test (Sentence Structure) 5.00 99% TOP 10% 1st Place! 04/07/2008 10 min
Editing Skills Certification 4.50 98% TOP 10% 02/08/2008 13 min
Creative Writing Certification 3.75 91% TOP 10% 08/01/2008 17 min
Software Testing Test 3.00 81% TOP 20% 02/07/2008 27 min