Reflection on Project 1

In this blog post I will be reflecting on project 1 through answering the provided questions. 

Hege "Reflections" July 21st, 2014 via Flickr Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

• What challenges did you face during the Quick Reference Guide project and how did you deal with them?

During the QRG project, the challenge I faced was writing about a formal topic, yet keeping it informal. Balancing both the informal and formal aspect of the QRG was challenging for me. The way I dealt with the was viewing them separately. This mean writing about a formal topic but in an informal manner. 

• What successes did you experience on the project and how did they happen?

The successes I experienced was putting together a cohesive, visually appealing QRG. The way this was done was utilizing all the planning steps done in all of the other blog posts. I built my QRG step by step through the blog posts. 

• What kinds of arguments, rhetorical strategies, design choices and writing practices did you find the most effective for your project? Why?

I found the usage of white space effective for my QRG. It made it easier for the reader to read and it flowed better. I also found adding the images in effective for my QRG because it gave the reader a visual representation of my controversy. I also utilized sub-headings designed as questions, this worked because it set up the investigatory sections. 

• What kinds of arguments, rhetorical strategies, design choices and writing practices did you find were not effective for your project? Why?

I found that setting up the paper like a debate was not effective. The paper was meant more to explore than be opinion based. It also would not have been effective to do one side against the other because it would be hard to keep out biases. I also found that long sections and paragraphs were not effective. They are too long to keep the reader interested. 

• How was the writing process for this project similar to other school writing experiences you’ve had in the past?

The investigation/research process was the same. It took time to research and find sources and information you could use in your QRG. Other writing projects I have had have required an extensive research phase as well. 

• How was the writing process for this project different from other school writing experiences you’ve had in the past?

The actual piece of writing that I created was different than other writing projects I have done. This piece of writing was more internet friendly, written similar to a blog post and utilizing hyperlinks, connecting it to other parts of the internet. 

• Would any of the skills you practiced for this project be useful in your other coursework? Why or why not?

The research phase and analyzing different types of sources will be helpful. I also currently write for the Daily Wildcat and the type of writing is very similar so it has helped me with writing articles for the Daily Wildcat.

Reflection:
After reading the blog posts of Austin and Joki I realized that they, along with the rest of the class faced similar difficulties. Joki and I both had a hard time being efficient in the QRG, trying to get the point across quickly. We both also had a hard time finding social media sources that would be beneficial to our QRG. Austin and I both considered ourselves not the strongest of writers and for that reason we enjoyed the short paragraph style if writing for the QRG. For someone that struggles with essays I was able to strive in the informal structure of a QRG format, I;m sure Austin felt the same way.