Reflection Number 2

1. Overall, when you think about the big picture of your writing, what improved? How did it get better? Why?

Overall, I feel my writing improved immensely. My formatting of my work has greatly improved from the 5 paragraph essays that I started with to the loop method which helps the reader understand and get a better understanding of the content. I also feel that my overall sentence layout has greatly improved from the choppy hard to read blob of text I had in the beginning, to the flowing, well written article that it became.

2. Overall, when you think about the big picture of your writing, what still needs work? What do you think will help you improve? Why?

I always have the problem with words I use. I tend to have a very limited vocabulary and tend to use a lot more passive verbs and “ing” more than I really should taking power away from my writing and making it sound like the same thing the whole time. This was a problem I still struggle with but after many critiques and looking over it myself, I feel I have gotten a lot better.

3. Specifically, show us something that improved and describe the path it took to get better. You can quote your article, your drafts, link to evidence, etc.

Overall my writing has improved but some parts that have improved greatly have been my layout and conclusion. When I first started writing this piece, I wrote it in a simple and very basic 5 paragraph essay. After learning the loop method where we start off with a personal event then explain that event with information, I changed my writing to where it would be more descriptive and be more interesting for the reader.

4. Describe something specific (or a few things!) that you learned about writing.

I learned a lot about my writing, especially how much I depended on a normal 5 paragraph essay. After using it or so many years transitioning to this more complicated but much more formal style was a hard task but I feel I did pretty well for my first time. I still feel i could work on my wording an sentence structure, as well as making it more active piece of writing, but I know that will take time for me to understand and formulate my ideas in a simple but entertaining manor.

Magazine Reflection

1. What went well for you during the process of creating this magazine?

One thing that went well was my time management. I made sure I managed my time so I used it wisely so when inputting our layouts and doing critiques could be done on time running my group as well as Vannessas into the right direction. Something else that worked would be how had my group worked, everyone did their part which allowed me to make sure everyone’s work was ready as well as my own.

2. What challenges did you face as you moved from an early draft or idea to a final product?

Some challenges I faced were balancing my work with the work of everyone else in my group. Since I had a lot of people I had to get onto the magazine, I had to make sure everything worked. I also faced problems with computers, getting one that unplugged turning it off or the hard drive failing the day before it was due. Luckily I was able to talk to other groups and get the things situated to where everyone could get their work in on time.

3. What other examples of work—student and professional—stood out as exemplary and served as a good model for your own work?

Some examples I used were the Atlantic and National Geographic. I liked how they used there formats and ho they incorporated their pictures with their text. I tried to follow another article and saw many other people in my team doing the same. In the end I also looked at articles like Jade’s and a few others to get ideas for the front page.