Group Project Reflection
I found the group project to be the most difficult assignment. It was hard to evenly divide work and effectively communicate when outside of class. Each group member had different schedules and expectations for the project and this caused heads to clash; especially on fundamentals pieces of group work such as, when the work should be completed, sticking to the determined word count, and interpreting criticism. While the group aspect of the assignment did cause tension it was also helpful. Having several minds brainstorming ideas allowed for a concise topic goal to be determined relatively quickly, and also group members helped to clear up confusions that otherwise would have led to mistakes within the research. The research itself was reasonable but there were limited ideas that could be accomplished in such a short time which, I believe, is why many groups had overlapping topics of research. The lack of lab time and brainstorming time hindered our ability to be both creative and effective. Also, it limited our population diversity because the survey was put out quickly over many varying sources but with more time it is possible that a more precise search could have been organized. I felt that there was ample time between each part to complete the different writing portions and that the writing portion was our strongest aspect. The presentation was also fair but the projector hindered our ability to present it to the class.
Audience Paper Reflection
This paper was challenging because I did not fully understand what was expected of me. I was supposed to summarize the research and present it in a simpler manner or if I was supposed to analyze how the research was presented. Due to my confusion, I tried to accomplish both objectives and I hope that this does not negatively impact my work. The peer editing paper also suggested the incorporation of a moral debate which I found helpful to break up the more statistical overlook of the article.
New York Times Summary Reflection
I believe that I was able to read both articles and pinpoint the topics I should write upon with ease, especially for the summary assignment. The analysis of the NY Times article touched upon many points such as, bias, credibility, and author’s intent. I feel that by touching upon these points my analysis of the article was stronger than the summary. I found the summary portion lacking, mostly due to the fact that the NY times article that I was summarizing was brief. Throughout these assignments I struggled to include direct quotes from the articles. We talked in class about how there should only be a limited use of quotes so I did not want to include them and risk the improper use of them. This may have caused my writing to be more vague and less clear.
Beginning of Semester Goals
Through my years of academic writing I written several types of essays and prompts. I have been told that my strongest form of writing is the argumentative essay. This is my favorite form of writing and I believe most of my reading strategies developed through the research and analysis of viewpoints necessary to complete an argumentative essay. Some of the reading strategies I use for all my writing assignments include, highlighting, annotating in margins, and accordingly grouping information and supporting details after the readings have been completed. Due to the sheer repetition of this task I believe finding and analyzing reliable research is one of my strengths. The two areas in which I hope to improve the most are writing lab reports and editing my work after its initial completion. I have only written one full lab report and it proved difficult for me because each section required different writing tones and skills. When it comes to editing my own work I lack the insight to produce my best writing without outside criticism. I greatly depend on reviews from my peers and professors to point out my weaknesses within my papers so I can later correct them.
