I gained a lot from this class. I am glad that I was exposed to several different writing mediums like digital, memo, script, and academic research essay writing. I learned how to improve my writing using techniques from provided articles and texts, in-class workshops, and feedback. I was also pleased with the opportunity to collaborate with my peers in writing the memo and tour script. The research process and blog posts were particularly instrumental to my learning experience and I believe the effort I put into the overall ZMA project deems me a decent grade.
The Research Process
An experience that has been significant for me is researching for my academic research essay. My research was aided significantly by The Curious Researcher: A Guide to Writing Research Papers by Bruce Ballenger. One of the techniques I relied on from his book was using a double-entry journal. While doing my research, I created a Google doc that had my double-entry journal. In this double-entry journal, I had each source as a heading or a subheading if it was closely related to another source. Under each source, I kept a table with three columns. The first column was an area for page numbers or time stamps, the second column was a section for quotes, a summary, or paraphrasing of something that I could apply to my essay, and the third column was a section for notes and opinions I had about that quote. This strategy was very helpful when it came to writing my essay. Having the majority of my sources along with the information I could use from them helped me to organize my essay and it quickened the drafting process. This technique is something I plan to use in the future, especially in research essays because it made me a more organized and efficient writer.
Blog Posts
A potentially overlooked aspect of the class might be the blog posts. Although the blog posts did not make up a significant portion of this class, I think that I gained a lot from writing them. One skill the blog posts taught me is how to write in a digital format. Learning how to use digital techniques like embedded clickable links, ethical pictures, and section headings are skills that can easily translate to future work. Additionally, practicing using section headings translated well to my academic research essay. Another aspect of the blog posts that was beneficial was they gave me practice using multiple sources to make a point. Having to connect multiple sources to make a point or reflect on an idea in each of the 10 reading responses was great practice for the research essay where I had to similarly use multiple sources rhetorically and reflectively.
The final reason why the blog posts were beneficial is that they gave me a way to organize and reflect on what I learned from the readings. Writing the blog posts allowed me to set goals on ideas to improve my writing. For example, when writing the blog post titled “Indecisiveness, Curiosity, and Research,” I was able to reflect on the three goals for my research essay based on the reading. These included selecting a topic I am curious about, improving in finding primary resources, and having a way of organizing my research. The blog posts also gave me space to explore more abstract ideas like comedic writing and appealing to multiple audiences, ideas that I could use in future writings.
Overall, writing in this digital format was significant because it allowed me to practice important writing techniques such as using section headings, weaving information from sources, and reflecting on readings. I would definitely consider blog writing as a way to focus my thoughts and writing techniques when writing future pieces.
My ZMA Project Grade
I think my work falls within the A or potentially B category of the rubric. I actively participated in every class, effectively collaborated with my group members, adequately used primary and secondary sources, and significantly revised my written work using feedback, in-class workshops, and secondary source material. Although, with more time some of my deliverables could have been more rhetorically effective and thorough, I believe that the effort I put into my overall ZMA project deserves an A or high B.
Category 5
One aspect I think I excelled at was category 5 of the rubric. Our group had an effective divide-and-conquer method for producing our work. The parts of the memo I participated in were the positive aspects of the website, a proposed tour possibility, the tour recommendation list, correspondence with Elizabeth, and revising assigned memo sections (QR Codes and Mobile Phones, Instructions for Viewing Art Pieces, and Long-Term recommendations). While working on these parts of the memo I was able to modify and improve on what I was accomplishing with the guidance of my teammates, Constant and Victor. For example, Victor was able to help me make adjustments to my writing about the positive aspects of the website as well as combine my ideas with his and Constants. Additionally, I collaborated with Constant in adding recommendations at the end of the memo. Our group's strategy of delegating tasks and then coming together in times of need to collaborate was a great strategy. By doing this I think we were able to contribute to the memo substantially and thoroughly.
Category 3
Another aspect of the rubric that I accomplished was the third category of the rubric. I believe my active participation in the free writes significantly contributed to the fulfillment of my research goals. For example, coming up with 10-15 inquiry questions helped me refine and kickstart what exactly I wanted to research and write about. Additionally, Eli’s mind map workshop gave me an outline of how I want to organize my essay and where I should place the sources I had collected. The mind map also helped me to refine the information I wanted to include. For example, during the workshop, I decided that I was no longer going to discuss wishi wild mushrooms in my essay since I had very little information on them.
In addition to my application and participation in in-class workshops, another reason I was proficient in the category was the documentation process. As explained above, I was able to document my research process through the double-entry journal and blog posts. Additionally, I also documented my work by annotating and taking notes on provided readings. For example, I would underline useful techniques from The Curious Researcher: A Guide to Writing Research Papers by Bruce Ballenger and I would make bulleted notes on articles provided that included topics like introductions and conclusions, topic sentences, and script writing.
Final Thoughts
This class provided me with lots of powerful techniques and skill sets that I will look back on for future assignments. I am glad I stepped out of my comfort zone to take this class because of all the valuable experiences I will be walking away with. Despite the rigor of this course, the experience was well worth it and I look forward to applying ideas from this class in the future.
