Reflection on Project 1

In this blog post I will be reflecting on our first project. Specifically, I will discuss the challenges I encountered, the successes I had, and many other things about the project.

Screenshot from my computer, 9/26/2015

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

A big challenge I faced when writing my QRG was effectively condensing lots of information into one, brief piece of writing. Artificial intelligence is a very complex, deep topic with endless amounts of information on the subject. After finishing my project, I realize my topic may have been better suited for a conventional research paper as opposed to a QRG.

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

Some successes I experienced was the formatting I originally planned out and used in my rough draft. I believe the format of my QRG was very effective and communicated information smoothly and logically. This success occurred as a result of doing pre-writing exercised like the online cluster.

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

For my project, I found the use of quotations as a very effective way to format my arguments. It's difficult to refute an assertion when it's backed up by top experts in the field you're covering. I also found that adding frequent hyperlinks shortened my QRG greatly. With such an extremely technical topic, it would not be practical to spend endless pages explaining various terms in detail. I found it more effective to give an extremely brief explanation of terms and then hyperlink the more extensive explanations.

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

I found that long introductions and conclusions were very inappropriate for this genre. Looking back through my initial drafts, I had many unnecessary introductions for my sources. I cut most out and my paper became much shorter and easier to read. 

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

The writing process at its core was very similar to other research projects I've done in the past. Gathering information, pre-writing, writing a rough draft, and revising is the typical path for research projects, and was exactly what we did for the QRG.

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

This project was different due to how much I had to actually cut out from my QRG. In the past, I've struggled with getting enough information and ideas into my writing. With the QRG, I had to to do the exact opposite.

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

Many of the skills practiced will be useful for other coursework. Especially in computer science, being brief and clear are of the utmost importance.

Reflection

After reading Casey's and Evan's reflections, I learned that others had similar troubles to mine. For example, Casey's topic was rather complex and difficult to condense into the QRG format. I had the same issue.

I also learned that others had completely different roadblocks. Evan's topic was the exact opposite and had limited content. I suppose this made me realize that everyone is going to run into some kind of issue, regardless of the topic you choose. This gives me a greater respect for the whole process of writing a QRG. It is never easy.