Web Writing

Student in Fall 2023 Web Writing course at Millersville University

[nataliebrown02]

Brainstorming the Skills: Creativity

Creativity is the process of using your personality in your writing or when creating pieces of art. I consider anything that someone can make a piece of art, so this category is very broad. Creativity can come in many forms such as using figures of speech, or colors, or images. Creativity is all about making something special to you that gives the audience a glimpse of who you are and what is important to you.

[egd2002]

I never considered the fact that creativity has the capacity to include pieces of your personality within writing or art, but now that you've mentioned it I can really see it. Creativity, more often than not, is aligned heavily with originality or individuality, both traits that are off shoots of one's unique personality. A figure of speech from two people with separate interests, experiences, cultures, geographies, and any other number of diversifying factors will vary wildly, so of course creativity would contain a fair amount of one's personality. Very interesting point!

[ef7687]

What I Like About My Essay

What I like most about my essay is how honest I was able to be. In my essay, I explained the struggles I had with writing Tumblr posts or working on assignments in this course. I liked how I was able to really explain my writing process rather than explain it in a basic way. This was very important because I was able to figure out more about how I am as a writer and a person. 

[egd2002]

I really appreciated the fact that the essay presented an opportunity to write from a personal, more down to earth point of view. I've found myself including bits and pieces of more personable anecdotes, comments, and asides in other assignments and larger projects, but never to the degree of what I was able to explore during my essay. Like you said, talking about my experience during the writing process and even while navigating Tumblr without feeling restricted or stilted was a big part of what made the essay so fulfilling. Great post!

[egd2002]

Best Part of Learning

Over the course of the semester, one of my favorite parts of writing for this class specifically has been the real-world applicability I've felt in the course. I found myself studying the material, writing about it, and actively seeing it on a daily basis through the media I consume regularly, which shifted my somewhat placid understanding of content creation and what it means to create a post I can easily scroll by in a matter of seconds. Beyond that, the course has made me realize that content creation isn't some faraway, unachievable state of expertise I can never hope to explore, as I was able to make a LOT of content on a weekly basis through writing on this very blog! I hope to keep this content creation up after the course ends and maybe even make a hobby of it, which is something I've always wanted to do.

[egd2002]

Best Part of My Essay

While drafting my essay, I found myself the proudest of the sections in which I explained my rationale behind using the artifacts I chose, as I feel my critical thinking is on full display during these sections of the paper. Writing through the improvement across the two artifacts for each section was very engaging and made my progress throughout the course incredibly clear, which granted me a sense of achievement that goes beyond the fact that the course has come to an end.

[jmorris220]

What do you like the most about your essay? (week 14-15)

I really enjoyed reflecting on how I developed the employer skills throughout the class engagement. I didn't exactly think about those skills as I was completing assignments, although once I mentioned the use of the key concepts, and how I engaged with the class, it really showed how I developed these skills. I also go into detail about which skills I would like to continue to work on as they will be more crucial for my future career.

[egd2002]

I also really liked thinking about how the course equipped me with skills applicable to employment, though I didn't reflect on this much while honing these skills throughout the semester. Thinking about that aspect of the coursework, one that sees its use in a very real and tangible environment, was pretty eye opening and afforded some weight to the perception of the work I've carried thus far. I've always kept in mind that the skills and concepts covered in the course would be applicable to my real-world experience, a fact that was bolstered by the course's use of social media, but the reflection really allowed me to put some shape to these loose realizations.

[kmmill]

What is Learning?

Learning is a really complicated subject to try and define. Learning is something we do all the time without even thinking about it.

Think about the phrase "you learn something new every day". This sounds like an exaggeration but its true. Every time you open social media you "learn" about the people you follow. You learn about the state of the world. So learning extends further than just academic things.

Speaking of literal academic learning I think this is best defined as someone's comprehension of a given subject being taught. Grades are supposed to be a metric of how well someone is learning but this is hardly the case. Exams are something people study for then forget a week later. That's not learning. Learning is really being able to comprehend and gain value from what it is you're being taught.

[egd2002]

This is a really great definition of what learning is! I found it hard to define such a broad concept, but I also found that one of the most significant aspects of learning boils down to comprehension and full understanding above all else. A lot of importance is placed in the ability to memorize and repeat facts passively, but I feel this approach to learning is passive and isn't conducive to the most telling stage of full understanding: critical engagement.

[egd2002]

My Writing Process

My writing process, like many others, is one that is not at all linear. The models that have been pushed on me and my peers throughout my schooling have emphasized a structured, by the numbers approach that, to me, always inhibited the free exploration of ideas by restricting the writing itself into the categories of intro, body, body, body, conclusion. Structure is important, yes, after all it's what keeps these essays and writings readable and polished, but having those conventions define a piece of writing that should be characterized by its substance is a problematic practice. To get back on track, my writing process is loosely structured, as I highlight what my thesis is and a few pieces of evidence and ideas I want to base the paper around, but really I just let out whatever ideas I have floating around in my head (that have to do with the topic at hand) and then I go on to edit them down, bulk them up, or generally polish them.

[egd2002]

Communication of Critical Thinking

Communicating critical thought automatically requires a keen level of understanding on a certain topic, one that goes beyond the ability to spout definitions and historical timelines and the like. For instance, being able to ace a set of flash cards about mitosis doesn't mean that I'm able to give a lecture on the subject or write an essay describing my insights on the process, it only means that I might be able to get a B on a quiz in Biology. Critical thought is a process that is complex and, in my personal experience, only comes about once I've achieved a sense of familiarity and passion in a subject that affords me a sense of expertise in it. This sense of familiarity while discussing topics you're able to critically evaluate and analyze really comes across in the fluidity of a discussion, as the ability to move from one idea to the next without leaving them half explored or discussed is a good sign that you're voicing thoughts that have been bouncing around in your head for a while. A few signifiers of critical thought beyond this broad example include the ability to link personal anecdotes to the topic, the fluid use of language connected to the topic, and the ability to utilize poignant metaphors that illustrate complex concepts within the area of interest.

[egd2002]

Creativity

Creativity encapsulates a level of understanding and fluency that goes so far as to afford someone the ability to make something out of nothing. That is not to say that all creativity requires some level of education or thorough background in a given area, as any self-taught artist or cook will tell you, but it DOES require passion, patience, and an innate ability to learn and analyze. A writer, for instance, may not have a degree in English, but that doesn't rob them of the ability to write in their spare time, and it doesn't detract from the fact that sparking creativity is a sign of passion and understanding.

[egd2002]

Critical Thinking

I understand critical thinking to be a vital aspect of education, writing, and, most importantly, an incredibly integral aspect of the process of understanding. To critically think is to actively engage with something, not just passively learning it by letting your eyes pass along words on a page or your hands type recited blurbs of facts and information on a given topic. There exists a world of difference between someone parroting the key characteristics of a topic and someone actively discussing and engaging with it on a critical level, and critical engagement is key to walking away from a concept and fully understanding it in a manner that impacts you as a thinker, as a learner, as a student, and as a scholar.

[egd2002]

Peer Review #3

This is the example slide I included to explain why this design for a thumbnail a good instance of eye-catching, cohesive design. I have no issue with the thumbnail I made, but I just want to know if my explanation of WHY it works makes any sense, requires editing down, or requires any more information to be added on to it. I wonder if I shouldn't include more information surrounding WHY a thumbnail matters, but I worry that this would seem redundant due to this slide being preceded directly by a slide summarizing the importance of design of thumbnails and videos.

[egd2002]

Peer Review #2

I included this slide to touch on a key concern that needed to be addressed when writing for this specific niche on Youtube: copyright. I wasn't sure where else I could include it, and this information requires a fairly lengthy explanation, so I thought I'd put this slide directly after the introduction to the project and a slide about content strategy. I mainly just want to know if this slide is necessary, as I like it and I find the information on it to be important, but if too much of it seems redundant I can always just insert the most significant information on another slide.

[mollypatches]

Feedback Needed #2

I have been implementing my content by taking screenshots of separate aspects of my posts that all deal with content strategy. The one part I am struggling with is how many reels I should include in my How to Write Guide because I know the guide is supposed to be short, so I don't want the content to take up too much space. I have made several reels, but I don't know how or if I will be able to implement them all into the How to Write Guide. How do you think I should go about it? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

[egd2002]

Brevity is the name of the game when it comes to this guide, so including the reel you like best or even the one that follows your ideal model of content creation is probably the best option. I'm sure all your reels are great, and I completely understand the instinct to add more, but one or even just two reels placed strategically throughout the guide will help to hammer home the analysis and the points you're making. Your audience would benefit from more succinct, hard hitting analysis and explanation, and visual examples always benefit from this straightforward nature, so go by the philosophy that less is more! Even if you do include multiple reels, I feel like (if they're very short) your guide wouldn't suffer, and including multiple may even emphasize the fact that short form content really benefits from consistent uploads, as the constant stream of content makes content like this easy to miss if it isn't uploaded on a consistent basis.

[simplylaurent]

Advice #2: Too Analytical?

Part of my research from the content analysis project brought up and confirmed the research question that the audio/sound use of a video can alter the like/view count. In lieu of this, I brought up the vital tip that the audio a content creator uses is a unit to pay attention to. My question is if this slide is too analytical? Should I involve the chart which highlights the differences in audio interactions or should I maybe delete the entire slide and start over fresh? Does this slide look too much like a slide from the content analysis project or is it just casual enough that it could appeal to content creators? I wanted to add this slide in as a way to establish trust especially when I had written the guide for the creators I analyzed.

[egd2002]

I think the chart is a great inclusion and, if anything, it's a FAR better idea to include visual descriptors of analysis than a wall of text explaining the evidence you uncovered while researching. The analysis you provided in the slide is great, and it's bolstered considerably by the graph (which is pretty self explanatory), so I honestly wouldn't remove anything to do with the graph from this slide. Brevity and practicality are the name of the HTWG, so anything you can include that explains a complex concept through a few words or an image is gonna do a lot to captivate your audience and keep them engaged. Great job on this slide!

[egd2002]

Peer Feedback

One of the key pieces of feedback I received on my initial draft was the fact that I lacked an effective introduction, but I still feel like this one is lacking. I've explained how the audience will use the guide and why they'd need to, but I still feel like I might be leaving out some significant information. I think my initial hesitation toward including an introduction was because I didn't want to seem to expository or redundant in any of my slides, which I know have to be somewhat succinct, so I tried to keep this intro fairly straightforward and no-frills. Any input would be greatly appreciated, especially feedback on the design and structure of the slide.

[egd2002]

Universal Tip

For the section of my guide that focused on the design aspects of filming, I described what an ideal film setup would be for a youtube video. I had two main tips in this section: use a neat, but not distracting film setup, and make sure your camera and audio quality are good. These are fairly universal tips, but they make ALL the difference when it comes to audience retention, as an eye catching thumbnail may captivate an audience enough to click on the video, but appealing design throughout the video is the only thing that will keep your audience engaged and consistently returning for more.

[egd2002]

Content I'm Proud Of

I included this image as an example of a good thumbnail for a youtube video aimed toward a young, film savvy, feminist audience, and I feel I did a pretty good job. I included design decisions that are fairly universal across audiences (buzzwords, recognizable iconography, cohesive design, etc.), but I also made sure to utilize wording that resounds with this audience, following the model set forth by the most successful videos of the creators I researched.