Journalism project
Reflection
Before beginning the final product, our class primarily focused on potential biases in the media, as well as strategies for accurately estimating the legitimacy of different sources. We did several exercises practicing this, in addition to watching films and short clips to further our understanding of the way we are exposed to bias. After some deliberation, I decided my final product was to be article about the influence of motorsport on mass produced vehicles. The freedom of choice in the final essay allowed me to pick a topic that I am passionate about and on that is mostly unknown to the general public.
This project definitely posed challenges for me that have force me to grow as writer. Firstly, because my article aimed to inform people about a subject that I myself am not an expert on, I had to spend hours researching and sifting to useful information. This was not something I have had much experience with and drove me to be more organized with my notes. The deadline was also a big challenge for me. In my past schooling experiences I have had ample time to complete large bodies of text. The relatively short deadline coupled with missing a few days of school meant I had to really buckle down and get work done in order to finish my article on time. In one afternoon I more than doubled the word count of my article and proofread it in its entirety. Being able to work hard for extended periods of time is a hugely valuable skill that my work on this project has helped me begin to develop. If I were given the opportunity to redo this project in the same time frame, I would write more earlier. I felt as If I had more to say on the subject and could have easily surpassed the maximum word count had I had more time.
Before beginning the final product, our class primarily focused on potential biases in the media, as well as strategies for accurately estimating the legitimacy of different sources. We did several exercises practicing this, in addition to watching films and short clips to further our understanding of the way we are exposed to bias. After some deliberation, I decided my final product was to be article about the influence of motorsport on mass produced vehicles. The freedom of choice in the final essay allowed me to pick a topic that I am passionate about and on that is mostly unknown to the general public.
This project definitely posed challenges for me that have force me to grow as writer. Firstly, because my article aimed to inform people about a subject that I myself am not an expert on, I had to spend hours researching and sifting to useful information. This was not something I have had much experience with and drove me to be more organized with my notes. The deadline was also a big challenge for me. In my past schooling experiences I have had ample time to complete large bodies of text. The relatively short deadline coupled with missing a few days of school meant I had to really buckle down and get work done in order to finish my article on time. In one afternoon I more than doubled the word count of my article and proofread it in its entirety. Being able to work hard for extended periods of time is a hugely valuable skill that my work on this project has helped me begin to develop. If I were given the opportunity to redo this project in the same time frame, I would write more earlier. I felt as If I had more to say on the subject and could have easily surpassed the maximum word count had I had more time.