MWA #3 Postmortem

1.) I chose to do a journal critique for my third major writing assignment. I chose a journal critique because I am most familiar with this type of assignment.

2.) The most interesting thing I learned from this assignment is from one of the outside sources that I looked at for the assignment. I learned that the space program budget makes up less than one percent of the total annual federal spending.

3.) The most useful things in an editorial report are usually the content and structure comments.

4.) There is nothing I wish I had known before this assignment, as I am very familiar with the journal critique assignment. I have written and critiqued my own as well as critiqued another student’s.

5.) To edit and proofread my paper I first reread the article and then read my paper again. I reread the article first to check for consistency in my paper.

MWA #2 Postmortem

1.) One problem I ran into when writing my report is deciding which details to include in my paper. My interview subject has signed multiple non-disclosure agreements so I was not sure how much I could include in my paper without causing problems for her. I resolved this issue by trying not to be too specific in comments about her work. Other than this problem the process went rather smoothly.

2.) An interesting thing I learned in the interview was how important standard operating procedure documents were in her work. She needs to read them to be able to complete certain tasks and write them whenever she has done something new and needs to document it.

3.)The editorial report was helpful in changing some aspects of structure and presentation. Least helpful were the things I was doing well in the paper. The comments were very specific which is always helpful. This report was as helpful as the first one I received.

4.)There is nothing I wish I had known before I had started this assignment.

5.) Next time I would ask more questions in my interview so that I could have more to work with when it came time to actually write the paper. I would give someone else the same advice.

Editorial Report #2 Postmortem

1. I took pretty much the same steps in writing my editorial report for the second time. I read the assignment thoroughly then read it a second time while making notes. Then I started my editorial report using these notes as reference. This time I tried to be more specific and detailed in my report.
2. I started and finished this report in about 2 hours on Monday morning. It took me less time because I was more familiar with the assignment specifications this time around.
3. The easiest part was deciding what needed to b changed. The hardest part was trying to keep my comments in the right category. This stayed the same since the last editorial report.
4. There is not really anything I wish I had known before starting this assignment.
5. On the final report I will continue to try to be more specific and detailed in my responses. One piece of advice I would give someone doing this assignment for the first time is to make sure you have a good understanding of the assignment specifications before you begin your editorial report.

Informational Interview Report Postmortem

1. Conducting the information interview was painless and easy. My first choice worked out and we corresponded via e-mail which made things very easy.
2. My interview was by e-mail so she had a few days to answer my questions and get back to me. I am very happy with the outcome of the e-mail interview. I think e-mail is definitely the way to go for an informational interview.
3. I just went through each item on the assignment sheet to write the paper. Writing did not take long because everything I needed to write was answered in the interview. The process took about one hour.
4. I reviewed my work after to look for typos. No one else proofread my paper.
5. I would advise someone else to conduct their interview by e-mail because it made writing the paper so much easier.

MWA #1 Rewrite Postmortem

1. Most of my editing changes were in the content and structure. My editorial report suggested that I add more detail to my analysis. In making these changes I also had to alter the structure of the paper to help the content flow more smoothly. The voice and presentation remained largely the same.
2. The editorial report was helpful in that it broke down the paper into distinct categories where it could be improved. Most of the comments, however, were just to add more details and explain more thoroughly. Writing an editorial report of my own was not particularly helpful in relation to preparing the rewrite of my own paper.
3. I started and finished the rewrite in about an hour and a half yesterday afternoon. This time frame was shorter than previous papers because the paper was already written and I only had to make changes and add content where appropriate.
4. I wish I had chosen a website that I use more often. I think it might have been easier to come up with ideas on how to improve a website that I visit frequently.
5. I would give someone else the same advice, to choose a website that you know well and frequently visit.
6. The most useful information, for me, was in the notes on the paper itself. The editorial report was helpful but seeing specifically where to make changes made things a lot easier. I got to see where things were being misunderstood when I thought I had explained them well. The least helpful information was in what the paper was doing well.

Editorial Report #1 Postmortem

1. I started and finished the editorial report assignment last night. It took me about 1-2 hours from start to finish. I had to reread the paper a few times to be able to make better comments.
2. I have not had to complete a review like this in a long time, so it was difficult to come up with suggestions to make the paper better.
3. The easiest part was summarizing the paper. The hardest part was coming up with specific ways to improve the paper in each category. There was not too much to edit because journal critiques have a 2-page maximum.
4. I wish I had a better understanding of the original article to be able to provide more insight when editing the critique.
5. Now that I have written and edited my own journal critique as well as edited someone else’s, I would be very likely to choose this assignment in the future. I would be very comfortable with this assignment because I am now very familiar with the project specifications.
6. I would work this assignment the same way in the future. I started off by reading the original article then reading the critique a couple of times. I then gave the critique another reading, this time making comments. I feel like this approached worked for me because I had a good understanding of the paper as a whole before I started to make comments.

MWA #1 Postmortem

1. The website analysis was the first set of specifications that I read so I just chose that. It also seemed marginally more interesting than the other options. I did not give the assignment much thought, because I focused my energies on which websites to choose for my proposal.
2. I started this assignment Sunday at 5 o’clock and finished up around 10 this morning. I usually allow myself more time for major assignments, but procrastination got the better of me this time.
3. My only real problem was coming up with a flowchart for the site map. As the website was rather large, a traditional flow chart was hard to see/understand. I used Microsoft Word to make the flow chart and the process took longer than expected. I also had trouble coming up with ways to improve the website. It would have been easier had I chosen a less developed site to analyze.
4. I wish I had started earlier on this assignment. I would also liked to have thought out my website choice a little more before starting this assignment.
5. Next time, I will definitely give myself more time to complete the assignment. I would give that same advice to anyone else. Choosing a website with many sections will significantly increase the length of this assignment.

Intro Critique Rewrite Postmortem

ENG 3300
Fall 2014
Intro Critique Rewrite Postmortem

 

1. Most of my changes went into the content of my response. I completely refocused my response and used a new outside source. I altered the detailed summary to be more detailed and to include more content using fewer words. The structure changed to include separate paragraphs where appropriate. The voice, however, remained the same. I changed my top left information header to be single-spaced. I also corrected a few minor spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.
2. There was significant overlap between your evaluation and my own editing. Aside from the format and grammar errors not much was there that I had not noticed myself.
3. The sample critiques helped me to get an idea of what was expected from in this assignment. The samples also served as examples of space management. In the original assignment I found it difficult to decide where to use my words, because we had a one-page limit for the assignment.
4. After I had finished the assignment I read it twice to check for grammar errors and mistakes I might have overlooked while writing. I also reviewed your comments and corrections to make sure I had implemented them well. I took more time in the editing process compared to the first draft of this assignment.
5. Next time I would like to read the essay/article of interest more carefully and get a better handle on it before I begin writing. A good understanding of essay would have helped me come up with a more developed and thought out response. I would give this advice to someone completing the assignment for the first time.

Introductory Critique Post Mortem

1. This assignment turned out to be simpler than what I had come to expect from my previous experiences in English courses. Having three basic categories was a nice change of pace from having to figure out what a teacher wants from you. Most times one is given an ambiguous, open-ended prompt and expected to come up with something brilliant.
2. I started this assignment last night at around 6 PM and finished it within the hour. I usually procrastinate writing assignments because those classes are less of a priority and less demanding than the rest of my course load. Most times I am on the ball and start papers a few days before the deadline, but there are still the occasional night-before scenarios.
3. Nothing was very surprising about this assignment. The essay was easy to read and comprehend. Similarly, the directions and formatting of the assignment were very straightforward and easy to comprehend.
4. The hardest part was brainstorming ideas for a response. Not much came to mind, especially when attempting to think of ideas that I could find outside sources to match with my response. Eventually I had to just settle on something and go for it. The two summaries came to me pretty naturally because that is something I have become accustomed to writing throughout my high school and college careers.
5. Next time I would probably take more time reading the topic piece. I had to keep referring to the text to remember and a careful reading would have helped with that. I would keep the same style of concise sentences because that helped with holding my response at the one page limit. I would give someone else that same advice I gave myself, to read thoroughly and carefully before starting any writing.