The Semester in Review

So, in case you couldn't tell, this blog was part of my Feature Writing class this semester. We had to chose a blog theme, and write posts as we went along, in addition to our normal stories (which you can find in my separate pages up at the top of the page!)

For our final, we are presenting our blogs to the class, and my professor sent us some questions to keep in mind while we present. I thought, what better way to keep my answers in mind than to make a blog post including them?!

So, enjoy, and happy reading!

The most important or surprising or useful thing I learned this semester was... and why.

The most surprising thing I learned by far is how interesting my classmates are! I loved having the blogger-style setup with access to everyone else's blogs because I was able to see what my classmates are interested in. We have very talented writers in our class, and I enjoyed being able to read everyone else's work and learn and grow from them. 

The story I'm proudest of is ... and why.

I think that I am most proud of is my review of Southern Roots. I really love writing reviews, because I like sharing my own opinions in a not unbiased way, which is how you have to write most other journalistic pieces. 

The story form I liked best was ... and why.

The form that I liked best was either the review or the sights and sounds story. I liked the sights and sounds in particular because it really let me be creative with my writing, and work in a ton of detail about the event that I attended. It also made me realize just how important good observation skills are!

The story form I struggled most with ... and why.

I really, really struggled with writing the anniversary piece. I don't know if it was because I wasn't terribly interested in my subject, or if I just wasn't sure of what direction to take with it, but it was the only piece that I didn't particularly enjoy writing for this class. 

The way in which I think I grew most as a writer was ... and why.

I definitely grew as a writer by taking this class. I think that it really helped me to see exactly what feature writing is, and I learned valuable skills and story formats that I'm sure I'll use for the rest of my journalistic career. 

This experience definitely had me thinking about ... as a career path or something to strive for ... and why.

I came into this class knowing that I wanted to work as an editor at a magazine someday, and this class has only reinforced my decision. Magazines are more feature-style than newspapers are, and I definitely like this format a lot better than straight-style news. I am also an English- Writing minor, and I love that in this class I was able to be a little more flexible and creative with my writing.