OUIL501 Summative Evaluation

OUIL501 Summative Evaluation 

Throughout this module, I haven’t only developed on my researching skills and methods, but I’ve tried to be more selective, cutting down a mass of collected information into manageable chunks to analyse and incorporate into my essay. I tried to include insights into social, cultural, political and technological contexts throughout my research, some of which I feel I’ve incorporated well in my writing. 

I feel like my writing techniques may have improved slightly, as I’ve tried to triangulate and back up my points more with quotes and examples. I was also more conscious of the structure of my essay. I tried to ensure I avoided huge chunks of writing like I had in my interim submission. 

I battled with this module a lot; especially with the selection of the essay question. Being specific and really honing in on one question was a struggle for me, which may have been due to the fact that I’d researched quite a general topic in a fair amount of depth. I think through perseverance with the written element, I managed to come up with a more successful final submission that has more of an argumentative element and less of a walkthrough structure.

I’m pleased with the practical aspect of my work as I feel it reflects the research that I’ve done, and branches off from the essay topic appropriately, instead of just illustrating the research question. Usually, I avoid colour like the plague because I don’t feel that confident using it successfully. However, choosing children as my target audience and attempting to take elements of junk food marketing techniques to apply to an activity book for the promotion of healthy foods meant that I was working in unfamiliar territory, using bright colours and designing characters. The practical element was a good experience because it showed me that I can produce a successful publication outside of my comfort zone.

Before creating the final publication, the use of a sketchbook was really valuable throughout the module. Last year, the two parts of the module felt quite disjointed, and I think that the practical side for me was sadly a bit of an afterthought. However, the concept of ‘synthesis’ and working practically and academically alongside each other helped to bring the project together, ensuring all elements felt cohesive and informed each other.

My sketchbook work is relatively in depth and experimental. Using collage is another thing that I don’t often do, but I found it to be really helpful in getting concepts and ideas down quickly that I might have struggled to draw out of my head. The idea of subverting the images worked well with the subject matter, although these ideas developed and changed before I designed my final publication. 

It might sound silly but I actually struggled with having all of the information on a computer. I’d bookmark things that I’d found and forget to go back to them until I had a ridiculously long list of links. Often, I’d print out articles or pieces of writing in order to read through them and highlight points by hand, which I think helped me to organise my thoughts better. In fact, this whole problem is probably more of an issue of my organisation and self management, because if I’d made a note of the specific quotes and references at the time I might not have had as much of a problem trying to filter through the information later.

My motivation and time management have definitely been challenged with this module, as quite late on, I didn’t have much in the way of a final essay. I think it’s mainly due to anxieties over writing it, especially as I feel that my submission last year was so poor. I was worried about making the same mistakes as last year so I put off the essay writing quite a lot this module, and in hindsight, would have benefitted more from getting it done early so that I could look back over it and edit it in good time.

I think that my essay is relatively successful, although I don’t have a very good idea of what I’m aiming for in terms of standard. I’ve found that through this whole module I’ve never really been sure if what I’ve been doing has been good enough, but I can say that I’ve tried my best and I’m hoping that this is reflected in my submission.

One of my major downfalls with this module has been that I haven’t kept on top of my blogging as much as I would have liked. This has resulted in a fair bit of last minute catching up, and finishing off posts that had been half written and saved as drafts. I’m disappointed that I haven’t been as organised in regards to this 

In regards to my dissertation in Level 6, I know that I really need to work on my organisation and time management. I need to write lists and set out action plans, giving myself mini deadlines in order to keep on top of the work. Also, I’ve learnt that starting with something a bit general is okay as long as I give myself the time to cut down and end up with a specific question. I need to start researching early on, and stay true to my genuine interests in order to maintain enthusiasm and motivation.