Reflection

By: Van Hayes

Hello, my name is Van Hayes I am a freshman Health care Management major.

Throughout this semester Ive learned many things about writing, design, grammar, and
essay formatting. The following essay discusses the major points that I took away from
this class (my 10%) that I feel will help me throughout the rest of my college career and
my professional career. In the paper you will learn about assignments that we completed,
such as the Animoto video and our blog. You will also get a glimpse of what we learned
about grammar, design, and formatting. I hope you enjoy, and lets start off with the
Animoto video!!!

Animoto - Online Digital Video

We were assigned a project where we

needed to create a video that portrayed a theme

of our choice. With the political theme of my video, the pictures I chose were of the
current presidential candidates, the white house, and the logos of the 2 major political
parties in America (Republicans, and Democrats). The video that we created had to be at
least 1 min in length, and have multiple pictures with captions and a reference page of
where our chosen photos came from.

When I first started the video all of the pictures were extremely blurry once
published. I realized that the pictures were not transferring well because of the formatted
size of the pictures. I then went to Ribbet.com (picture editing site) and edited the photos
to increase the size. Once I completed reformatting all pictures I reinserted the pictures
into the video and they were clear, success! Details that came easy to me when creating
the video included things like staying within the time limit, and the captions that went
with each picture. Once I had the pictures and captions, I then added music in the back
ground. The music chosen for the video was meant to further portray the theme of the
video, and help add a little dramatic affect.

Hhhhmmmm what was next, oh yea

my blog!!!

Blogging

When creating my blog I was told to focus on headings, subheadings, hyperlinks, and
images. The following was the requirements for the blog courtesy Prof. Priest
Remember to include a photo, brief bio, and two complete posts. Each post must have
an appropriate look/feel with effective design, balance, spacing, and consistency
throughout. Each post must have
3 headings, 3 images, and 3
hyperlinks. Content must be well
developed and insightful. Be sure,
also, to wrap words around the
text. The biggest challenges that I
had while creating my blog was
hyperlinks. I was new to the
blogger website, and had never used hyperlinks in a paper so it hindered me during the
creation of my first post. With this
being my first time using
Blogger.com, there was also a
learning curve with formatting my
blog and making sure the spacing was
correct and photos were in the right
position. Gathering information on

each of the candidates policies was the easier part of this assignment. Since this was an
interesting and relevant subject to me, I was actually excited about looking up the
candidates to see where they feel the country should be headed.
Skills such as using correct spacing, wrapping pictures, using hyperlinks, using
headings and subheadings, and also making sure the final product is interesting. All were
characteristics that will be beneficial to me through the rest of my time in college, and my
post college experiences.

Grammar and Usage: Commas,

Comma Splices, Run-ons, Sentence

Fragments
The Comma: 6 Basic Rules
1. Use comma after an introductory clause or word, ex. In
conclusion, we all have much to learn.
2. Use Comma between two independent clauses or between the
coordinating conjunction
Independent clause: is a complete thought that contains a verb
and subject. It can stand alone as a sentence
Coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS)
For
And
Nor
But
Or
Yet

 So
3. Use a comma to separate items in a list of three or more, ex. I
have a cat, a dog, and a turtle
4. Use commas with quotations, ex. I said, I need a nap
5. Use commas with appositives, ex. Shirley, a southerner, drank
nothing but moonshine
6. Use commas with dates, ex. I was born on November 26, 1996,
in High Point, NC

Formal Academic Writing - Research

Essay
APA style establishes standards of written communication
concerning
The organization of content
Writing style
Citing references

Throughout the semester the class was assigned many papers,

Prof Priest pushed the importance of using APA format throughout

the semester. I struggled at first because I never had anyone stress
the use of APA so much, but with time it became habit.
Example of APA cover page, body page, and reference page

In-Text Citations:
One uses in-text citations to indicate the source of your information in the main body
of text. Use in0text citations whenever you mention facts written by someone else, or

when you include someone elses ideas.

Annotated Bibliography:

Take Away
The lessons I have learned in this class about APA format will benefit me
immediately. APA is a standard format in college for writing papers, and not only will this
style of formatting help me in college but also in the professional setting.

Design and Composition

Design elements

Color
Shape
Balance
Rrreeepppeeetttiiitttiiioonnn
Dominance
Contrast of color
Value

Size
Design and composition were reoccurring themes throughout the semester. The

details listed above came into account on every project that I did in the class. Image
editing, the Animoto video, Weebly assignment, the blog, and our online writing all
needed attention in the design and composition areas. Contrast may be the only detail
that gave me a little trouble early in the year just because all people dont see the same;
therefore, I had to make sure there was a clear distinction between the words and the
background.
What I have learned in this field will be help me in my later years as a college
student, when doing presentation, power points, designing posters etc. Also after college,
my major is Healthcare Management and in that field I will have meetings and will have
to deliver presentations on how the business or hospital is doing.