A Reflection of My Blogging Thus Far

What are you most proud of on your blog? Why?

I am proud of my informative style of writing. I believe that almost all of my blog entries detail a specific current event, allowing the reader to understand the topic. For example, in my third blog entry I discussed the differences between John McCain and Barrack Obama's stance on education reform. I presented each candidates' plan for educational reform and discussed how the two plans differed. It is important that my audience understands the topic at hand before I present my opinion; I believe I have separated these well. I also strongly represent my own opinions and perspective through my writing; this is evident in my fourth blog and my sixth blog.

What will you improve during future blogs? Why? How?

I believe I could incorporate a picture for each individual blog entry. Only half of my entries have incorporated a picture. Chunks of writing do not immediately catch the reader's attention, however sources of media, such as pictures, draw the reader in and possibly create a greater desire to read that specific entry. In addition to adding pictures that support my blog entries, I could probably decorate different sections of my blog to make them more eye catching. For example, my classmate, Luke, has an amazing title that he designed for his blog. I could probably create images such as his logo, in photoshop, however that may prove to be too time consuming and prevent me from focusing on the writing portion of my blog. I'm sure I can reach some sort of medium between my writing and visual appeal of my blog.

How has blogging impacted your understanding of: the U.S.? the media? current events? "old" news (i.e. the Constitution, Federalist Papers, etc)?

Blogging has allowed me to connect concepts from the Federalist Papers, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, to current events. I believe blogging has improved my understanding of checks and balances within the government. I have learned that much of the power within the government has been given to the executive branch, the opposite of what our founding fathers wished. I have also learned that our amendments may often be misinterpreted or violated. For example, my fourth blog entry discusses a bizarre story in which authorities violated a man's constitutional rights in order to charge him with criminal wrong doing.