The Editors' Note: A Group Reflection: Group 8 Magazine Project

Editor in Chief: Branden Wetsel

Lead Writer: Jenna Piggott
Research Manager: Ashly Stephenson
Visual Editor: Trenton Killion

What We Learned:
As our course syllabus states: English 2010 focuses on three related
aspects of rhetoric and composition: public writing, writing from
sources, and multi-genre and multimedia composition. When we
compare our writing projects to the beginning of the semester, we can
see drastic improvements. We all feel that we now have a better understanding of the writing
process. Each member of this class explored different genres, learned how to write towards
different audiences, and how to adapt various contexts in our writing. Throughout the semester,
each of us became more informed about the various conflicts and ongoing public issues that are
occurring, and how those specific events shape our world we live in today. We used and
demonstrated critical thinking skills to explore these different issues, and applied those skills to
our assignments. Throughout our writing, we learned how to use various genres to capture an
audience, and learned how to communicate ideas about our issues in a stronger, and more
informative way. We also learned how to cite sources appropriately for each writing situation.
We chose to focus on various social justice issues because they all have personal meaning
to each of us, and we chose them because we wanted to learn more about these social justice
issues, because they are continuing to shape our world. By completing many assignments
corresponding to our chosen topics and issues, we were able to demonstrate new writing skills,

and increase our understanding and explore new and different ways to adapt our problem solving
skills to explore new ways to solve these various issues.

Why We Included Specific Papers:

These papers displayed in this magazine are what we feel to be our best work. We feel
that these assignments are a good and clear representation of our best work that we have
completed during the course of this semester, and we are all proud of the work we have put forth
into this final project. Each group member was assigned to revise 2 main papers, which range
from: Memoir or Profile, Position or Proposal, Report or Evaluation. We were to select at least 1
main paper or 2 smaller assignments/activities to translate/adapt into another medium. We have
dedicated a great amount of time towards developing these essays to the best of our abilities.
The specific papers chosen to be displayed in this magazine have been selected based on
various different reasons. For example, Trenton chose to focus on Police Brutality because it is
one of the biggest social justice issues going on in this generation. It is difficult to ignore the
countless stories and reports based on this issue. Branden chose the topic of Religious Conflict
due to the fact that it is under evaluated in todays world. There have been many conflicts
initiated by religious differences, and it causes violence in other countries. Jenna chose the topic
of Police Brutality as well, and more specifically, the case of Michael Brown. She chose this
topic because she wanted to learn more about cases like this, and she also has lot of neighbors
who are cops, who put their life on the line each and every day, and go out of their way to help
those in need. For this project, we chose which pieces we would include, and which pieces not to
include in the magazine

The papers not showcased in this magazine, were chosen to be that way because we feel
that those pieces do not accurately show and represent our best work compared to the ones
featured in the magazine. We felt that only our best pieces should be illustrated and displayed in
the final project. These assignments allow the readers to learn more about our chosen issues, and
it allows them to think of the topics themselves, using insight and critical thinking.

Relationship of Our Issues:

All of these topics connect because each of these topics and ideas are common issues in
the world we live in today. Police Brutality, Abortion, and Religious conflict, are talked about
issues that have impacted each of our lives in some way. For example, Abortion is looked down
upon most religions, and therefore can cause major conflict over differing opinions. Police
Brutality is an ongoing issue, and has contributed to the Michael Brown shooting, and
contributes to racial discrimination. The topics discussed have required a lot of research,
questioning, writing, and critical thinking throughout this course. These topics have personal
meaning to each of us, and that is why we chose the topics we did.

Our Responsibilities:
Each member in our group was assigned a position to fulfill for this project. There are
four positions that we got to have input to choose, and we were later assigned by our professor,
Ms. Nelson. For this assignment, the roles consisted of: editor and chief, visual editor, lead
writer, and research manager. Branden was assigned to be the editor and chief and to oversee the
entire project as a whole. He was in charge of making sure everyone was doing their part to
contribute to the project. It has been his responsibility to create our groups website, which
contains all of the pieces you will find in our magazine. He has been very dedicated in making

sure that everyone stays on task and does their part. Trentons role for this project was the visual
editor. He has been in charge of the visual aspect of the magazine,
including audio elements to enhance this project. Jenna was assigned
to be the lead writer. She was responsible for making sure all of the
pieces included in the magazine, were edited and revised to
perfection, and making sure they were ready to be displayed for the final project. Ashlys
responsibility as the research manager was to make sure that all of the sources cited in each piece
are accurate and credible. She was in charge of making a works cited page including all of the
sources. Each person in our group had a vital role to play in this project, and we could not have
completed this project without the help of each team member.

Writing and Research Process:

Possibly the most important part of this project, and class overall was the research
involved throughout our writing processes. For the topics we chose, we each had to be sure we
dedicated time and effort in to finding the best sources possible for our writing pieces. Strong
essays and assignments are a result of strong and reliable sources that convey the best
information available. Each of our group members had the opportunity to revise and review over
others assignments to provide constructive feedback and suggestions of how to make each paper
better than the last time it was visited. As a result, each paper became better and better
throughout the revision process by our group member. Each of us realized and learned that
writing is a continuous process, and there is always room for improvement of various
assignments. We all were constantly collaborating different ideas of how to become better
writers, not just for this project, but for the future assignments to come. A few group members
found that revising as a group isnt necessarily the easiest way to go about it, but others found it

to be beneficial. Revising as a group can be disorganized and confusing, but it also can be a great
way to receive feedback from those who you work with.

Strengths and Weaknesses:

We as a group met solely online on our discussion boards. Online
discussions are convenient, but it is difficult to get your point across when
you are not meeting in person. Revising pieces online wasnt ideal, and it was not a great way to
receive input on our assignments, but we did our best! We were able to communicate with each
other to the best of our ability. As we met and discussed online, we were able to become more
acquainted with each other and learned about different ways we could help each other out. We
believe our magazine turned out great, and it is a great representation of our hard work. Thank
you to all of our team members for taking the time on this project and getting things done in a
timely manner!

Our Advice to You:

Group work is often unorganized, chaotic, stressful and a lot of

work, so it is important for each group member to pull their own weight. We would recommend
that the group meet face to face as often as possible, to make sure everything is getting done, and
everyone knows what they are responsible for. Revising and meeting online may seem ideal and
convenient, but face to face meetings are more beneficial, and are great ways to get feedback of
how to make your writing better. Communication is key! Group members should share ideas,

concerns, and be able to offer support where the group is lacking. You want to make sure that
everyone is doing their part of the assignment, and to check in with the group often.
Another form of advice we would like to suggest is to stay on task and check up on your
group regularly, and respond in a timely manner. We are all busy, but with final projects, it is
very important not to procrastinate. Do everything you are assigned to do. This is a GROUP
project. This assignment takes a lot of effort by each group member, and if you fall behind, it
makes the whole team fall behind. Do your part!
FINAL EVALUATION

Overall, we believe that this magazine project is an accurate

representation of the best work we have completed this semester in
English 2010. We are very pleased with the outcome of this magazine. This magazine is a result
of continuous revision, editing, correction, trial and error, and a great amount of research. As a
group, we are proud of the work we have put into this. This assignment has been a lot of hard
and dedicated work. This magazine project has made each one of us more knowledgeable about
writing in different genres and has taught us that we as writers, are very different. Writing is a
continuous learning process, and we will use the things we have learned in the future. We hope
you enjoy our magazine!
The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.
Phil Jackson