The End: Saying Goodbye

The “Learning With Yunna” blog series was created to highlight my progress in the ENG4U course. I’m happy to report that I’ve learned a lot over the past few months, including the theories of literary criticism explored in Unit 1, the various forms of digital media investigated in Unit 2, and the principles of effective essay writing studied in Units 3 and 4. As the semester comes to a close, I will consolidate the concepts that I’ve covered in the curriculum with a digital portfolio showcasing the wide range of skills I’ve acquired throughout the semester. In this final blog post, I will introduce the plan that I’ve prepared for this summative assignment and discuss the significance of each element I chose to include (the video, the graphic organizer, the webpage, and of course, the essay).
The essay is arguably the most important piece in my portfolio. I bet everyone has written dozens over the course of their academic career, and I’m no exception. This particular essay will focus on my ISU novel, Station Eleven, and the Reader Response theory of literary criticism. For my ISU journals, my classmates and I have read Station Eleven through various literary lenses (reader response, archetypal and feminist/post-colonial). Upon comparing everyone’s blog posts, I noticed that despite having read the same novel through the same lens, we all had different interpretations of the text! This realization inspired me to write an argumentative piece that submits the inescapable influence of a reader’s individuality on the interpretation of a text; my proposition is that all types of literary criticism lead back to the Reader Response theory. 
The next piece in my portfolio is a pre-writing concept map for the essay mentioned above. Using an online design software, I will organize keywords and arguments into an easy-to-interpret visual diagram showing the relationship between my different points. This will help me develop my ideas and filter the relevant points prior to delving into the drafting of my essay. I will focus on ensuring that each argument is sufficiently supported by reliable evidence and that my ideas flow logically. 
A more unique element I plan on adding to my portfolio is an informative video involving both visual and audio components. The video will give the audience a short crash-course on the theories of literary criticism (namely the reader response theory) before they read my essay, which I hope will improve their understanding of my writing. This element of my portfolio shows my ability to create original media content using Powtoon, a video editing software. Just like a digital remix, I will need to be careful to cite all of the sources I use to produce this video. The websites I consult for information, the images I find on the internet and the music I layer in the background should all be accredited to their respective owners.
Lastly, all the elements of my portfolio will be compiled into a webpage created using Wix ADI. I chose this web design software because I’ve used it for past assignment, and I found that the interface was both intuitive and efficient. My webpage will reflect my personal style, modern and minimalistic, where all the content is easily accessible to users; it should be as easy to navigate as it is aesthetic.
Thank you all for being a part of this semester long journey with me! I enjoyed creating content for you to explore, and I hope you enjoyed reading too. As always, happy learning! :)