OUIL 401 End of Module Evaluation

Leeds College of Art BA (Hons) ILLUSTRATION	Level	04
OUIL401 Context of Practice	Credits	20
End of Module Self Evaluation

NAME

Joe Baker

1.  What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
I have learned how to plan and write an essay, this is something I have little experience in and I have never been very good at the academic side of things but taking this into account I think I’ve done rather well. I have learned how to analyse a picture and I’ve put this skill to use in one of the study tasks and throughout the essay. I have also learned the technique of Harvard referencing, although I’m not sure whether I’ve done this completely right so this is something I might need to work on. I have learned how to respond visually to a piece of written work, however this confused me quite a lot for a while and I don’t think it has been done with my best efforts.
2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your practical outcomes? Prior to this module I had very little knowledge on using books for research as I am not a keen reader but this is something I’ve found very useful in gathering information. I wouldn’t have been able to write my essay without one particular book I found in the library, it had tonnes of stories and facts which influenced my work quite a lot. Another example of how using books for research informed my work Was in my final outcomes in my visual journal, without the book I wouldn’t have known what to illustrate and I would have probably gone down a very different path. The obvious approach to research which is the internet is something I’ve also developed, this is what gave me the idea to look into signs and start drawing them.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
I think most of the strengths lie within the level of depth in doing my research, which informed my essay quite a lot and gave me lots to write about. I believe the quality of most of my visual responses are also strong, I realise there should be more but I put quite a lot of time in to the art work I did, through this I also explored different usage of media which I will carry on and use in future modlues.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?
I defiantly think there is a lack of experimentation and research in my visual journal. I was stuck for ideas for the majority of the module because I really didn’t want to just draw signs as people kept suggesting. I think next time I will have to try and care less about making work I don’t like or don’t enjoy and use this as a tool to grow as a creative. Another fault I can now see is that I didn’t stick to what id written in my proposal, originally id settled for just creating some of my own signs but then recently changed my idea to illustrating some of the misinterpreted signs out of the book. Im not sure if what ive done is totally wrong because it seems abit random and theres no real finalisation or end point to my journal, theres not really a political/ social theme to it either like the majority of my peers work. I think the only way to solve this would be to research things I’m more interested in and maybe I could have got on with the work abit easier. I also think the quantity of drawing, artist research and quotes is very weak, I should maybe have referred to my essay more and used some of Gerald Holtom, and Jean Julliens quotes in my visual responses.
5. Identify five things that you feel will benefit you during next years Context of Practice module?
The first thing would be to start the work earlier, as I mentioned previously the academic side has never been my strong point and as a result I put it off as long as possible and ended up ruining my Christmas holiday worrying about the essay. I feel the knowledge I’ve gained on planning and structuring an essay will definitely help me, I’m a bit apprehensive about the essay being longer but I booked an essay writing tutorial at the college which helped me a massive amount so I’ll be doing the same next year. Another thing that I would say is I’m going to try and be less afraid to make mistakes, weather this be through experimenting with media and drawing or even the things I write about. This is because I recently learned you cant really loose marks for things you do, only what you don’t do, and I think ive held back quite a lot in this module because I wasn’t sure about things. Another thing im going to do is keep a note pad just for cop and make more lists when I feel stressed out bout the work, ive noticed a few of my piers doing this and I can imagine it must really help. This is something im going to do for all my modules.
6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’)  5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance			x
Punctuality			x
Motivation	x
Commitment		x
Quantity of work produced	x
Quality of work produced			x
Contribution to the group		x
The evaluation of your work is an important part of the assessment criteria and represents a percentage of the overall grade. It is essential that you give yourself enough time to complete your written evaluation fully and with appropriate depth and level of self-reflection. If you have any questions relating to the self-evaluation process speak to a member of staff as soon as possible.