MY STORY: 

• What type of note taker are you?

MY BLOG: 

For my story, I wanted to write about something that has to do with students. My first idea was writing about full-time working dads and my second idea was to write about the one thing all students do, and that is note taking. I thought the working dads idea was a fun twist on all the articles about working moms. However, I chose to write about students taking notes in class because that topic hits closer to home.

When I decided to write about note taking in school, I wanted to make it geared more toward communication majors. I chose to use one major because there is such a vast number of majors there would have been too much information to write about. By sticking to one major, I was able to eliminate several obstacles of trying to use different majors.

I chose to interview two students and a professor. Each student attends a different university in the state of Utah and the professor teaches at the University of Utah. I chose to interview students from different schools so that I could eliminate a bias. The bias would have been that all of my sources came from the U and I wanted different viewpoints. I was able to interview students I knew from Utah State University and Southern Utah University. Both of these students came to Salt Lake at different times and I was able to interview them while they were here. For the professor, I had the opportunity to take her class last semester and thought she would be the perfect source for a story on note taking. I chose her because she does not allow electronic devices during her class times.

My focus was on the different ways of note taking and how one type is better than the other, according to research. I wanted to explore whether taking notes by hand is better for students compared to taking notes with a laptop or electronic device. I gathered a lot of information about note taking from the students and chose to use only the parts that they said why they chose the way they do and how it impacted their grades. For the professor, I chose to ask why she doesn’t allow electronic devices and what advice she would give to students about taking notes and studying.

I found this story interesting to write. I have never taken a newswriting class, so I was only used to writing papers/essays in APA style. This was definitely a learning process for me. I found that once I started writing, it became easier for me to write according to news style. Overall, I was able to broaden my writing style and thoroughly enjoyed this assignment.

ABOUT ME:

Bailey Caldwell is a senior strategic communication major at the University of Utah. She started at the U in 2016 after receiving her associate degree from Southern Utah University. Although Bailey loved going to SUU, she chose to move closer to home to finish her schooling. Graduating from the U was always a dream of hers and now she will be able to.

Bailey has worked two part-time jobs throughout college while still being a full-time student. Balancing work and school has been tough at times but Bailey has become a well rounded person because of the time management she had to learn. Keeping busy has always been a lifestyle for Bailey.

After graduation, Bailey plans to start a career in event planning and social media marketing. She has always wanted to plan large-scale events along with learning about social media marketing and advertising.