6.11.2020

I was unsure of using cliffnotes at first while writing my book review because it provided so much information and context of the book, that I was able to understand more than actually reading the novel. The book that I chose was complicated for the length it was written, with a vast set of characters, each with their own voice and chapters throughout the novel, so it was helpful to check which name connects to what background since there are other details to consider other than the characters. Looking at SparkNotes, I regretted not finding their quote system because it was very well built. For my book, all quotes had a symbol that referenced to a type of the author Camus's philosophical ideas. This can be very useful for the 3B's since it basically does the work of analyzing for me. However, I questioned the morals of using these websites. Nowadays, plagiarism from websites can be predicted from the change in diction, but with the development of study guides, it may become harder to distinguish between what's original and what's not. Moreover, those who lack the knowledge of these websites existing will be at a disadvantage, and with these websites pushing for monthly payments for "premium" membership, the percentage of affluent students succeeding in education may grow. For me, I would like to access these sites as a model for writing essays in the future, and would never try to exploit to make my essay fit the criteria.

When researching for the book review, I had found videos like Thug Notes which summarized and analyzed the novel in an intriguing and fashionable way. It was refreshing to see an analysis that took consider of the demographic that they're presenting too. I believe that the age range that watches videos on classical book summaries are students who are in need to finish their project and are not sure of where to start. However, most videos are complicated and hard to understand, only making it worse for audiences. Creating the irony of presenting a boring, or dark topic with humor was very engaging and pleasing to watch, so I took note of the techniques used in the videos. For most of my presentations, I have used slides that were stationary. However, for this presentation, I'm thinking of creating animations during the summary of the plot since processing moving pictures can give the audience's eyes something to focus on, ensuring that they won't become bored. Describing the plotline using mouth is great, but seeing that my book is veered toward a classic, it would be easier to describe using the slides. For how Thug Notes presented the plot, I would like to adapt my voice to fit the mood of the book, since I want to send a message to the audience through the book's philosophical morals.

Overall, being recommended the reference models for our presentations were very beneficial, as I had only a vague idea of what my presentation would look like. For now, I want to use multiple slides with quick time changes to create a storytelling vibe since it will clarify and visualize the story better. As someone who loves using the animation functions in PowerPoint, I am looking forward to fancying my presentation, with the exception of fitting under 5 minutes.