OUIL401- Evaluation

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

NAME
Matthew Mercer

1.  What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
For me, the biggest skill I have gained from the module is my essay writing skills. I have never really been one for academic writing but I think my skills in analysing, tringulating and being critical of academic texts has improved no end. As well as this, I fell my ability to critically look at other artists work and break down the image has improved, which has in turn helped me to become more critical of my own work so I am ablt to develop that further too.

2. What approaches to/methods of research have you developed and how have they informed your practical outcomes?
One of the biggest influences on my practical outcomes was actual facts and information gained from research, which is something I previously would never have thought would happen. I have really enjoyed researching the theoretical side of art and design and have learned a lot about methods, techniques and ideas behind why certain works are made and the context behind them. This has definitely influenced my final practical outcomes, which have turned out to be more informative rather thatn just images/illustrations for the sake of it. Which I love, it gave me a sense of purpose to what I was making.

3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
I have tried to work quicker with this module, treating my visual journal almost as a sketchbook to get rough ideas down and explore different avenues from them, rather than just trying to greate 20 finished images having not properly explored the idea. I think this lead me to stray further from my original proposal than I thought I would but I really think my work has benefitted from the breadth of research.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?
I think one of the biggest weaknesses for the module is the types of research I have gathered. I feel I could have taken more quotes/ texts from the information I had found. In the latter part of SB2, whilst researching retail layouts, the information I could find was incredibly limited as it is quite a niche subject. So I couldn't really find many quotes of much credibility, but I did find other types of research which influenced the direction of my work. I definitely enjoyed researching my subject, so I wouldn't necessarily change the fact that I chose quite a niche field, but I would definitely gather more bits of information, even if they weren't really key.

5. Identify five things that you feel will benefit you during next years Context of Practice module?
- The techniques learned this year in terms of criticality and research for essay work and practical responses.

- The realisation that COP is actually quite enjoyable once you get started and find an interesting subject.

- I feel my ability to respond practically to information has really improved and will definitely help next year.

- I will know to choose a subject that I am actually intersted in to write about, rather than rushing into one and regretting it.

- I have learned to spread the workload over the year effectively.

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 1
Punctuality 2
Motivation 3
Commitment 2
Quantity of work produced 3
Quality of work produced 3
Contribution to the group 2
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.


A copy of your end of module self evaluation should be posted to your studio practice blog. This should be the last post before the submission of work and will provide the starting point for the assessment process. Post a copy of your evaluation to your COP blog as evidence of your own on going evaluation.

Notes