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Reflection

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Reflection

The Context of My Remix

The topic selected for this project was a pervious assignment whose stance was to make

joining LSD missions voluntary. Even though this topic was limited to LDC missions only, the

essay depicted the challenges that many high school graduates struggle with as they try to

balance between joining the careers of their choice and conforming to societal expectations

(D'Orsa, 2020). This topic was selected to try and create awareness about this issue. High school

is one of the most important parts of an individual’s life when they undergo rapid development

(Ormsbee, 2020). This is also the time when people make career choices that affect them for the

rest of their lives. Psychological research has indicated that career choice and satisfaction can

have big effects on an individual’s happiness and general wellbeing. Creating awareness of the

importance of choosing a career based on one’s ambitions is therefore crucial to enhancing the

general wellbeing of high schoolers later in life.

The PowerPoint presentation acts as a summary of the essay, which high schoolers can

find appealing during the presentation and easy to understand. The summative nature of the

presentation reduces the time needed to make the presentation, and thus, when the time comes,

the presenter can get 5 to 10 minutes to pass the message. The short period needed to make this

presentation makes it effective enough to be used in various forums where high schoolers can be

found, increasing the number of the target audience.

The presentation aims to create awareness among high school students about the

importance of making independent decisions when joining LSD missions. To achieve this goal,

the presentations point out the importance of making independent career decisions, the benefits

of joining a mission, and some possible side effects of joining LSD missions. With this
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information, high school students can decide whether it’s worth joining missions or taking an

alternative career and educational path.

Some recommendations are also made on how LSD missions can improve their intake

mechanisms to support the independence of the recruits joining them. Research evidence has

indicated the various challenges that new recruits and those already on missions face. Some key

challenges include pressures from family and society to join the missions, leading them into

paths they never intended to be on, resulting to stress and other mental health programs. Joining

missions is a calling, and people should join at will, so it’s the mission’s responsibility to ensure

that only those with a willing heart join. Evidence-based methods should be employed to

measure the willingness of new recruits. The missions should also join the awareness-creation

program to tell high schoolers that joining missions should be a voluntary choice. They should

also emphasize the possible negative effects and challenges recruits may face as they join and

after joining the missions. All these efforts will ensure that only those with a calling join the

missions join enhancing the working environment in those missions. Missions should also

incorporate counseling into their services to help those who may experience mental health

challenges within their teams.

Rhetorical and Other Choices I Made

The genre selected in this presentation was the informative genre, which was selected due

to its ability to create awareness about an issue. This genre supports the purpose of the

presentation, which is to inform and create awareness among high schoolers about the

importance of making voluntary decisions when joining LSD missions. A PowerPoint

presentation was selected as the medium for this work as it is effective to present to high
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schoolers in their school environments. PowerPoint also works well for passing information in a

brief way, and thus supports the purpose of the project.

In the presentation, much of the arguments presented are from the essay, but they had to

be adapted to fit the needs of high school students and the media used. PowerPoint presentations

require brief points, and this is also good when making presentations to shorten the length of the

presentation while retaining the meaning of the presentation. The language used in the

presentation had to be adapted into a simpler one to fit the needs of the audience. The adaptation

of the language was also made necessary due to the need to create brief and understandable

points in the presentation. Therefore, some sentences and wording in the presentation ignored the

traditional grammatical structure, though detailed and well-formed explanations were made in

the speaker notes.

The initial essay was aimed at a general audience, but the presentation was aimed at high

school students, so some aspects had to change. The audience had to change as the presentation

targets the people who are most affected by the issue, who are high schoolers. The purpose of the

presentation was to inform, though with a specific audience, unlike in the essay. So, the

presentation had to be set up in a way that fit both the audience and the purpose of the project.

For example, the presentation was made brief and simple to ensure high schoolers could

understand and flow along with it. The presentation structure was also considered to ensure

maximum effectiveness. On each slide, an image was added, which was supposed to help the

audience understand the issues being discussed better. The details used to explain each slide

were added to the speaker notes, which will not be visible during the presentation. This ensures

that the audience will not be overwhelmed with overclouded slides and confusing information.
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In creating an informative presentation, it was ensured that several features of the genre

were taken into account. First, the presentation has a clear structure, starting with the

introduction all the way to the conclusion and call for action. Each slide also has a title that

informs the audience of what it talks about. Dividing the presentation into these separate parts

under subheading enhanced the categorization of the presentation information, ensuring that all

the necessary information for the presentation was included. Visual aids were also included in

the presentation to enhance the understanding of the topic. Clear and simple language was also

used to allow high school students to understand all parts of the presentation. Speaker notes were

used to enhance the presentation through further details that support the content on the slides.

Reliable sources were also used to ensure that the information presented was based on scientific

research evidence. The sources also provided additional information, which expanded the scope

of the presentation, and this made sure it served its purpose even better.

The processes I was engaged in

The process of developing the presentation mainly involved the use of Microsoft Office.

Microsoft Word was used in reading the main essay, while Microsoft PowerPoint was used in

making the presentation. Google search was used to get the images used as visual aids in the

presentation. All the sources used in gathering the data used in the presentation were gathered

from various scientific databases through Google.

The main challenge faced in the making of the presentation was summarizing the points

raised in the essay to meet the needs of the presentation. Most of the points raised in the essay

were crucial to serving its purpose, but not all could be included in the presentation. Therefore,

reading and summarizing involved taking the main points, organizing them in order of their

superiority, and transferring them into the presentation. One was also required to ensure that the
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presentation retained its meaning and flow despite the large cut in the number of words. I also

faced a small challenge getting speaker notes and formatting them, but with the help of some

tutorials from the internet, I succeeded in doing so. Formatting the images in the PowerPoint was

also an issue, but only the first image was an issue as the rest followed the knowledge and skills

gained earlier.

Composing the presentation posed some challenges but also a learning opportunity.

Creating a presentation required more critical thinking, especially when selecting the points to

include in the presentation. Critical thinking was also required when determining the visual aid

that best fits a particular slide—something that does not exist when dealing with a word-only

project. Even though the project posed some challenges, prior experience using Microsoft Word

helped me navigate PowerPoint, which has a similar user interface. In the end, the whole process

was an excellent learning opportunity.

Evaluation and learning

The remix was great, as it took a long essay and turned it into four slides that were both

easy to read and appealing to the eye. In the process of remixing the work, I learned about the

importance of creating awareness about career awareness. Scientific data has indicated that

people get more satisfied in life when they are in the right career. As a result, this awareness-

creation process should not be limited to LSD missions alone but also to other careers. Many

high schoolers also face the challenge of familial and social expectations and consciously and

unconsciously follow them while making career decisions, which may affect them for the rest of

their lives. It is therefore important that the awareness program be expanded to all high schools

and careers. In this process, I learned about the various elements of informative genres and some

media that can serve its purpose. These lessons will be useful in future advocacy roles.
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Reference

D'Orsa, T. (2020). A missionary impulse capable of transforming everything. Australasian

Catholic Record, The, 97(3), 259-274 [Link]

Ormsbee, J. T. (2020). 'Like a Cord Snapping': Toward a grounded theory of how devout

Mormons leave the LDS Church. Critical Research on Religion, 8(3), 297-317.

[Link]