Website Evaluation Assignment

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Background

The Website Evaluation assignment required me to evaluate Electronic Arts' video game SPORE's website according to technical communications best practice principles as discussed in class and in our assigned readings. The evaluation was constructed in the format of a formal recommendation report in which I evaluated the website and provided justified recommendations for its improvement.

What I Did Well

This assignment introduced a few new concepts to me, which I feel I grasped very well. I was immediately able to understand the concepts of accessibility, usability, content, and design and apply those in my evaluation of the website. The textbook provided me with principles for each of these evaluation criterions which I quickly recognized lent itself to an excellent organization format for my report. All of the claims and recommendations that I made were adequately supported with information from outside sources such as other textbooks and merited online sources.

What Needed Improvement

While I did a good number of things successfully, I did an equal number of things poorly in this assignment. I failed to include a proper conclusion paragraph restating my recommendations. If I had included a conclusion paragraph, it would have lessened the impact of an abrupt ending and would have ultimately drawn my report together. I had a minor issue with using bullets correctly in this assignment because I was unaware that it is discouraged to use a bullet point for a one-item list. A single bullet breaks up the flow of the paper. I also failed to produce any recommendations for my evaluation on the content of the website. I should have thought more carefully, creatively, and critically to produce some recommendations as a website can always be improved.

What I Learned

From this assignment, I feel that I learned the most, not necessarily in the number of concepts that I learned, but in the way of concepts that I will take away and apply to other areas. I learned that it is important to provide adequate justification for any claims or recommendations that you make in order to boost the credibility of what you're saying. I also learned how to properly compose a recommendation report and when to use them appropriately in the business world and why you would want to write one. From finding support for my recommendations, I also learned a lot about how to properly design a website in accordance with technical communications best practice principles, which is extremely useful to me because web design is one of my favorite hobbies.