Being a seventh-grade Birdwatcher in 2020 has been a pleasure. I enjoyed the class and it has helped me improve my writing.

Writing stories was a struggle for me in the beginning. I was always behind and I didn’t finish my work on time. Procrastination was clouding over me. I then decided that I would finish my stories early, so I wouldn’t have to worry about them. Then, things were going all right. My grades and my writing skills were improving.

There were 13 steps that we had to follow before submitting our stories. Step one was to pitch a story idea and get approved. We were then to research our topic and select interviewees, and interview them. After we gathered all the information, we could start writing. After I finished the draft, I had to fact-check my story. Fact-checking included making sure all the quotes were 100% accurate, names were spelled correctly, dates were correct, and all that needed double-checking. After those steps, I had to check the story myself and proofread it. Then, I kindly asked one of my fellow classmates to review and check if there were any grammatical mistakes. When done with that, copy editors and editors were asked to complete a final revision before Ms. Bellendir proofreads it.

Then, we received a test. It might not have been a big deal, but this was our first and our only test of the year and I told myself that I wouldn’t blow it and I would study hard. When we took the test and received our papers back, I was shocked. I had received a decent grade. Additionally, there were also debates. Groups of 3 to 4 people were to debate against each other and support their position on a topic. Then, our classmates were to vote on which team supported their topic better.

Being a Birdwatcher was a tough task for me, but I have overcome the year. I am glad that Ms. Bellendir was my teacher, so she could teach us how to be journalists. Because of this class, I hope that my writing will improve in all my other subjects as well.