Referring back to Learning Agreement

I am now at the final stage of my project and I am very pleased with what I have achieved so far. In my learning agreement I said that I would create 4 final double page spreads and a cover for my outcome, this was because I didn't think I would be able to finish my book in  just 10 weeks. Due to planning my time better (I've learnt from not doing this so well in previous units) I actually have managed to finish my book ! I'm pretty impressed with myself and this gives me hopes for going into the next unit as it will set me up. 

I wanted to use this book, as I stated in my learning agreement, to enter the Macmillan Book Prize and I still intend to do so. However in my learning agreement I said that I would present my four final double pages as printed outcomes, I can still choose 4 to print out and present but because I managed to complete the book I would like to show it all together so I now intend to display my work digitally using Issuu. I am going to send my book to print over the christmas period but because I didn't realise I would be able to finish the book for this unit I didn't factor in the time it takes to have a book printed (since that wasn't the original plan) as I have in previous units. I still want it printed, and I want it printed properly so it can be used in my portfolio.

One thing I don't think I have demonstrated well in this unit is research into children's picture books. The reason for this is that during one of the last units of Level 5 I produced my first children's picture book, because I had never made a picture book before, I dedicated a big portion of my project towards research. It seemed almost a waste of time to reiterate what I had learnt previously again in this unit instead of building upon what I had learnt and using it to make a good start on my new book. I think it is because of this that I was able to finish my book faster than I expected. However I do feel as though I have provided evidence of my knowledge of picture books through my final outcome (which I will upload today) I have shown that I am aware of text, it should be a simple legible font such as arial, in black so that the text can be translated easily into other languages by publishers, text boxes should be used on pages where the image can make the text hard to read and the text box should be a contrast to the text e.g. white text box and black text. I have shown that I am aware of page count, I know that the standard children's book should be 32 pages long and because of this whilst planning my final outcome I have taken into consideration which pages should be kept and if any need to be cut out. I have created a title page, front and back covers also. I have been mindful when creating an image and when adding text of the guttering that will appear of about 5mm each side of where the pages bind together and made sure I haven't put any important information that might get lost into this area. So although it hasn't been written or typed out research I feel as though I have demonstrated understanding throughout my process and my final work itself.