The schema figured very prominently in my writing process as I used it as a guide for planning the outline of my public initiative proposal. I used the element definitions to decide which content was appropriate in each section and they helped me understand how each section related to the others. The schema was an asset for this writing project but I did not feel that differently when using it to write my proposal. I have written experiment proposals for my other classes so I was fairly comfortable with the genre, using the schema as a guide.
The most difficult aspects of XML have to do with the formatting for me. I find it takes some time getting used to the formatting system and I had to frequently go back to look at examples of how to insert citations and other information in the document. I found the definitions of the elements extremely helpful in my writing process. While our group tried to define each element in the schema, it really made made me think about each section of a proposal and about what content should be included in it. Determining the difference between and objective and a goal, or subject history and the current conditions gave me a much better understanding of a genre I thought I already understood very well.
I believe I broke up the content of my proposal well and that each section in the document serves a specific purpose. However, I did struggle with the length of the proposal as they are typically much larger than the 1000 word requirement from this project. I tried to reduce or summarize certain sections of this proposal and I was often unsure about which information to include and which to omit. It was an interesting editing process that really made me think about my word choice and forced me to get to my point quickly, using concise sentences. I think the assignment allowed me to analyze the genre very thoroughly and I have a much better understanding of both XML and the public initiative proposal than I had before.
