As one of the seminar leaders, we had a conversation before the seminar and designed the discussion around the four core questions we created: about developing a unique writing style, organizing layout for engagement, choosing between elegant or plain language, and balancing reader appeal with authentic self-expression. Before the seminar, we planned to analyze two Instagram travel blog posts using Dr Terrett’s advice, but we only had time to fully discuss one of them. During the session, I guided the conversation, introduced each question, and encouraged quieter classmates to speak up. One area I could improve on and also an advice for the next seminar leaders, is note-taking during the discussion. When classmates raised key points, we can write them down on the board so it could help the participants to connect to each others point or rebut easily and it would also help a lot in writing the reflection after finishing the seminar.
From leading the discussion, I learned that an engaging blog post is a balance of several elements. First, a unique voice and clear, organized layout help make posts memorable and easy to follow. We also debated whether to use elegant or plain language, agreeing that conversational, reader friendly writing usually feels more relatable ( which Vincent and Jessie talked about the most) Most importantly, we explored the balance between what readers want and the writer’s true voice. The example from Terry: Mr. Beast’s videos showed how leaning into popular trends can draw huge attention, but we also agreed that a post without authentic personality will feel generic and forgettable. The best blogs understand their audience while staying true to their own perspective, and that’s what makes them stand out.