In class, we discussed Writer/Designer chapter 5, which talks about bias. Bias is a prejudice against or in favor of something compared to something else, usually in an unfair manner. Bias can be seen on the sources that writers choose to support their argument. For example, if I am writing about the 2016 Presidential election and its candidates, but I use sources that are sponsored by Hillary Clinton, I am showing bias towards her (I clearly support her). Generally when writing, bias is avoided, because the author wants to maximize his or her credibility, so sources are carefully selected. By citing his or her sources, the author will also be increasing his or her credibility, because the information will be displayed and presented for the reader to view and research.
For my website, I seem biased, and it is not something I was trying to prevent. I am Venezuelan, which means I have a strong opinion towards the issues that have resulted in my country's current political and economic situation. Through my work, I highlight these issues and present the information I have researched to support my claim, according to my personal beliefs.
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As I read the chapters, I made sure to write down the key concepts, which I will use to edit and revise my website. The most important factor to consider is the reader's attention and how to catch it. The people viewing my website won't necessarily be reading it, they will probably only scan and skim through my work. It has been proven that website "readers" tend to focus on the upper left quadrant of the page, so I will try to situate the key information there. To make sure they stay interested, I must create "layers". These layers consist of highlighting key words, creating hyperlinks, using medium-sized images, and dividing my work by using subheadings. Overall, I must keep my text concise so that I don't bore my visitors (KISS method - keep it simple, stupid).
The workbook also included valuable tips: -using present tense -avoiding the use of "to be" -minize the word "and" -no cluttering -use a moderate number of tabs/pages -- not too few, not too many -be sure to include your voice in your work -cite all your work; make sure your citation style fits your topic and audience -find credible sources -- look at the authors, are they biased? have they been published in other websites? are they believable? is it necessary? why are you choosing this source? -focus on your assets: pieces of source that you will use to support your argument/information -make sure your website is accessible This week during class we talked about stakeholders. Stakeholders are the people are particularly interested or concerned about a topic, not necessarily because they relate to it, but because they want to learn more. Within the context of our websites, stakeholders are those who would visit our work and want to learn more about what we have to say. We discussed who our stakeholders are and who we want them to be. For my website, I believe possible stakeholders are:
a. Lawyers b. Social Justice Advocates c. People interested in international politics and policy d. Immigrants e. Venezuelans currently living in the country f. Economists who wish to study Venezuela's economic decline In my auto-ethnography, I am studying the life of Venezuelan immigrants in other countries. To do this, I've written about the political, economic, and social context in the nation, which have led to a huge number of people leaving Venezuela. For my interviews, I will focus on two different types of immigrants, the one that lived in Venezuela until he/she was an adult, and the one that is a second generation immigrant (his/her parents immigrated before he/she was born). My mom, Miriam Cherem, is one of the 2 persons I'll interview. She is the type of immigrant that left Venezuela long after she became an adult. The other person I will interview is Gaby Muller, a first year Emory student, whose parents came to the United States one year before she was born, so she's grown up with the Venezuelan culture in the United States. I will ask them different questions according to their situations.
Sample questions:
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Clara Caro18 year old Emory student who loves ice cream, music, and laughter. Archives
December 2016
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