Over the course of the semester, I have been using different genres and including them in my website to convey information (and my opinion) on Venezuela's current situation and how it is affecting its people. I selected this topic because I am a Venezuelan immigrant, so it is something I especially care about and want others to know what is occurring. Since it is personal, it was hard to convey mysef as unbiased through my work; as you read through my website, you can tell what my political views are. However, I tried to build my credibility (ethos) by using facts from recognized sources.
As I chose and wrote about my subtopics, I also revised my previous work. I believe this helped improve I was able to catch mistakes easily and edit content objectively with a "fresh pair of eyes." Out of all the genres/works, I polished my infographic the most. I wanted it to be a timeline of the important events that led to the election of Chavez and the results of his presidency over the years. I was happy and satisfied with my final product. Nevertheless, I am most proud of my artifact analysis because I picked something that others may find mundane, a baseball cap with the Venezuelan flag, and showed how important it is in Capriles's campaign and what it means for most members of the opposition. I wrote that page in a short amount of time and really enjoyed re-reading it.
In English 101, I learned how important it is to have a clear purpose and controlling idea when speaking/writing. With a controlling idea, I was able to shape my website and interview questions to obtain/show the information I found most valuable to express my political opinion. Additionally, it was imperative to keep my audience, people with limited knowledge about Venezuela, in mind when writing/presenting, which is why I started with basic facts and information about the country and then moved on to more complex ideas and political events.
The most important thing I learned is to save all of my drafts as opposed to editing over them. By doing this, I was able to revisit drafts and modify my final product, ultimately improving it. Now, I will keep my drafts for all of my other works and save them in separate folders to maximize the organization of my computer.
To show my improvement, I attached a peer-review draft and the final version of my ROL.
Peer Reviewed Draft
(comments written in italics) The following sources that were reviewed are based on the effects that the corrupted Venezuelan government has had on the country’s population. Sources also address the deteriorating economy, the increasing amount of Venezuelan immigrants, and the pressing opposition, who (do they have a political name?) do everything they can to bring the current government down.
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Final Draft
The following sources that were reviewed are based on the effects that the corrupted Venezuelan government has had on the country’s population. Sources also address the deteriorating economy, the increasing amount of Venezuelan immigrants, and the pressing opposition, who do everything they can to bring the current government down.
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