Hello again! As I become more ingrained within my Media Publishing class at UConn, I'll be tasked with developing a portfolio that documents my work toward a grander goal. After two weeks, it's finally time for me to kickstart this capstone project! But don't anticipate anything too big right now, for I'll be taking baby steps throughout the semester. Are you ready for me to reveal the first component of my project? Well, before I dive into that, I figure it'd be appropriate to provide some personal context. Ever since I was old enough to understand the basic landscape (i.e. when I was in upper elementary school), I've been a politically-minded individual. I credit my stepdad for getting me so heavily invested in politics (heck, he even allowed me to sneak into the voting booth and bubble in his ballot during the 2012 presidential election - FYI I was only about 15 at the time!). I also remember initiating awareness of each significant party's presidential candidates for my sixth grade classmates (seriously, it's kind of a miracle that my peers never bullied me or avoided me like you would one of those rats carrying the Black Plague). But such nerdy enthusiasm for democratic advocacy persists within me. Remember how I cited my affiliation with UConnPIRG in my last blog post? Well, about a year ago I contributed heavily to the organization's New Voters Project, a campaign geared toward registering UConn students to vote on-campus prior to the 2018 midterm elections. With over 2,000 new students registered to vote and a 90% increase in turnout at the local Mansfield Community Center from that for the previous midterm elections in 2014, it's safe to say that we attained great success! Anyway, one of our most critical tactics - as you can see in the lovely candid above - was (and still is) convincing students to complete Connecticut's official voter registration form. Take a look:
So, this document's pretty straightforward, right? In a concise, yet explicit manner, it gives you all the info you need to fill out the form properly. Each section is signified in ALL CAPS for easy access, with its main points arranged in bulleted or numbered lists and any especially pertinent details either underlined or emboldened. And the best part is that these instructions only take up about half the page, while the other half is devoted to individual documentation of each prospective voter. If I had to critique anything about the form, I'd say that it's quite achromatic, feels a bit cramped (particularly in the documentation section), and lacks variation in communication medium (i.e. the document's contents are predominantly text-based). But what relevance does any of this have to my long-term project, exactly? See, I just conducted an analysis of a work within the "U.S. voter registration form" genre. In a week's time, I aim to compare my home state's official document with that of some other states across the country. My hope is to compile the similar and contrasting elements of these voter registration forms, find areas of improvement, and (much further down the road) devise the ideal document (or, if necessary, another vessel entirely through which to register voters en masse) for use by all Americans, regardless of state residence. Our voter turnout numbers for municipal, state, and federal elections are simply way too low considering the domestic and global implications that come with performing our civic duty regularly, and perhaps my project will prove to be a step in the right direction as we head into a major election cycle in 2020 (or it'll merely become a footnote in Internet history; either outcome seems likely). That's about all I have for you today! Look out for my more detailed genre analysis next week, and until next time, I'll leave you with a Melodramatic Mike Drop™!
1 Comment
Gabe
9/9/2019 09:05:27 am
I love reading your blog posts! I can really sense your voice in them, and the multimedia elements are engaging and fun. I also love your choice of genre! I'm teaching a technical writing course right now, and we'll be spending some time looking at ballots. I might borrow the voter registration form you posted as another genre to analyze!
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