I just wanted to thank you for this course. When I first enrolled in this class, I did not have the expectation to be challenged or critiqued on my writing. I fully-heartedly took it because I needed it to graduate. However, throughout the progression of this course, I found myself eager to work on and complete my assignments. I learned how to modify my writing style for concision and clarity. I trained myself to focus on writing for readability and not just analyzing and translating academic concepts.
I always considered myself a good reader, and throughout my academic career, I experienced a form of writing burnout. I used to love to write in my classes, especially my creative writing classes, but I lost that in the last couple of years because of the lack of challenge and motivation given by my teacher. However, during this course, I feel like my love for writing has been ignited. I have felt challenged in this course and motivated to improve my skillset, which I greatly appreciate and thank you. đ
Final Substack Newsletter
Substack Account Design Element
My Substack newsletter was designed after several sessions of reorganization and redesigning. I wanted to create a website that was different than the standard white background, but not something too intense. I decided on a beige, off-color that is said to be easy on the eyes. Additionally, I decided on a dark blue accent color for the entire page; therefore, keeping a cohesive and repetitive design element. For my typography, I selected a type that contrasted and was bold for the titles: Slab and the body I used an easily legible Classic Serif. The newsletter is accented with graphic design for each story picture, which I liked better than using real pictures that were more aggressive and bolder. The graphics I created allow a slight pop when scanning for the articles, but donât distract the reader from the introductory bio associated with each story. The logo was created by Canva. For this element, I wanted simplicity and cohesion with the rest of the site. The logo combines the accent blue with the tan background, adding a dash of the text's color, which is a dark brown. I believe that it goes well with the site but doesnât distract too much from the core information.
About Page
For my site, I created an additional page- the people page â to allow the reader to locate the exact information they want easier. On my "Aboutâ page, I provide an antidote along with details about the mission of the newsletter. Within this page, I embedded a button to the âPeopleâ page, so the reader can jump into that section and learn more about me if they want, or they can skip that part and continue learning about the newsletter, which I believe takes center stage.
The page contains visual elements that break up the text, so as not to overwhelm the reader. These images are just graphic depictions of women in a professional setting, which ties into my overall theme. I provide a list with bullet points toward the end of the page. This visual element also breaks up the paragraph format and allows the reader to consume information quicker and more efficiently.
The ending of the about page brings forth a call to action. I state that change needs to occur now and that the way to achieve this goal is to work together. I directly bring the reader into the problem, thus incentivizing them to continue reading the rest of the newsletter and to hopefully subscribe. A button is also conveniently located below this section to ask the reader to subscribe to the University of Techburgh newsletter.
My Story
The story I developed describes my experiences over the summer and my interaction with normalized sexism in the workplace. This article was the starting point for my journey. It provides the reader with information about my personal experience while being exposed to a humorous tone, thus making it an enjoyable first post to read. It is told in a methodology like storytelling, using pathos to persuade the audience of the importance of my story and the unique perspective I possess. The piece is related to my interests in corporate America and the engrained sexist tendencies that exist within this landscape. It does not call attention to my involvement in the course, it solely focuses on my experience and why it motivated me to write this Substack newsletter.
White Paper
The white paper begins with a carefully curated cover page that introduces the audience to the color scheme, the topic of discussion, and the author. The introduction begins with an introduction of the tech industry, providing the audience with important data that supply a deeper understanding of the significance of this industry and why affecting women's involvement in the industry is detrimental to the overall welfare of society. The audience is greeted with a visual that matches the color scheme and helps convey more important details. At the bottom of the introduction, the audience is easily able to see the audience and stakeholders.
The body arguments are neatly organized in a way that flows for the audienceâs convenience. Several aspects of the paper had to be modified to improve the quality of the paper. Much of the specific vocabulary used was altered to concentrate on wording that would better react with the specific audience members. I also had to divide some of the paragraphs apart to better enhance the visual effects; this was used so I could create white space and not affect the audienceâs reading experience. Additionally, sources were reanalyzed, redone, and some were added. In the process of revising the white paper, I found more information that better supported the claim of the paper.
Q&A Interview Profile
The profile was a tad difficult considering my interview did not want too many specific details published. I knew the story was important and that it should be shared, so I created an alias and left out key information about her place of employment.
The overall piece is in a Q&A format, bouncing back between me, asking the questions, and Clara, responding with her professional story. I mostly paraphrased throughout the piece but focused on rewording the texts in a meaningful but true way. I wanted Claraâs voice to shine through while cutting out the âUmmâ and other redundant hesitations.
Within the profile, I uploaded pieces of media to enhance the readability of the profile. I wanted to break up some of the paragraphs, to give the reader a momentary break. A lot of the images depict the professional sexism that Clara discusses. Clara discusses the difficulty in networking with certain coworkers because of her gender, and I wanted to select pictures that depict solely male coworkers conversing in a manner that seems unprofessional, thus depicting the difficulty women have in establishing professional relationships with these men.
Overall, I feel confident about how the visual elements are tied in with the piece.
Conclusion
The final newsletter appears, to me, to be professional and easily digestible. It portrays adequate information and leaves the audience wanting more.
The challenges I had with this overall assignment collection were the white paper and citing more sources in a correct methodology. Throughout my educational career, I always thought that I was sourcing correctly, and no one told me otherwise. Until this class. Having to go through my white paper and redo all the sources, I think engrained how to perform this task, which will transfer over to other projects I will need to do in the future. Nonetheless, despite being a challenging foe, I think I successfully wrote and developed the white paper (through the process of countless re-edits).
The successes would have to be the overall design of the Substack and the profile piece. I feel that the Substack is exactly the type of layout and design that would appeal to my audience, and personally, would be the type of newsletter that I follow. The profile was probably my favorite to write. The manner of conducting an interview and translating fractions of it in a way that creates a story was quite fun and I believe that I did it well. The q&A provides the audience with a primary source about the debilitating effects of sexism in the workplace. The reader can digest the tone and voice of Clara, and truly see the individual come to life throughout the reading.
If I were to continue writing the Substack, I think I would want to conduct more interviews with professional women in the tech industry and share their stories. I believe that hearing stories of what is going on in the world is an important motivator for change. Additionally, I would provide resources and studies that reflect the topic of discussion. The resources would present the reader with ways how to make small, but impactful, changes in their everyday lives to improve the situation of professional sexism. The studies would be academic publishing about the [psychological and economic impact of these gender stereotypes and harmful workplace misconduct; this would also deepen the understanding of what is taking place and why it is important to change.