Process Paper
The Battle of Gettysburg was chosen as our topic not only because it was the climax of the Civil War, but because of its life-altering effects. It is shocking to know that without this essential conflict, the United States would live as a divided nation today and the world as we know it would be nonexistent. The Battle of Gettysburg served as one of the most vital events in United States history and has changed today’s reality. In addition, the Battle of Gettysburg covers a portion of a unit our class has not yet reached. Due to this oblivion regarding the Civil War, we were eager to learn about it. After our choice to pick the Civil War in its entirety was rejected, we decided to focus on one of the most appealing, intense battles of the war. We considered several clashes, such as the Battle of Chancellorsville and the Battle of Antietam, but we eventually reached the conclusion that the Battle of Gettysburg was the most intriguing, being the bloodiest battle of North America up to this date. Subsequently, we agreed to use the online development program Weebly in order to create a website, as opposed to the other options including a trifold or skit. We felt that an online site would be able to display powerful and touching visuals that would express the information in a more effective way than an orthodox paper or poster. We strongly agree with the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Keeping in mind that an average individual donates countless hours to the virtual universe known as the Internet, a website appeared to be the best option for our subject. Following the topic selection, we hunted for reliable sources to utilize and incorporate into our research. We successfully located approximately 50 sources, which about 100 notecards were constructed from. We used these to generate an extensive outline of the order the facts would be presented in the website. From here, one by one, we used Weebly to build multiple informative and analytical pages regarding the Battle of Gettysburg. In the process, images and other forms of visual representations were added to enhance the experience of the viewer. For example, our group modeled three timelines that we fabricated using software outside of Weebly’s domain, furthering the uniqueness and originality of our collaborative presentation. However, we assisted other teams with their respective websites, which unfortunately reduced the distinctiveness of our enterprise. For instance, we accommodated an unnamed party by helping them promote their website with the identical timeline interface we employed. Finally, we formed the annotated bibliography and finalized the website as a whole. The Battle of Gettysburg has fascinated us, especially since few people speak of this principal and consequential affair today. We hope our website can be beneficial for upcoming students to expand their knowledge and perspective of the Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg, and its tremendous impact on today’s life.
Word Count: 491 words
Character Count: 3005 characters
Word Count: 491 words
Character Count: 3005 characters