Nearly all of your assignments will be completed on your own public web space with blog functionality. As discussed in the Grading Contract, assignments fall into two categories: minor and major.
Minor assignments are formative assignments that help you prepare for major assignments. They might be completed in or out of class. Although on the course Calendar I will try to indicate as far in advance as possible when minor assignments are due, they might not be announced until the class meeting before they are due. The best policy is to simply expect minor assignments to be due at the beginning of each class whenever a major assignment isn't also due. Minor assignments are either complete or incomplete, based on whether or not they are submitted on time and meeting minimum requirements. Minor assignments will often assume the format of blog posts related to course topics/readings.
Major assignments require more time and effort than minor assignments, and are often the culmination of the work you complete for weeks leading up to them. They are therefore usually announced weeks in advance. The below guidelines detail the steps and/or deliverables included as part of a single assignment. Major assignments will often assume the format of one or more web pages.
Minor assignments are formative assignments that help you prepare for major assignments. They might be completed in or out of class. Although on the course Calendar I will try to indicate as far in advance as possible when minor assignments are due, they might not be announced until the class meeting before they are due. The best policy is to simply expect minor assignments to be due at the beginning of each class whenever a major assignment isn't also due. Minor assignments are either complete or incomplete, based on whether or not they are submitted on time and meeting minimum requirements. Minor assignments will often assume the format of blog posts related to course topics/readings.
Major assignments require more time and effort than minor assignments, and are often the culmination of the work you complete for weeks leading up to them. They are therefore usually announced weeks in advance. The below guidelines detail the steps and/or deliverables included as part of a single assignment. Major assignments will often assume the format of one or more web pages.
Peer Response One
Basics
Draft
Post your first draft as a web page to your site. Your first draft should possess all of the necessary elements detailed in the guidelines below (except the reflective introduction), though they may lack polish and development.
Blog Post
You will write a preliminary reflective introduction as a blog post attending to Reflective Introduction guidelines 1 and 2 (see below), and including at least three specific questions you would like your peers to address in their responses. Although questions related to style and design are welcome, try to avoid questions related to grammar and punctuation, as this is not a copyediting class.
Peer Responses
Post a comment of at least 300 words each on at least two peers' reflective blog posts. Try to choose a draft no one has commented on yet, but don't bother commenting on a draft that is obviously too underdeveloped to warrant your time and attention.
When commenting, first devote some remarks to what you found interesting about their analysis and findings. Then comment on what you found interesting about how they wrote their first draft. After sharing your more general, positive comments, respond with constructive feedback to the peer's three questions. Lastly, share any other constructive criticism you have to offer.
- First draft of preliminary analysis with required introduction written as a blog post (due 2/22)
- Response to at least two peers' blog posts introducing their preliminary analyses (2/26)
Draft
Post your first draft as a web page to your site. Your first draft should possess all of the necessary elements detailed in the guidelines below (except the reflective introduction), though they may lack polish and development.
Blog Post
You will write a preliminary reflective introduction as a blog post attending to Reflective Introduction guidelines 1 and 2 (see below), and including at least three specific questions you would like your peers to address in their responses. Although questions related to style and design are welcome, try to avoid questions related to grammar and punctuation, as this is not a copyediting class.
Peer Responses
Post a comment of at least 300 words each on at least two peers' reflective blog posts. Try to choose a draft no one has commented on yet, but don't bother commenting on a draft that is obviously too underdeveloped to warrant your time and attention.
When commenting, first devote some remarks to what you found interesting about their analysis and findings. Then comment on what you found interesting about how they wrote their first draft. After sharing your more general, positive comments, respond with constructive feedback to the peer's three questions. Lastly, share any other constructive criticism you have to offer.
Preliminary Analysis
Basics
Rhetorical genre analysis of scientific discourse in a discourse community to which you belong or wish to gain entry (due 2/26)
Rhetorical Situation
Rhetor(s): Can be completed individually or as a team*
Purpose
Invention
Required
Collect and analyze texts (genres)
Identify a particular context, i.e. genre or activity system, within a particular discourse community
Optional
Arrangement
Reflective introduction is an exploration of where you are at in learning to write (and for prospective employers/mentors, evidence of your growth potential), not an argument for your writerly genius. Write your introduction for the audience of your portfolio while also considering how it will guide peer and instructor feedback. Your introduction should explore (in no particular order):
Discussion of findings/implications
Style
Keep in mind your rhetorical situation, especially
Delivery
A page of your reflective web portfolio, i.e.
*Team members should share interest in discourse community and course grade (see Grading Contract)
**See the different kinds of knowledge detailed in the student learning outcomes included in the Syllabus
Rhetorical genre analysis of scientific discourse in a discourse community to which you belong or wish to gain entry (due 2/26)
Rhetorical Situation
Rhetor(s): Can be completed individually or as a team*
Purpose
- To uncover how the functions and features of particular genres shape scientific discourse within a particular activity system or discourse community
- To share what you uncover with your audience
- To demonstrate your skills/knowledge**
- The class (students and professor)
- Your chosen discourse community
- Future audiences to which you might want to demonstrate your skills/knowledge
Invention
Required
Collect and analyze texts (genres)
Identify a particular context, i.e. genre or activity system, within a particular discourse community
Optional
- Conduct interviews (see Grading Contract)
- Conduct observations
Arrangement
Reflective introduction is an exploration of where you are at in learning to write (and for prospective employers/mentors, evidence of your growth potential), not an argument for your writerly genius. Write your introduction for the audience of your portfolio while also considering how it will guide peer and instructor feedback. Your introduction should explore (in no particular order):
- The rhetorical situation of your analysis (its subject, audience, occasion/context, purpose)
- Your writing process, including your rationale for making decisions related to invention, arrangement, style, and delivery, including research methods, organizational strategy, and revision work
- References to feedback from peers
- What you learned during the course of this project in relation to relevant student learning outcomes
Discussion of findings/implications
Style
Keep in mind your rhetorical situation, especially
- Your audiences, and what you need to do to reach them
- Your mode of delivery...
Delivery
A page of your reflective web portfolio, i.e.
- public in nature
- invites certain approaches to design that a traditional research paper would not
*Team members should share interest in discourse community and course grade (see Grading Contract)
**See the different kinds of knowledge detailed in the student learning outcomes included in the Syllabus
Peer Response Two
Basics
Drafts
Post on one or more web pages on just one team member's site your first drafts of all deliverables due to your community partner. First drafts are not plans for drafts. Most of the key components should be in place, though there might be one or two key elements missing.
Blog Post
You will write a preliminary reflective introduction as a blog post attending to Reflective Introduction guidelines 1 and 2 (see below), and including at least three specific questions you would like your peers to address in their responses. Although questions related to style and design are welcome, try to avoid questions related to grammar and punctuation, as this is not a copyediting class.
Peer Responses
Post a comment of at least 150 words each on at least two peers' reflective blog posts. If at all possible, choose a draft no one has commented on yet, but don't bother commenting on a draft that is obviously too underdeveloped to warrant your time and attention.
When commenting, first devote some remarks to what you generally find interesting and valuable about the project. Them respond with constructive feedback to the peer's three questions. Lastly, share any other constructive criticism you have to offer.
- First draft of final project posted to a single team member's site, but linked to on all others
- One required reflective introduction per team written as a blog post on a single team member's site, but linked to on all others (due 4/12)
- Response to at least two peers' blog posts introducing their final projects (2/26)
Drafts
Post on one or more web pages on just one team member's site your first drafts of all deliverables due to your community partner. First drafts are not plans for drafts. Most of the key components should be in place, though there might be one or two key elements missing.
Blog Post
You will write a preliminary reflective introduction as a blog post attending to Reflective Introduction guidelines 1 and 2 (see below), and including at least three specific questions you would like your peers to address in their responses. Although questions related to style and design are welcome, try to avoid questions related to grammar and punctuation, as this is not a copyediting class.
Peer Responses
Post a comment of at least 150 words each on at least two peers' reflective blog posts. If at all possible, choose a draft no one has commented on yet, but don't bother commenting on a draft that is obviously too underdeveloped to warrant your time and attention.
When commenting, first devote some remarks to what you generally find interesting and valuable about the project. Them respond with constructive feedback to the peer's three questions. Lastly, share any other constructive criticism you have to offer.
Final Project
Basics
An opportunity for you to compose (individually or as a team) scientific discourse in one or more genres for a (potentially real) rhetorical situation of your choosing (pending instructor approval).
The Process/Deliverables
Proposal
Components: A one-page plan for your final project, detailing:
Project
Primary Deliverables: Genres/rhetorical situations to be negotiated with instructor and/or community partners (see options below), but in addition, should at minimum include:
Possible Rhetorical Situations
Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation (Project One)
“Knowledge Is Power” is a cancer awareness/prevention campaign launched by the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation. Gloria Gemma has requested our assistance in identifying and vetting information related to monthly cancer awareness/prevention topics on the “Knowledge Is Power” page of the Gloria Gemma website. Gloria Gemma is interested in developing a social media campaign strategy through which they can connect millenials to this information and also encourage them to connect more with Gloria Gemma. In particular, Gloria Gemma is interested in developing more effective social media strategies for reaching millennials on Instagram. Students working on this project will:
Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation (Project Two)
Gloria Gemma is looking to acquire land in Warwick to build a new facility that will allow them to expand the scope of their mission to more explicitly serve a broader constituency including anyone diagnosed with cancer and their families, and also expand the range of services they offer. Professor Graham is currently working with Gloria Gemma on a potential site design based on the Maggie's Cancer Caring Centers in the UK, which offer prospective architects a brief to guide their work. Professor Graham has requested our assistance in translating the work of past and current architecture projects into a brief that Gloria Gemma might use in the future to guide the actual design of their facility. Students working on this project will:
Nature Conservancy of Rhode Island
The Nature Conservancy of Rhode Island (NCRI) posts descriptions of its conservation sites to its website and at the sites themselves to encourage the general public to visit these them and invest in their conservation. NCRI has requested our assistance in writing site descriptions that balance the need to promote the organization's science-based approach to conservation with the need to entice the average citizen to use, enjoy, and value conservation sites. Student working on this project will:
Save the Bay
Save the Bay (STB) uses a number of platforms to raise awareness among a broad constituency (from the previous to the next generation of bay stewards, the RI coast to central MA) concerning how the health of the bay impacts them, and vice versa. STB has requested our assistance in using those platforms to communicate the importance of a number of topics that might not immediately strike constituents as moving or important. Students working on this project will:
An opportunity for you to compose (individually or as a team) scientific discourse in one or more genres for a (potentially real) rhetorical situation of your choosing (pending instructor approval).
The Process/Deliverables
Proposal
Components: A one-page plan for your final project, detailing:
- genre(s)
- rhetorical situation
- project phases/timeline (based on final project components/deadlines below)
- first draft for instructor conference due 3/5
- second draft for instructor approval due 3/8
- third draft submitted for stakeholder approval due 3/9
Project
Primary Deliverables: Genres/rhetorical situations to be negotiated with instructor and/or community partners (see options below), but in addition, should at minimum include:
- Reflective intro, i.e. an exploration of where you are at in learning to write (and for prospective employers/mentors, evidence of your growth potential), not an argument for your writerly genius. Write your introduction for the audience of your portfolio while also considering how it will guide peer and instructor feedback. Your introduction should explore (in no particular order):
- The genre(s) and rhetorical situation of your final project (its subject, audience, occasion/context, purpose)
- Your writing process, including your rationale for making decisions related to invention, arrangement, style, and delivery, including research methods, organizational strategy, and revision work
- References to feedback from peers
- What you learned during the course of this project in relation to relevant student learning outcomes
- Results from substantive research on genres and rhetorical situation (included in reflective intro and/or deliverables requested by instructor and/or community partners)
- primary (relevant texts and contexts)
- secondary (at least some of which must be scholarly)
- Presentation(s) (optional depending on grade)
- first draft for peer response due 4/12
- second draft for instructor and stakeholder response due 4/19
- presentations due 4/26-5/7
Possible Rhetorical Situations
Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation (Project One)
“Knowledge Is Power” is a cancer awareness/prevention campaign launched by the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation. Gloria Gemma has requested our assistance in identifying and vetting information related to monthly cancer awareness/prevention topics on the “Knowledge Is Power” page of the Gloria Gemma website. Gloria Gemma is interested in developing a social media campaign strategy through which they can connect millenials to this information and also encourage them to connect more with Gloria Gemma. In particular, Gloria Gemma is interested in developing more effective social media strategies for reaching millennials on Instagram. Students working on this project will:
- Propose an initial plan grounded in an analysis of Gloria Gemma’s current content and social media marketing strategy.
- Research and develop at least one month of content for the Gloria Gemma “Knowledge Is Power” webpage.
- Research and develop a related Instagram-focused social media marketing strategy including content for at least one month’s worth of posts.
Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation (Project Two)
Gloria Gemma is looking to acquire land in Warwick to build a new facility that will allow them to expand the scope of their mission to more explicitly serve a broader constituency including anyone diagnosed with cancer and their families, and also expand the range of services they offer. Professor Graham is currently working with Gloria Gemma on a potential site design based on the Maggie's Cancer Caring Centers in the UK, which offer prospective architects a brief to guide their work. Professor Graham has requested our assistance in translating the work of past and current architecture projects into a brief that Gloria Gemma might use in the future to guide the actual design of their facility. Students working on this project will:
- Propose an initial plan grounded in an analysis of Gloria Gemma's past and present design projects, as well as the brief used by Maggie's Cancer Caring Centers to guide the design of its facilities.
- Research and develop a brief to guide the design of Gloria Gemma's future facility.
Nature Conservancy of Rhode Island
The Nature Conservancy of Rhode Island (NCRI) posts descriptions of its conservation sites to its website and at the sites themselves to encourage the general public to visit these them and invest in their conservation. NCRI has requested our assistance in writing site descriptions that balance the need to promote the organization's science-based approach to conservation with the need to entice the average citizen to use, enjoy, and value conservation sites. Student working on this project will:
- Propose an initial plan grounded in an analysis of the NCRI’s current site descriptions on its website, both the newly updated and those in need of updating.
- Research and develop a web-based site description for the newly acquired Pocasset Ridge Conservation Area, located in nearby Tiverton.
- Research and develop a strategy for describing NCRI sites on the web.
Save the Bay
Save the Bay (STB) uses a number of platforms to raise awareness among a broad constituency (from the previous to the next generation of bay stewards, the RI coast to central MA) concerning how the health of the bay impacts them, and vice versa. STB has requested our assistance in using those platforms to communicate the importance of a number of topics that might not immediately strike constituents as moving or important. Students working on this project will:
- Select at least one topic to focus on from the list of suggested topics:
- green infrastructure
- microplastics
- salt marshes
- nutrients and nutrient pollution
- dams
- watersheds
- seawalls
- Propose an initial plan grounded in an analysis of STB's current blogs, podcasts, and social media marketing
- Research and develop at least one blog (400-500 words), podcast (20-40 minutes), and related social media marketing strategy (multiple platforms)
Reflective Web Portfolio
Basics
A culminating demonstration of your learning over the course of the semester.
Content
Imagine you wanted prospective employers and/or the general public to see the work you've done in this course. How would you want to present it to them so that it makes sense to them within the context of the course as well as your academic/professional goals at Roger Williams? How can you expand your reflective introductions so that they guide readers in interacting with your website from your homepage through to each assignment in a way that tells a story of your learning and creates a sense of continuity and coherence?
In doing so, you would need to explain in substantive detail the following:
Form
In imagining your website as a portfolio that tells a story of your learning in the course, from the homepage through each of the assignments, consider how you might:
A culminating demonstration of your learning over the course of the semester.
Content
Imagine you wanted prospective employers and/or the general public to see the work you've done in this course. How would you want to present it to them so that it makes sense to them within the context of the course as well as your academic/professional goals at Roger Williams? How can you expand your reflective introductions so that they guide readers in interacting with your website from your homepage through to each assignment in a way that tells a story of your learning and creates a sense of continuity and coherence?
In doing so, you would need to explain in substantive detail the following:
- This course, and what we've been learning about this semester more generally
- What you've learned more generally in relation to course concepts, texts. and outcomes
- Your major and minor assignments by:
- Making sure your "about" section of your blog explains what your minor assignments are
- Revising and expanding your major assignments and their reflective introductions, with attention to the original assignment guidelines, explaining how and why you made particular composing decisions, and what you learned from doing so, with attention paid to peer, instructor, and writing center feedback (on group assignments, you may choose to do the revisions with or without your partner, but your reflection should be your own, and each website should stand on its own by displaying its own version of the revised major assignment)
- Your website itself, how and why you made particular composing decisions, and how it demonstrates your learning in this course
Form
In imagining your website as a portfolio that tells a story of your learning in the course, from the homepage through each of the assignments, consider how you might:
- Design the interface of the website so that it is easily navigable
- Choose the layout/design of each page to achieve the intended effect
- Integrate relevant graphics that capture the theme you are after
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