viz.

Image Credit: fidgetrainbowtree 

For a handout, download the PDF document outlining this assignment.

For your second project you will be working in groups to create a 3-5 minute multimedia presentation.

The content of the presentation should focus on one of the following publications: Rolling Stone, Esquire, Vanity Fair, Harper’s, The Atlantic, and New Yorker. Your task is to choose one of these publications and compare its print culture in two different decades. By “print culture” I mean everything printed in the magazine, from features and fiction to interviews and advertising. Your task is to argue in your multi-media presentation about what the publication in each of those two decades you choose tells us about American culture at that time, as well as to point out the changes between those two decades, and speculate as to what those changes might mean.

All of the publications listed here are held in the PCL’s stacks. While UT does have some digital copies of more recent issues, you would be better served by going to the library and looking at the physical issues. And for older issues you won’t have a choice. So you’ll need to get into the library.

The format of these projects is a multi-media presentation, which must be no less than three and no more than five minutes long. It also must be entirely selfcontained, which means that when you bring it to class you can simply press a play button and we can watch and hear the entire presentation. At the least interesting (and least likely to garner a high grade) end of the spectrum would be an automated PowerPoint presentation, and at the most interesting end of the spectrum would be some sort of video that incorporates images and words from the original publications, as well as music and some sort of narration to make your group’s observations and argument.

In the coming days I will provide you with the rubric that I will use to grade the presentations. You also need to quickly decide which publication your group will cover. I would prefer that no two groups work on the same publication. As always, you should email if you have any questions.

Important Dates:

Wednesday, February 25th—Project Assigned

Monday, March 2nd (Texas Independence Day)—Let me know which publication your group will cover, rubric provided to students

Monday, April 13th—Final Projects Due in Class

Image Credit: nublue 

For a handout, download the PDF document outlining this assignment.

For our second major writing assignment we will be producing a class publication.  

Everyone will contribute to the publication, albeit in some different ways (see below). I propose that we "write" a publication dealing, in the broadest sense, with "Austin." You all should choose subject to follow and write about that say something about what makes Austin different from other cities. The assignment is really that broad. And we will have a very boring publication if everyone writes an expose of a frat party. This will require you to get off campus and engage with our broader community. Keep in mind that the New Journalism often approached culture from the fringes—you might want to do the same, but whatever you do, stay safe. If you have a difficult time coming up with ideas, I'll happily help you brainstorm. 

Under no circumstance should you put yourself in a dangerous or even uncomfortable position to get your story. There are plenty of great stories available without having to take such risks. Also, your grade will be low indeed if you indulge in some form of reportage that is simply about, say, getting high with your friends. The New Journalism is hip and cool, but don't let that compel you to act or write in ways that you don't want to be recorded for posterity. This, despite the cool of the New Journalism, is still a formal assignment, and should be treated as such. 

We will talk about journalistic ethics and your responsibilities to yourselves, your subjects and your readers throughout this project, and I strongly suggest that you take notes when we have those conversations. 

In terms of composition, I want us to expand on the typical notion of writing. You could choose to write a traditional essay for this project, but I strongly encourage you to experiment with other forms of compositions: videos, radio essays (a la This American Life), multimedia presentations, flash presentations, and photo essays are all viable options for this project.  If you would like to attempt a composition in a medium you have not worked in before, Nate will be happy to direct you to one of the many campus resources available, such as DMS, to help you with your project.   

Journalists—Journalists will write stories relevant to the topic of the publication. They will submit polished, well documented stories to the editors. Stories should be between 2000 and 5000 words. The editors may reduce the text as it appears in the final publication, or they may ask a journalist to add or flesh out parts of their story. 

Commentators—Once the journalists' stories have been selected the commentators will decide upon a strategy for making sense of what the stories mean. They will each "write" a critical essay commenting on one or more stories and the stories' significance.  They will try to tell us what the reporting means. 

Editors—Three editors will be selected from applicants to review the stories submitted by the journalists. They will determine which stories to feature, as well as making constructive suggestions for how the stories might be improved before final publication. In consultation with the class as a whole, individual contributors and Nate, they will set deadlines for story submission and final publication. Editors will also "write" introductory and concluding material, as necessary. 

Designer—The designer will be responsible for the layout and final publication of our work. They will need to be familiar with web-based and traditional publishing techniques. They will be responsible for bringing all the various media together in one "location" and forming them into a coherent "publication." 

Grades—Everyone will get two grades for this assignment. Nate will grade the final publication, for which everyone will receive the same grade. This grade will count as 10% of students' final grades. Additionally, Nate will grade students' compositions and contributions to the final publication, grading the publication in their prior-to-editing state. This grade will count as 20% of students' final grades. 

Deadlines—by 10/10 you should email Nate with two things: your preferred position on the class publication (journalist, editor, commentator, designer) and your qualifications for that position. The "default" position will be journalist. Also, everyone, regardless of their preferred position, should email Nate a brief (no more than 300 words) description of what you *think* you would like to "write" about for the publication, assuming that you are a journalist. On 10/13 Nate will inform you of your position, at which point he will also discuss your story ideas with you individually. 

All additional deadlines for submissions and publication to be determined by the class as a whole. 

As always, email Nate if you have any questions about any component of this project. 

Image Credit: topgold 

For a handout, download the PDF document outlining this assignment.

Overview: 

At the start of the semester, my students in “The Rhetoric of Science Writing” read an excerpt from Pale Blue Dot, Carl Sagan’s prose meditation on a grainy image of Earth taken from the Voyager One mission. Without the accompanying text, the photograph is pretty unimpressive. However, after reading Sagan’s words, it would be difficult for readers to question the value of that image, since at stake is nothing less than our definition of what it means to be a human occupant of Earth, an argument for our responsibilities toward each other and toward the planet.

For their final short assignment, students themselves try on the role of “science writer”: they are asked to find a scientific image, contemporary or historical, and write a brief (500-600 word) argument that attempts to persuade a non-scientific audience of their image’s value. Their goal is to convince readers that their chosen image warrants a closer look and to leave them with a more informed appreciation of its contents.

Rather than submitting the assignment and accompanying image to the instructor, they will post both the image and text to the photo-sharing site Flickr. Using Flickr to collect students’ work will then enable them to present and discuss their images on the following class day. In addition, the relative “publicness” of this assignment will hopefully foster a sense of community and shared purpose (students can use content-specific tags to make their visual arguments more easily searchable by a broader audience).

Of course, this exercise doesn’t necessarily have to come attached to formal assessment. 

The broader idea here is to use Flickr to create a class “image gallery,” which will facilitate discussion about both individual images and trends across a group of images. Flickr would also work for a more informal homework assignment or even an in-class activity on visual rhetoric, in which students retrieve and analyze visual artifacts for class discussion. 

Pedagogical Goals:

• To practice considering audience, establishing ethos, and finding voice.
• To appreciate the ways in which visual and textual information can combine to create a powerful argument.

Description:

Rather than walking through the details of my particular assignment, I’ll provide a couple of logistical tips that are more broadly applicable to using Flickr in class:

1. On the day before the assignment is due, one would likely spend a class period on visual rhetorical analysis. So, using Flickr to post one’s own images for that class discussion might help to model how Flickr can be used in a rhetoric classroom. It would also make sense to leave time for students to set up Flickr accounts on the class computers.
2. Make sure that students “tag” photos with the unique number for the course, so that you can easily search for the images later. You might also link your course site to the unique-number search results on Flickr, so that there is a record of the group project.
3. Note that Flickr allows students to annotate photos directly, which might be helpful for students’ presentations of their images.

Modifications:

The “Groups” feature on Flickr might offer another way to organize your students’ posts versus having them tag the photos. If you were concerned about access, it would also allow you to control who gets to view the images and/or comment on them. 

Credit:

Thanks to John Jones for helping me figure out the logistics.

Image Credit: billolen 

For a handout, download the PDF document outlining this assignment.

Objectives:

In this assignment, students are asked to create a GoogleMap to map a topic.

GoogleMaps allows students to create their own journeys and annotate place markers with text and multimedia content; they can upload their own photos to their map, link to YouTube clips, write text and link to blogs and other kinds of websites. This free service encourages them to build maps that tell stories in a visually interesting, geographically situated way, and all sorts of people, from news agencies to public transportation services, are now using maps to create new kinds of content (commonly called 'mashups'). GoogleMaps shows how fun and creative writing on the web can really be. With no experience and lots of imagination students can join the most creative people currently delivering content on the web.

In this assignment students will literally "map" a topic of their own choosing that relates to globalization. In other words, they are going to use the multimedia environment of GoogleMaps to tell their story and present their research to the rest of the class (and the rest of the world, if they wish!).

Materials/Equipment:

Internet access and a Google Account.

Preparation:

Students need to be taught how to navigate GoogleMaps. Fortunately, GoogleMaps are really easy to use. These introductory videos will show you the basics. Here’s the page that gives you step-by-step instructions on how to build your map. This YouTube video shows you how to create interactive place markers. Finally, Google Maps Mania is a great blog that shows how people are using GoogleMaps around the world. It provides links to hundreds of maps and is a great place to start thinking about your own map.

Procedure:

Midterm maps due: week 10/28

Final Map Due: 12/4

Accompanying Paper: due 12/4

Assignment Specifics:

The map will be evaluated as a Learning Record work sample. So, be sure to make observations about what you are learning as you are creating your map and use the work samples as a way of building your research. A draft of the map is due the week of 10/28, when we will spend the week on presentations of your maps. The final map is due the last day of class as a work sample in your LR. In addition, you need to produce a two-page, single-spaced explanation of your choices for the map. In this short paper you will explain the idea behind the map—the intended audience, the choice of sources, why you chose that particular layout. etc. 

My criteria for assessing your map are simple: how well do you use the map technology? How clear is the story you are trying to tell? How do you balance writing in the map with multimedia content? Will this map be useful and legible for your defined audience? Will they understand what this map is about without having been in this class?

There are a number of ways you can fill in your map. It must have at least 8 placemarkers that contain text, and some sort of reference to other multimedia resources (photos, hyperlinks, YouTube clips etc). The writing must by your own, though you obviously can use links to other text, audio and visual material to help tell your story. Part of the skill you will develop will be to decide what information to write into the placemarker and what you will leave to your hyperlinked sources. For example, how well can you tell the story within your map without forcing your audience to jump to other websites to fill in the gaps? These are the kinds of important choices you must make. The success of your map will depend on the clarity of your writing, what sources you use and how you incorporate them, and the overall coherence of the project (in other words, can the reader easily understand the whole idea behind the map?).

You will need to do some research, but that research could include your own photographs (or photos you find on the web); your own interview or  podcast (or one you find on the web), a really cool YouTube clip, or an informative website or blog. Remember, your GoogleMap and midterm paper can be on the same topic, so research for the map can count as an opportunity to develop your research for your midterm paper. The only real rules are that the map must in some way relate to the ideas we are talking about in class. It must be informative (in other words, it shows research) and there must be writing to assess. DON’T present me with just a bunch of photos or hyperlinks; it’s how you write about them that counts.

Presentations will be on the week of 10/28. The feedback you get from the class during these presentations you will be able to clarify your ideas and build a better map. After the presentations you will buddy with two other classmates. For the rest of the semester, you will be helping each other evaluate your maps using the map rating function built into GoogleMaps. 

Notes for the Instructor: This version of the proposal argument focuses on a realistic choice of topic that demonstrates the "think globally, act locally" principle. The goal is to encourage students to write their proposals as if their audience is made up of people with the power to solve the problem. Some student samples are included below. Instead of writing a traditional essay to make their proposals, students will create websites to explain and argue their claims. To implement this assignment, the instructor will need to relate this prompt to the content of the course (by specifying what type of prompt is appropriate) and determine exactly what format the website should take (that is, how many pages it should include, what type of layout is to be preferred, and what sort of content is appropriate).

Assignment Description: Creating a website that makes a proposal argument

Category: Individual project

Goals: For this project, you will construct a proposal argument on a controversial issue of your choice. Your central claim must make a proposal, and it must be arguable. Additionally, you are to make your argument as though you are writing for an audience with the power to solve the problem. A proposal argument answers the question, "What should we do?," although you might argue against a proposed course of action instead. The final product will be a website designed and written to make this argument.

Building a Proposal Argument:

• Does something at UT or in your hometown need to change?
• Does a group that you belong to need to figure out how to get more members?
• Has someone proposed a solution that you think won't solve a problem?

After you've identified a problem, you'll want to think about a solution. Is it something we can live with? Or do we need to address it immediately? You'll need to consider a variety of solutions, including steps that might already have been taken.

Once you've examined several options, you'll want to propose the solution that you think is best and give good reasons. Things you should take into consideration:

• Would it be a good idea to do nothing? Why or why not?
• Does your proposal do the best job of correcting the problem?
• Is your solution feasible--is it doable, practical, and affordable?

Finding a Topic:

• Consider the topic of your earlier papers and find a proposal angle on it. If we understand the causes of binge drinking, what can we do at UT to address those causes and solve the problem? If the Top Ten Percent law has bad effects, what can we do to solve the problems the law creates?

Developing Your Content

• To write an effective proposal, you'll need an effective problem statement. You have to argue to establish (or deny) the existence of a problem, its significance, and its major causes.
• You'll also need to make it clear that you are arguing for a particular solution (even if that solution is not opting for one that someone else has suggested). You will argue that a solution will or will not reduce or eliminate a problem and that the solution will or will not be desirable, affordable, and feasible to implement.
• Remember that your solution doesn't have to solve the world's problems. Your proposal should solve your problem, but don't get carried away with the idea that your solution might solve all problems.
• You'll need to have fair consideration of alternative positions on the problem and on the solution, with responses in the form of concession and rebuttal.

Choosing an Audience

For this project you will choose the best audience for your proposal. This audience might be an individual or group with the authority to enact your proposal. (You may need to do some research to determine who this is.) Or, you might choose an audience that is indirectly involved with the actual decision making. For example, you could aim to persuade a relevant group to attend a particular event or write their own letters to an authority suggesting a particular course of action. Be sure to construct the website so that this specific audience will find it persuasive. Along these lines, you'll need to organize your website to reach this audience and choose appropriate appeals, style, and tone. You will also need to think carefully about the kind of content (images, charts and graphs, links to other pages, etc.) that will strengthen your proposal.

Choosing a Format:

Your choice of audience will determine your writing style and the format of your web site. For example, your web site proposal might include links to other pages and an introductory page encouraging your audience to visit the site.

To creat multiple pages within your web site, you will want to try breaking your argument into sections with clear headings and subheadings. Likewise, you might experiment with using bulleted lists, tables, and charts as appropriate.

Grading:

• Demonstrated ability to construct a proposal argument.
• Choice of a significant and arguable claim.
• Demonstrated ability to use well-chosen, fair and sufficient appeals to ethos, logos and pathos to support your claims (including appropriate graphics)
• Serious consideration of alternative solutions, with appropriate use of concessions and rebuttals.
• Effective and fair use of other authors as allies or as opponents.
• Confident but civil advocacy of your own position.
• Proper use, citation, and documentation of source material.
• Effective organization to create a clear line of argument.
• Clear and precise sentence-level rhetoric (grammar and style).

Student Samples
Brown Paper Towels by Yumiko Nakajima
FAC Building Renovation Issues by Sundew Shin

Notes for the Instructor: This proposal assignment offers visually-oriented alternatives to the traditional essay and gives students the opportunity to create a web site, a short film, or a PowerPoint presentation. Attached are two examples of PowerPoint presentations, a rough draft and a final draft that has been revised for aesthetic and persuasive appeal. To implement this assignment, the instructor will need to specify a more exact prompt and the specific guidelines necessary to complete the project (for example, the length of a short film [recommended: 5–10 minutes] or PowerPoint presentation [recommended: 20 minutes]), the number and type of sources to be used (the assignment currently requires a minimum of five), the grading specifications, and the due dates.

Assignment Description: Creating a proposal argument

Category: Individual project

Goals: This project is designed give students practice in producing visual proposal arguments; to lead them to demonstrate facility with the tools of visual rhetoric; and to think critically and carefully about the relationship between aesthetics and arguments, or between visual rhetoric and persuasion. Students will research a specific proposal and create a web site, a PowerPoint Presentation, or a short film as the medium for presenting their proposal argument. The objective is to present a well thought-out proposal that offers a viable solution to an issue that interests you, and that identifies a specific plan of action for your reader.

Tasks:

• Choose a controversial or debatable issue that is related to the material and topics of the course and that is as narrowly and clearly defined as possible.
• Identify a target audience that is affected by this problem and plan to structure your argument to reach this audience.
• Design a web site, create a short film, or design and present a PowerPoint presentation that posits a strong argument for your proposal.
• Student progress on this project will be measured in three stages: with a topic proposal, a rough draft, and a final draft.

Guidelines:

• Your project should consist of two primary components:
• A description of the situation, and what makes it a problem.
• A detailed discussion of your proposed solution to this problem. This should act as a “call to action” for your audience. You should discuss not only the reasons for your proposal, but also how it would be put into action, including both the costs (financial and/or personal) and benefits of implementing your proposal. Discuss what (if anything) has already been done about this issue, and why these solutions have been less than satisfactory.
• Your project should show that you’ve taken the time to do careful and thorough research, and investigated all relevant aspects of this issue. Some topics will require more research than others, depending on what is available and how concretely your problem can be measured, but all papers and projects should have a minimum of five sources.
• For web sites: In addition to having text in the web site itself, please cut and paste the text of your site and paste it into a word document that you also submit with your rough draft and final project; this textual component should be roughly 4-5 pages long, double-spaced (not counting the bibliography).

Topic Proposals: Your topic proposal should include the following:

• Your topic
• Some discussion of why the reader should care about this issue
• Your proposed “solution”
• Some examples of what else has been done about this problem
• Costs and benefits of your solution
• A brief description of the format your final project will take (web site, short film, or PowerPoint presentation).

Rough Draft: Your web site or short film should be fairly well fleshed out, and although they may not have all of the content you plan to incorporate into the final product, they should be close to the completed stage. If you elect to do a PowerPoint presentation, you should have all of your slides set up (even if you plan to revise them), and you should also have a Word document summarizing what you plan to say about each slide.

Grading: These projects will be graded for their visual as well as textual content; the visual component and presentation will account for 25% of your assignment grade, and the textual component will account for the remaining 75%. Be sure to include a bibliography (yes, even for short films).