Projects

Assignment: Memos
Students will complete a series of professional memos on the topics listed below. The primary audience will be your instructor and peers; these memos may be shared with members of the class to facilitate class discussions. Please make sure you bring both electronic and print copies of your memos to class.

Memo 1: What is Professional Writing?
Following discussion during the first week of class, students will produce a memo (2 pages) defining PW. The memo should describe your major and its goals, what you expect, as well as describe opportunities you expect it will open for you. Refer at least twice to the course readings and use the memo format we discuss in class.

Memo 2: Rhetoric in Professional Writing?
Write a short memo (2-3 pages) describing what rhetoric is, how professional writers use it, and what you will need to know about rhetoric in order to become a successful Professional Writer. Refer to the course readings at least three times and use the memo format we discuss in class.

Memo 3: What is Decision Architecture?
As you read Nudge, consider how this text applies to professional writing. What does it mean to architect choices, and how is this valuable to the field? Think about what you've been reading in Peeples, and articulate the importance and value of Decision Architecture to the practice of PW. Refer to the course readings and use the memo format.

Memo 4: Ethics and Professional Writing
The readings in Peeples specifically address the question of ethics: what does Nudge have to do with ethics, and how do the authors' early questions about paternalism connect to this discussion of ethical action? How does this relate to organizational context and rhetorical situation? Refer to the course readings and use the memo format.

Memo 5: Organization and Participatory Culture
In the first half of his book, Shirky paints a picture of the opportunities provided by social technologies. How does what he writes affect our understandings of key terms in PW such as audience, communication, participation, organization, et cetera? Refer to the course readings and use the memo format.

Memo 6: Professional Writing and Technology
Both Shirky and the readings in Peeples describe various technological issues and possibilities. What is the relationship between PW and technology? How do technological contexts affect writing and vice versa? Refer to the course readings and use the memo format.

Memo 7: The Future of Professional Writing
As you look over the readings in Peeples and in Shirky, how is professional writing changing and/or how is it changing with technology? How do Shirky's views change our understanding of what it means to be a professional and what it means to write? Refer to the course readings and use the memo format.

Assignment: Interview Report
Using Weiss as a guide, each student will find a professional writer in the Greater Lafayette area, Indianapolis, or Chicago, to interview, write a set of interview questions, contact the person, perform the interview, and then write up the interview findings in a final interview report. I will provide some leads for interview subjects, but you are free to find your own contacts, as well. You may want to record your interview. If you do, consider using the sound manipulation tool Audacity [http://audacity.sourceforge.net] or the video manipulation tool, iMovie, if appropriate. There are four components of the interview report project:

I. Proposal
The proposal is a shorter (2-3 page) document that states who will be interviewed, describes the affiliated organization, and announces when and where the interview is scheduled to take place. The proposal must include a draft version of interview questions. We will work in class to improve interview questions, but each student conducts her own interview.

II. Progress Report
The progress report is a longer narrative written immediately following the interview. Transcriptions of questions and answers are required. At least four items should appear: 1) an extended account of the interview, including location, time, and circumstances, 2) description of the interaction between interviewer and interviewee, 3) impressions of the interview, as well as 4) ideas for improving interview technique. Each student may want to revisit the site of the interview for contextual information, ask follow up questions in email or by phone, and/or conduct further research. Articulate your plans for completing the assignment in the progress report.

III. Draft of the Interview Report
The report should be complete and ready for final delivery with all content determined and designed. The Interview Report is the major project for the semester and should be a substantial document containing multiple sections with materials developed throughout the semester, including the interview transcript. Also include contextual information regarding where your interview subject works, and reflect on your sense of becoming a professional: is this someone to emulate?

IV. Final Report
The final interview report is a long formal report, and must include a detailed description of the interview and at least two appendices. These appendices are the original question list and short selections (2-3 pages) of interview transcript. The report should include both a description of the interview as well as an analysis of the interview. Other members of the class will be the primary audience for the interview report. Students are expected to “repurpose” materials from the proposal and progress report. More information regarding the interview and report will be covered in class.

Assignment: In-class Conference Presentation on Professional Writers
After reading 5-7 interview reports, students will prepare five minute presentations defining professional writing as a major, a profession, or as a course of study. Examples of professional writers can be drawn from interview reports, discussion, and course readings. Define the role you are most likely to play in an organization as a professional writer. Prepare your remarks with two audiences in mind: your classmates in 306 as well as for the next class of 306 students: what should prospective professional writing students know about the major, and how will you and they make the most of the opportunities available to them at Purdue and beyond? Prepare 5 minutes of material and create a visual for sharing in class. PowerPoint is a good program to use, but do not feel limited to this one tool: your visual may be but does not have to be digital. The class will compile a final collaborative profile of professional writers during the final two class meetings.