Project #2

Here is a more detailed discussion of project #2, the Globalization White Paper Project.

jump to: proposal guidelines | progress report guidelines | white paper guidelines | project assessment prompt Qs

Overview: which project is this one?
Choose a topic related to globalization, propose it to Suzanne, research it, and create a white paper (or informative report) that describes your findings. Finally, prepare a presentation for the class. You may work individually or in pairs.

  1. Choose a topic and, if you wish, a partner.
  2. Write me a brief (1-2 pg) proposal describing your topic and your preliminary research
  3. Write me a progress report.
  4. Write a white paper (or informative report) and upload it to the web.
  5. Prepare and give a presentation.
  6. Finally, you will assess your experience in a "Project Assessment Memo."

Generic Tasklist & Timeline: what's due when?
Proposal: Friday, 2/8 
Progress Report (rough draft): Fri, 2/15
White paper (rough draft):Mon, 3/3
Presentation Outline: Fri, 3/7 or Mon 3/17
Actual Presentations: Week of 3/17 
Entire project for copy-editing & proof-reading: Mon, 3/24
Finished project: Wed, 3/26

Notice that we'll again be doing two rounds of peer-review: the initial proposal, progress report, and white paper workshops will focus on higher-order revisions; the final one will concentrate on proofreading and stylistic editing.

Grading standards: what makes an A, B, C?

Your white paper project will be graded on its:

  • choice of topic and content (selection of info; supporting evidence)
  • research: extent of library research; knowledge of Friedman book
  • design (print and screen)
  • writing (style, grammar, word choices, mechanical correctness)

An excellent (A) white paper project has the following characteristics:

  • The topic is original and sharply focused; the writer should think about publishing his or her work.
  • The research is impressive; I learned a lot from the white paper.
  • If Friedman's book is relevant to the topic, it is used intelligently.
  • The design is stunning ("wow!") as well as professional.
  • The documents are consistent in quality
  • Specific examples are thoughtfully chosen and used effectively.
  • The writing is an asset-- the documents are fluent and appropriate in style; the word choice is interesting.
  • The documents are free of mechanical errors and typos.

A good (B) white paper project has the following characteristics:

  • The topic shows thought and intelligence.
  • The research is careful. I didn't necessarily learn anything but I admire the writer's efforts.
  • If the Friedman reading is relevant to the topic, it is used effectively.
  • Design is professional and conforms to common-sense web design principles.
  • One or two of the documents is weaker than the others.
  • The writer has some good examples but should explain them in more depth and/or use more of them.
  • The writing has a few stylistic or grammatical lapses, although nothing glaring. Typos shouldn't jump out on a quick scan.

An acceptable (C) white paper project has the following characteristics:

  • The topic is appropriate but may be trite or unfocused.
  • Research has gaps, but the writer has put effort into it.
  • If Friedman's work is relevant, it is at least mentioned
  • Design has some flaws.
  • Some of the documents are ineffective due to lack of examples, weak interview technique, or a failed rhetorical strategy.
  • Stylistic and grammatical errors have become distracting; typos seriously detract from the writer's credibility

A poor (D) white paper project has the following characteristics:

  • Choice of topic is questionable.
  • Research was clearly hasty and thoughtless
  • Writer should really use the Friedman book-- has s/he read it?
  • Writer has put little, if any, effort into design.
  • the project is impossible to follow due to poor writing or usability issues.

An unacceptable (F) white paper project has one or more of the following characteristics:

  • it is plagiarized
  • one or more of the required documents or elements is missing. For example, the writer skipped the presentation or didn't do an interview.
  • I know the writer hasn't even opened the Friedman

A general grading rubric for ENGL 420 is available here:
http://www.digitalparlor.org/pwenglish/files/rubric.pdf

Guidelines for Presentation Outline and Presentation

Outline due for peer-review: Friday, March 7 (basically, we will talk through the presentations)
Actual presentations: Monday, 3/17- Friday, 3/21 (week after break. See speaking order below).

Overview: For the outline, set down the main ideas you'd like to convey in your presentation.

Format: Consider using PowerPoint to outline your presentation, even if you don't plan to use the program. If you plan to do a PowerPoint presentation, you might consider this assignment a rough draft of your slides.

Q: How long should our presentations be?
A: About 5 minutes (it's okay if you run over)

Q: Should our presentations be more like a progess report or more like our white papers?
A: More like the white papers. In other words, summarize for us what you've found out about your topic. It's also okay to summarize your white paper or a part of it.

Q: Can you remind us of the speaking order again?
A:

Monday presentations:

  1. Matt W.
  2. Nick
  3. Osman
  4. Nathan

Wednesday presentations

5. Adam N.
6. Matt L. and Adam M.
7. William
8. Dennis
9. Meng

Friday presentations
10. Kyle
11. Michael
12. Nate
13. Clayton

Guidelines for Progress Report

Overview: Write me a memo of about 2 pages in which you describe what you've done so far on your project 2.

Due: first draft: Friday, Feb 15

Length:1-2 pages (double-spaced & with headings)

Document Design: same as proposal (headings in sans-serif font; body in a serif font other than Times New Roman).

Sections:

  1. Introduction (remind readers of topic) 
  2. Summary of activities (what have you done since beginning the project? what research strategies have you used?)
  3. Results (what have you learned from your research? How far along are you?)
  4. Future Plans (what additional research do you need to do?)
  5. Conclusion briefly assessing progress and stating any concerns/ questions

Guidelines for Project 2 Proposal

Overview: Using memo format, write me a proposal for your second project.  

Length: about 1.5 pgs (or 1-2 pages), single-spaced.

Formatting: Your proposal must include headings in a sans-serif typeface and body text in a serif typeface other than Times New Roman. (In other words, experiement with document design a little bit!) 

Due (in quick & dirty format): Friday, February 8

At a minimum, your proposal should have the following sections. Other sections or creative adaptations of the ones below are acceptable.

  • Introduction: state your topic and why you find it interesting/ important
  • Research Plan:
    • describe your plan to find resources
    • list some preliminary results (from Google, Wikipedia, promising-looking scholarly books or articles 
  • Qualifications:
    • write a brief pgh about your professional background
    • include any relevant prior experience (in researching related topics, interviewing, writing white papers)
  • Conclusion (welcomes feedback, asks any questions, and closes on an appropriate note)

Guidelines for Project Assessment Memo

English 421—White Paper Project
Step 6: Project Assessment Memo

As you near the end of your work on the second project, prepare a two-page (single-spaced) reflective memo, analyzing your research, white paper, presentation, and the process you used to complete them.

Your Project Assessment Memo should answer at least one question from each of the following sections, which are tied to the major goals of the assignment. Additional thoughts are also welcome.

Globalization Topic

  • How much did you know about globalization before beginning this project?
  • How is the topic relevant (if at all) to your life/ major?
  • What other sorts of umbrella topics do you think would be interesting and appropriate for a future technical/business writing courese?

Process

  • How did you go about choosing your topic?
  • What steps in the project did you find easiest/ hardest? Most/least enjoyable?
  • What was the most challenging document to produce (or revise) and why?
  • Briefly describe and explain one of the significant revisions you made to your white paper.
  • If you used RefWorks or the citation manager in Word 2007, what was your experience? 

Research

  • Briefly describe the research process you used. How did you locate your library/ internet sources?
  • Which resources/ databases proved to be the most beneficial for you? Explain.

Collaboration

  • What made you decide to work on your own or as one of a group? Would you make the same choice again?
  • If you were part of a group, how did you split up the work? How satisfied were you with the collaboration?
  • On which of your documents did you get the most helpful feedback? The least? Explain.
  • What was one way that peer feedback helped you improve your work?
  • How did responding to the work of others help you improve your own work?

Project Management

  • What percentage of the project timeline do you think you spent on planning? Gathering information? Writing? Revision?
  • How well do you feel you planned your work on this project?
  • If you got sidetracked or behind, what aspects of this project slowed you down?
  • Next time you do a research report or white paper, what would you do the same? differently?

Visuals & Design

  • What is the most visually effective aspect of your deliverables?
  • What visual aspects might you change next time?
  • Have you deliberately adapted a standard template or layout (cover page, for example) in an unusual or creative way? If so, how and why?

I encourage you to bring a rough draft of your Project Assessment Memo to class on Monday, March 24. It is due in a revised form when you turn in your completed Employment Project on Wednesday, March 26. 

Guidelines for White Paper

Length: around 5-6 pages (double-spaced) for individuals or 8-10 pages for pairs, plus cover page and bibliography.
Due: COMPLETE first draft: Wednesday, Feb 27

Format: White papers should be uploaded to your career account in two formats: PDF and HTML. (We will spend some time in class trouble-shooting). They should contain the following:

  • an attractively designed cover page
  • headings
  • graphics 
  • bookmarks or anchors (HTML version only)
  • references. Links in the HTML version should work. 

Content: Your white paper should include the following.

  • a thesis (or topic sentence). The thesis need not be controversial; it can be something like the following: "Globalization has had three main effects on area A" or "A closer look at the production of a single iPod provides a further illustration of four flatteners: B, C, D, and E. "
  • a discussion of your research.

HTML Help and Troubleshooting

Help

To make a Word document into an HTML file:

Method A:

  1. In Word, “Select All,” then copy and paste into Dreamweaver, NotePad, or another web editor.
  2. Save file as HTML.
  3. Reapply formatting as desired.
  4. Save.

Method B: (less recommended but easier)

  1. In Word, “Save As” HTML.
  2. Open the file with Dreamweaver and clean up the HTML code.
  3. Save again.
To make links within a document:
  1. Create a navigation bar along the top or side of your file by typing in the names of your headings.
  2. Scroll through the document and create a bookmark or anchor next to each heading.
  3. Return to your navigation bar, select the first heading, and insert a hyperlink.
  4. Set the hyperlink to point to the right bookmark.
  5. Repeat for the remaining headers.

Troubleshooting:

“My pictures don’t show up!”

Why this happens: To display pictures, HTML code specifies a specific picture file and location. That is, when putting up a web page, your browser will look for a certain gif or jpg file in a certain spot on your www folder.

Fixes: (This is easier to show than explain; please don’t hesitate to ask me for help).

  1. Check that you’ve saved your picture file to your www folder.
  2. Check that the picture’s name is the same in your HTML code and in your www folder.
  3. Check that the picture is in the right place.

“My links don’t work!”

Fixes:

  1. Check that the URL is correct.
  2. Check that the HTML code includes the http://part of the URL.

Possible Globalization Topics

Here are topics from the Friedman reading responses. Some may need to be narrowed further. Thanks to all for great suggestions.

Globalization and <insert your major here>

  • globalization in education
  • How has the construction industry been affected by globalization?
  • Globalization and technical writing
  • Globalization and health care

Globalization and specific products/ industries

  • How globalization has improved different industries? Ex: Racing Industry
  • How a specific product (the iPod, a chemical) is produced in a global economy

Globalization and current controversies

  • outsourcing as hot topic [present and evaluate arguments from several perspectives].
  • Is globalization in true sense possible given the current conflicts with race, and religion?

Globalization and standards

  • how engineering standards are developed on a worldwide scale
  • What are the standards for certain companies? Do they follow a national standard or more of just a company standard?

Globalization and communication

  • How globalization can promote effective communication for efficient global productivity?
  • How internet communication has allowed users to contact people never before possible
  • How internet communication has (unfortunately) created avenues for predators [and spammers and criminals-- Nigerian schemes in the light of globalization?]
  • What factors need to be considered in writing for a global and/or cross-cultural audience?

Theories of and Trends in globalization

  • How is globalization practiced today?
  • Who is affected by globalization? How?
  • What factors or events inhibited (slowed down, reversed) globalization? What factors stopped the evolution of globalization?
  • Definitions of globalization

Globalization and Ethics:

  • what laws and treaties have been passed by (developed) countries relating to ethics and globalization?
  • What rules protect (or should protect) different societies (all with different cultures, many with different ethical standards)? [and are there aspects of other cultures/societies we might not want to protect: e.g. traditional restrictions on women]
  • effects on scholarly work/communication
  • global warming
  • globaliation and national soverignty
  • economic risks from g.
  • UN and globalization (failure of League of Nations)
  • how & why it started/ origins

Proposed Peer-Review Groups

Because some of the white paper topics overlap, I suggest working with classmates whose research is similar to yours.

Globalization and Culture Group

  • Clayton (Alexandria Library)
  • William (globalization and anthropology)
  • Osman (religious/ ethnic conflict and globalization)
  • Kellie (whether globalization is possible)
  • Nate? (globalization and social/ human networking)

Globalization and Production

  • Matt L. & Adam M. (iPod)
  • Meng (chemical industry)
  • Adam N (outsourcing of aviation maintenance)

Globalization and the Environment

  • Kyle (engine designs and emissions)
  • Dennis (global warming)
  • Matt W. (globalization and agriculture)
  • Nick?
  • Tony?

Education and Healthcare

  • Michael (globalization and healthcare)
  • Nathan (No Child Left Behind)
  • Pete (globalization and education)