Assigned: Monday, Feb 4
Due: Monday, Feb 11 (this deadline is somewhat negiotable since you're doing a lot of writing this week)

Option 1: Copyedit a Wikipedia article

Wikipedia has a large collection of articles in need of copy-editing. Pick one whose topic interests you and print it out. Mark it up using the copyediting symbols on p. 327 of the textbook; then, go into Wikipedia and edit the page.

For your assignment, please give me a copy of the original entry, your revised entry, and a brief summary of the changes you made and why. Also, please let me know what happened to your entry after you submitted it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:All_articles_needing_copy_edit

Option 2: Analyze a simile, analogy, or metaphor in your field (inspired by the "Collaborative Project" on pp. 235-6 of the textbook)

In the last 20-30 years, a number of scholars have questioned whether medical professonials, scientists, and engineers should use metaphors and analogies in scientific and technical communication and whether these metaphors help or impede scientific understanding. Pick a metaphor (or simile, or analogy) from your field. It can come from one of your textbooks, from a lecture, or from the lab/ workplace. Then write me a memo in which you do the following:

1. Explain the metaphor: how is the technical concept (e.g. making a protein) like the more everyday concept (translation)?
2. Evaluate its helpfulness (does it let you understand the concept better, or does it confuse you?)
3. Evaluate its appropriateness (does it have any implications that worry you?)
4. See if you can think of a clearer or more apt metaphor.