Overview, Course Texts, Required Goals

Jason Buchanan
Office 214 Heavilon Hall
Hours: 1-2 MTWTHF

Overview

English 421 helps students become better technical communicators, whose work is characterized by the presentation of technical material in written and visual formats that are user centered and aware of audience and context. The course and its principles are grounded in rhetorical theory and informed by current research in technical communication.
Communication across multiple audiences and for multiple purposes continues to be a desired skill set in technical and professional fields. Beyond field-specific knowledge and experience, successful and ethical communication drives the professional world. This class, in content and form, models these successful communication practices. Working individually and in groups, students learn effective strategies for communicating about and with technology, particularly in networked workplaces and through usability testing. To achieve success in this course, students must display the ability to succeed in their future workplaces by developing a variety of informative and visually effective print and electronic documents.

Required Texts
Professional Writing Online 2nd Edition, by Johndan Johnson-Eilola, Patricia Sullivan, and James Porter. Boston: Allyn & Bacon/Longman, 2004. Available at University Book Store and Follet's. Be sure to purchase unopened copies of the guide because used password codes are not transferable. Keep your receipt in case your password fails to work and see me immediately. Also, I would suggest you purchase your copy ONLINE at the Longman website. Passwords cannot be shared. In addition to PWonline, there is a coursepack at Copymat.

Course Goals
Writing in Context

Analyze professional cultures, social contexts, and audiences to determine how they shape the various purposes and forms of workplace writing, such as persuasion, organizational communication, and public discourse, with an emphasis on

• writing for general audiences and decision makers
• understanding the ethical dimensions of workplace communication

Writing Process
Develop and understand various strategies for planning, researching, drafting, revising, and editing documents that respond effectively and ethically to professional situations and audiences.
Collaboration
Learn and apply strategies for successful collaboration, such as

• working and communicating online with colleagues
• setting and achieving project goals
• responding constructively to peers' work
• working as part of a writing team and/or with a client organization

Research
Understand and use various research methods to produce professional documents

• analyzing professional contexts
• assessing and using information resources
• using primary research methods such as interviews, observations, focus groups, and surveys to collect data
• working ethically with research participants

Technology
Select technologies appropriate to the generic conventions of various types of workplace communication, including email, memos, letters, reports, online documents, and white papers.
Document Design
Learning the generic conventions of the design of workplace documents including

• understanding and implementing various principles of format and layout
• interpreting and arguing with visual information.

Course Projects, Grading, Late Work

Course Projects and Activities

1. Employment Project 
You will be asked to locate a job for which you are qualified and apply for it: Step 1 of the project asks you to learn about and use various web-based resources for job seekers and ultimately to select one job to pursue; Step 2 asks you to prepare the all-important cover letter (i.e., "Job Application Letter"); Step 3 asks you to prepare a resume suitable for such a position; Step 4, you require an assessment of your experience. In the process of completing each step, you will work closely with your peers and me to shape your writing so that it represents you and your experience fully and effectively, given the rhetorical circumstances. (Individual; 20% of course grade.) 

2. White Paper Project
In this project, groups of four will be asked to do web-based and library research and then to write an informative (i.e. unbaised) white paper. White papers are used in business, industrial, and governmental contexts to sum up the gist of what’s known about a subject. Your group’s research will result in a visually sophisticated document of 1750-2000 words that presents your findings to an appropriate rhetorical situation. The primary audience for your white paper consists of readers who are concerned in the area you are discussing. Although they are experts in their field, their awareness of the ethical, technological, and business issues need to be addressed in the document. In other words, your issue will vary based on particular audiences. The purpose of the white paper is to identify a problem and provide objective information which could lead to a solution. The length of your white paper will depend somewhat on your choice of topics, but should be within 1750-2000 words (formatting will vary based on the design employed by each group, but every white paper should be visually sophisticated.)
(Collaborative: 30% of course grade.)

3. Final Project
For Project 3, you will work collaboratively in project teams on a project that teaches you to manage complex writing challenges in real contexts that matter. You will learn principles of project management, collaboration, document cycling, usability testing and study, and client-based research. The goal will be to start with the White Paper Projects produced already this semester and then, after user-testing and usability study, produce a user-guide that teaches a critical and (perhaps) complex application of the technology to an interested client. You will begin the project by thinking of and contacting clients who may benefit from having such your report, which will consist of several components, including a short multimedia, web-based presentation.
(Collaborative; 30% of course grade.)

Grading, Late Work, Technology requirements

Employment: 20%
White Paper: 30%
Service Learning 30%
Weekly Work Logs: 5%
Responses &Writing Assignments: 5%
Participation & Attendance: 10%

Each of the 3 major projects in the course will be comprised of several components, each of which will be worth a percentage of your final project grade. For the two collaborative projects, students will complete the required Collaborative Evaluation Form to help assess each student’s value and grade.

All major assignments will be graded on the standard letter-grade scale: A=100-90 B=89-80 C=79-70 D=69-60 F=59 or below. 

Late Work
All missed class assignments, for any reason, cannot be made up and will result in a zero. This includes all WWLs, minor assignments, and collaborative assessments. If a serious and unavoidable problem arises, however, you should contact me in writing prior to the deadline to determine whether or not an extension for the work will or will not be granted.

Technology, Attendance, Academic Honesty

Technology Requirements
In order to participate fully in the course, you should already be able to use the technology platform and applications listed below. 
Mac OS System or Windows XP
Microsoft Office (Word and PowerPoint) or Mac Office (Word)
Web Browser (e.g., Firefox, Safari, Netscape Communicator, or Internet Explorer)
Email Program (e.g., Purdue Webmail, Netscape Mail, Outlook, Eudora, Thunderbird, etc.)

Technology Responsibilities
Because the exchange of information and documents in this class will be almost entirely electronic, familiarity with certain technologies is crucial for participation and success in the course. If you need any assistance now or at any point during the semester, please do not hesitate to ask. During the semester, you'll need frequent access to the Internet and email. If you have a computer at home, you'll be responsible for configuring your system to access course materials, to read course email and participate in online discussions, and to complete other work. (Your Internet Service Provider should be able to help you configure your system.) If you do not have a system at home or cannot get your system configured, you will be able to use any of the standard ITaP labs. One of your first course assignments will be completing a technology checklist and solving any technology access problems that you may encounter. You are also required to subscribe to and participate on a course mailing list.

Very early in the semester, you will be asked to demonstrate that you can meet these responsibilities:
Have access to your Career Account (must be Purdue Account).
Become proficient sending and receiving email attachments, resolving file compatibility issues, and following email decorum.
Check the course calendar before each class meeting.
Become proficient participating in the class Drupal space
Become more proficient with unfamiliar computer technologies and applications, including Web editing software, document cycling systems, desktop publishing applications, and graphics programs.
Maintain back-up copies of all assignments via your home directory, disks, USB drives, or CDs.

Course Technologies

• Course Website
• Dreamweaver (Web Editor)
• Powerpoint, Word, Keynote
• Acrobat and Acrobat Reader
• Drupal (OSDDP)

Collaborative Work
Collaborative work is a required component of the course. You and your project team members are responsible for updating one another and me about assignment development and progress. In addition, you also are responsible for negotiating together all aspects of your work, including planning, drafting, revising, file managing, and scheduling of assignments. When I assign a collaborative project, I will provide you with explicit guidelines for successful collaboration. I will also ask individual group members to complete Collaborative Evaluation Forms. The principles of collaboration I encourage students to follow are many and varied; we will discuss these in detail as the course necessitates.

Attendance
Attendance is required at all scheduled electronic and face-to-face (F2F) meetings. Since you will be working in project teams much of the semester, you also will be required to attend any scheduled out-of-class meetings with your team to complete course assignments. Three absences, or one whole week, is the allotted amount of time you are able to miss in this class without fault. Each absence after the third will result in 10% grade reduction. Excused absences may be granted for university-sponsored events, provided you make a written request to me no less than two weeks in advance and that you complete any required work before the due date. Being regularly late for class (more than ten minutes) or excessively late (4 “lates” of anytime) will also be counted as an absence.

Academic Integrity
Cheating:  All written work submitted for a grade in this course must be the product of your own  composition. Ideas generated due to reading and group discussion may provide the inspiration  for your work, but should not be the sole ideas represented. With collaborative projects, of  course, ideas should be representative of the group’s work.
Purdue students and their instructors are expected to adhere to guidelines set forth by the Dean of Students in "Academic Integrity: A Guide for Students," which students are encouraged to read here:

http://www.purdue.edu/ODOS/osrr/integrity.htm
The preamble of this guide states the following: "Purdue University values intellectual integrity and the highest standards of academic conduct. To be prepared to meet societal needs as leaders and role models, students must be educated in an ethical learning environment that promotes a high standard of honor in scholastic work. Academic dishonesty undermines institutional integrity and threatens the academic fabric of Purdue University. Dishonesty is not an acceptable avenue to success. It diminishes the quality of a Purdue education, which is valued because of Purdue's high academic standards."
Academic dishonesty is defined as follows: "Purdue prohibits "dishonesty in connection with any University activity. Cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly furnishing false information to the University are examples of dishonesty." [University Regulations, Part V, Section III, B, 2, a] Furthermore, the University Senate has stipulated that "the commitment of acts of cheating, lying, and deceit in any of their diverse forms (such as the use of substitutes for taking examinations, the use of illegal cribs, plagiarism, and copying during examinations) is dishonest and must not be tolerated. Moreover, knowingly to aid and abet, directly or indirectly, other parties in committing dishonest acts is in itself dishonest." [University Senate Document 72-18, December 15, 1972]"
You should know that penalties for plagiarism are severe and can entail suspension from  the University. If you have any questions about this policy, please ask.

Week 1

Coursework and activities TBA.

Week 2

Coursework and activities TBA.

Week 3

Coursework and activities TBA.

Week 4: Workshop Papers Due Last Saturday!!!

Coursework and activities TBA.

Week 5

Coursework and activities TBA.

Week 6: White Paper Section Begins This Week

Coursework and activities TBA.

Week 7: Group Meetings and Proposals Due 22

Assignments and activities for Week 7

Week 8 Annotated Bibliography Draft Due Fri

Assignments and activities for Week 8

Week 9 WP Peer Review Weds. 5

Assignments and activities for Week 9

Week 10: Spring Break

Assignments and activities for Week 10

Week 11: March 17, 19, 21

Mar 17
Writing Peer-Review Day
Weds:

Design Peer-Review

Mar 19
Design Peer-Review Day

Fri:

White Papers Due
How to deal with Complaints

Mar 21
Honest Writing Practices
In-Class Analysis of (un)honest Writing
In-Class Response to Honest Writing

MONDAY:
Reading: Designing & Writing Instructions
(PWonline 3.12)

Week 12: March 24, 26, 28

March 24

Quiz: Designing & Writing Instructions
Designing & Writing Instructions Discussion (PWonline 3.12)
Find Instruction Examples and bring them to class on the 26th Also Read 32-48 in Coursepack

March 26
Discussion of Final Group Project (and Groups)
In-Class Critique of Instruction Writing
Find Brochure Examples & Read General Brochure Tips (pdf below)for Friday

March 28
Brochure Powerpoint
Brochure Analysis
In-Class Work Time for Service Learning
Reading for Monday : Pwonline
Introduction to Policy Writing (1.5.1)
Why Policy Writing Requires Research (1.5.1.1)
Ethics in Policy Writing (1.5.1.2)

Week 13: Mar 31, Ap 2, Ap 4

Mar 31:
Read General Brochure Tips (pdf below)
Assignment is in PowerPoint attachment

Apr. 2:
Brochure Analysis Due. Remember to bring examples.
In-Class Work Time for Service Learning
100 Word Proposal Memo is Due
Reading for Monday : Pwonline
Introduction to Policy Writing (1.5.1)
Why Policy Writing Requires Research (1.5.1.1)

Apr. 4:
Manual & Handbooks Powerpoint
Policy Writing Questions
Handbook Analysis
Small Writing Assignment: What makes good Policy?
Reading for next class: PWonline
Proofreading (3.16.9)
Proofreading for Reports (3.16.10)
Style and Editing (3.16.

Week 14: Ap 7, 9, 11

Ap 7
Small Writing Assignment Due
Reading Discussions Proofreading, Proofreading for Brochures, Instructions & Policies
In-Class Work

Ap 9
In-Class Discussion of Press Releases, Marketing material.
Analysis of Press Releases
Final Project Proposal Due Weds 9

Ap 11
Analysis of Marketing Materials
Proposal Memo Due
Clients Must be finalized at this point
Interviewing Clients
In-Class Work Day

Week 15 April 14, 16, 18

Apr 14 Discussion of Workforce & Future of International tech job

Apr 16
Workday in Heavilon 214

Week 16

Assignments and activities for Week 16

Getting Started 1: Registering on the Site

To get started with ENGL 420Y, you'll need to complete a few steps, which include

• Registering for the course website (here).
• Logging in for the first time.
• Editing your account for the first time.

Registering for the course website

1. Go to the course website.
2. Click on "create new account" under "User Login" in the navigation menu on the left.

   

3. Create a username that will identify you in the system and that you will use for logging in. Because this site is public on the Internet, your username should not include your last name. You are welcome to use any username (e.g., your IM screenname) that would not be offensive to others or otherwise inappropriate for a course website. Capitalize your username as you intend to use it; usernames are case sensitive.

   

4. Enter your email address. You may use your Purdue email address. If you have an alternate one, use the one that you check most regularly.
5. Provide your real name and home page URL (web address, if you have one). Note that your real name will not be visible publicly but only to students registered at the site.
6. Click on "Create new account." Registration information will be sent to the email address you listed, so check your email soon after you register. You will need the password that it sends you.

Getting Started 2: Logging in for the First Time

To get started with ENGL 420Y, you'll also need to complete this second step:

Logging in for the first time

1. You should have received an email from the system that includes your new password. With that email handy, return to the course website.
2. Enter your username and password in the "User login" box. Your initial password can be retyped or cut-and-pasted into the password box. If you cut-and-paste it, make sure you don't include any extra spaces before or after the password characters. The password and user name are case sensitive.

   

3. Click on Log in. When you've successfully logged in, you will see a block of links in the left sidebar with your username above it as a title. This is a navigation menu that provides you with links to many services and content on the site. If you are unable to log in successfully, try re-entering your password. Remember that usernames and passwords are case-sensitve, so make sure you don't have Caps Lock turned on by accident and that (if pasting in your password) that you don't include extra spaces. You may also request a new password if you ever forget yours.

Getting Started 3: Editing Your Account for the First Time

To get started with ENGL 420Y, you'll also need to complete this third step, which will take a bit more time than the previous two.

Editing your account for the first time

Once you've logged in successfully, you need to edit your account and provide some additional information about yourself.

1. Click on my account link in the navigation menu on the left.

   

2. On the next screen, click on the edit tab.

   

3. On the account settings screen, scroll to the Account information area.
   
4. Change your password by entering a new one into the password boxes. Choose a password that you can remember but that is secure. Remember that passwords are case sensitive.
5. Scroll to the Picture area.
   
6. Upload a picture of yourself or avatar (an image that represents you well) that you would use in a public context. You may have to find one and edit in an image editor, so you just try to have this step completed by the end of Week 2. If you need help editing an image, send a copy to your instructor for help. See Creating Avatars and Images for Your Profile for more information.
7. Next, scroll to the Theme configuration.
   
   
   
8. The default selection is will be checked. You can select any theme you like and all pages will show up with that theme. The default theme has been specially designed and will probably offer the most consistent display of all site content. The instructor uses that theme as the default and so designs pages with it in mind.
9. Scroll to Contact settings.
   
10. Check the Personal contact form box.
11. When you have made your changes, click on the Submit button at the bottom of the page.

The following steps ask you to complete information for your profile. This will enable the instructor and fellow students to learn a little more about you and help the instructor tailor this class to your background and goals, as well as arrange collaborative projects.

1. Click on the edit tab again, then on the Personal Information link at the top of the next page.
   
2. Enter the required information in the boxes. If you don't have a home page, leave that box blank.
3. Click on Submit to save.

That's it! You have completed all the steps of the Getting Started process. If you ever need to change any of the information, you can always edit these pages again.

If you have any trouble along the way, please be sure to let your instructor know.

Creating Avatars and Images for Your Profile

Some of you may be in search of an avatar or image to use in the profile that you created for yourself when you registered. If so, here are some suggestions:

An avatar is just an image that "stands-in" for your picture and can be an object, artwork, a photo, or something else that might convey some aspect of your identity, personality, or interests. So, for example, someone interested in biking might use an image of a bike as an avatar rather than a personal picture. The image works best if it's in jpg, gif, or png format, and the dimensions should be (about) 85x85 so that it displays correctly (and doesn't get squished when displayed, for example).

To find an existing avatar to use for free, you could look at a site like these. If you have a Yahoo! ID (free to get, if not), you can get some nice ones:

http://avatars.yahoo.com/

or try

http://www.avatarity.com/

You could also take an existing image of yourself and then create a picture by cropping out the part you don't want. If you haven't used an image editing program before, that can be a bit tricky. But if you have, just use the crop tool to draw a box around the part of the image you want to use, crop it, and then resize it so that it's about 85x85 pixels.

If you have a larger photo and would like help to make it into an avatar, send it to your instructor as an email attachment. Your instructor can help you from there.

Creating Hyperlinks

For this class, you'll have to learn at least one HTML tag, the one for making hyperlinks.

It's easy to learn. Check it out:

1. Make sure that your rich-text editor is enabled. Click on enable rich-text below the Body box.
2. Highlight the text you want to turn into a link.
3. In the buttons below the Body box, click on the chain link button.
4. This box should appear.
   
5. In the Link URL box, cut and paste your full URL there. Then click on insert.

Your link will now show up in your test.

Here is how you make links in traditional HTML coding. Still easy, but it doesn't show up with our rich-text settings and input format.

<a href=""></a>

is the tag itself without any information in it. Within the quotes, you'll put the url, or web address, for the site which you want to link to. In between the ><, you'll put the text you want displayed on the screen.

For example, the url for slashdot is http://slashdot.org/. And if you want to make the word Slashdot a link in a sentence to the website in a blog post, type in,

<a href="http://slashdot.org/">Slashdot</a> is a well known community blog site.

To get

Slashdot is a well known community blog site.

HTML is picky and it's easy to make a careless mistake. Don't include any extra spaces in the HTML tag. Make sure that you include "http://" as a part of your web address. In fact, one of the easiest ways to make sure that you get the URL correct is to copy and paste it from the address bar of a browser window currently displaying the page.

See? Not too difficult. But there's one more thing . . . .

Avoid merely posting the URL as a link:

http://slashdot.org

Notice how this doesn't convey much information. Better to have put the page title (often found either on the page or in the window bar at the top) or link to part of your text (think of the examples in this site). At the same time, really long URL's won't word wrap at the end of a line. They may cause problems with the way that text is displayed on web pages.

For review, check out Chapter 30 in The Thomson Handbook, "The Basics of HTML Coding" (p. 664).

Creating PDF Files

Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format created by Adobe Acrobat and useful for sharing printer ready versions of documents. Unlike when files are shared between different productivity applications (i.e., word processing, spreadsheet) or different versions of the same productivity software, the same layout and typographic styles are maintained regardless of the computer environment. What the author sees when creating a PDF is exactly what the receiver of the file sees and can print out on their computer. Consequently, PDFs are particularly useful for sending resumes, cover letters, and other business documents where layout and presentation is critica. Writers want all of the effort they put into formatting professional-looking documents to be maintained.

PDFs are typically viewed using Adobe Reader (which is free to download). However, Adobe Reader will not produce PDFs. As you will soon be submitting drafts of cover letters, resumes, and other documents in PDF format, make sure that you can successfully generate a PDF using one of the following means:

• Adobe Acrobat Professional, Standard, or Elements are three versions of Adobe's productivity program for producing PDF files. These programs are not free and do not generally come installed when purchasing a computer. However, some public computer labs (i.e., most of Purdue University's main campus labs) may have Acrobat Professional installed. When Acrobat Professional is available, from your word processor or browser (or any screen that can be printed), select File -> Print. On a PC, you will be able to select, under Printer Name, "Adobe PDF" instead of sending your file to a printer. (See the figure below.) On a Mac, you will see a button "Save as PDF" on the print dialog box. In both cases, you will be asked where you want the created PDF to be stored.

  

• Adobe offers a free PDF trial service online. However, you may need to produce PDF's more than allowed by the free trial.
• CutePDF is a free application which you can download and install on your home computer.
• Google Docs: You can use these free applications (word processor, spreadsheet, and more) for collaboration and, conveniently, to export a document file to PDF format. (Upload your Word document, for example, then export it as PDF later.)
• OpenOffice is a free, full-featured, open source office productivity suite comparable to Microsoft Office that has PDF generation built in. From within OpenOffice, choose File->Export as pdf

Eliciting Good Response

Imagine the following scenario:

You have a great idea for a project for your department at work. Because it will require significant resources and funding, the senior manager in your department has asked you to prepare a ten-page proposal.

After working on the proposal for a while, the senior manager sends you an email requesting to see your draft in progress. The proposal is far from complete, but you fire off a reply saying "Here is my working draft," and attach it. The next day, you receive another email from the senior manager full of feedback which you are obligated to take. However, the feedback asks you to revise your proposal in new directions, quite contrary to what you had planned, effectively taking over the direction of the proposal. You now have to discard many good ideas you had for development. Those sections where you knew you needed the most help--they were not addressed at all.

This happens all the time in getting response to our writing. We get proofreading corrections when we need ideas; we get heavy revision suggestions when the draft needs to be proofread to meet a deadline.

To elicit useful and focused responses from readers (during peer review, for example), we must solicit good response. In the above scenario, if the writer had explained to the senior manager where she needed help in the draft and what her plans were for further development, it's quite possible that the feedback would have been more focused and helpful. So when asking for feedback on a document, explain to the responder

• your concerns about the current state of the draft (i.e., where, specifically, you need help)
• where you are in the process of drafting (i.e., ready to polish to meet a deadline, planning to do more revision)
• your target audience
• any plans you might have for further development of the text

Once you've defined your needs, your reviewer is more likely to shape their feedback effectively for you. As a reviewer, it's much easier to address the writer's concerns than to try to guess what might or might not be useful to the writer.

Five Steps of Storyboarding

1. Find or create a storyboard template that you can use to draft your outline, like the one attached to this post..
2. Each frame of your storyboard should represent a unique page, a step in a sequence, or some other individual component of your work (such as a PowerPoint or Keynote slide, a keyframe in Flash, or a Web page).
3. In each frame, identify your content. Use shorthand to describe the content (including images and audio) that you want to include and approximately where it should be placed, as in the example below.
4. Add notes to each frame in your storyboard on design, source files, material, and anything else that will help you remember what each frame should contain and how it should be presented.
5. When you have completed a rough draft of your storyboard, read back through it to see whether it has an order that makes sense and includes the multimedia you want to use. Move frames around as necessary.

How to Post Comments and Replies

Posting comments, as you will soon see, is easier than creating and sending an email.

1. You must be logged in to the site in order to post comments.
2. While you can click on the add new comment link on any post from the course home page, instead, first click on the title to access the full post and all comments. Always make sure you view the full post first. There may already be a comment conversation thread begun about what you are interested in discussing. Rather than starting a new thread, join in the existing one.
3. Choose add new comment to reply directly to the main blog post and start a new thread or reply to respond to an individual comment.

   If you don't see an add new comment link, you are most likely not logged in.

4. Enter a title for your post in the Subject field. Your title should describe the content of your post. If you do not enter a title, the system will automatically use the first few words of your comment post.
5. Enter the text of your comment in the Comment field. You may use plain text or some HTML. Some people may have the "enable rich text" link visible. If you use that feature, Drupal will give you a set of buttons much like a word processor's to help you input your message. Be careful to review your input, however, since this feature will do some strange things with your text on occasion.
6. Click on "input format" to learn about your formatting options. Drupal will use a filter to convert line breaks and URLs when you select "Filtered HTML." If you want to format your posts nicely, include images, or insert more sophisticated HTML, then choose "Full HTML." Generally speaking, leave the Input format on Filtered HTML unless you have used HTML tags other than those allowed.
7. Select Preview comment at the bottom of the page.
8. Always review what you have written in preview mode. You will not be able to edit your comment once you have posted it.
9. If you are ready to submit your comment, select Post comment at the bottom of the page. Don't forget this step! The most common way people lose posts is by forgetting to submit after previewing their comments or blog entries. If you have made changes to a post, preview it again.
10. Verify that your comment has been posted. It should be visible on the page. If something went wrong, try using your back button to get to the input screen. Review and resubmit if it's still there.

Note: You can use the Comment viewing options to change the way that comments are displayed on the page. Experiment with this feature and see which configuration works best for you.

How to Post to Your Individual Weblog

Posting to your individual weblog is a little more complex than posting a comment, but after a couple of times, you'll find it as easy as email.

1. You must be logged in to post to your weblog.
2. From any page on the site, choose the create content link in the main navigation block on the left hand side. That will bring you to the create content page. [You can also click on the blogs link and then the "my blog" sublink.

   

3. The first time you visit the create content page, read the descriptions under personal blog entry and story.
4. To post to your individual weblog, choose blog entry. This will bring you to the Submit blog entry page.

   

5. Review the Project Checklist in The Thomson Handbook on "Networking in Online Forums" (p. 627) to refresh your memory on posting successful weblog messages. (All of Chapter 28 would be a good review at this stage.)
6. Enter a good Title for your post.
7. Choose a Category tag for your post. You can use a standard one (like "Reading Response" or create one suggested in the prompt or that suits your content. You may use multiple tags.
8. Enter the text of your post in the Body field. You may use plain text or some combination of HTML in creating this post.
9. Leave the Input format on Filtered HTML unless you have used HTML tags other than those allowed.
10. Under URL path settings, you can give your post a short and unique URL alias. For example, you might want to use "team3projectlog" to identify your team's project log. If you use that URL, the full path would be something like http://digitalparlor.org/up07/420Y/team3projectlog.
11. Optional: If you need to attach a file,
    • Click on the File attachments link.
    • Use the Browse button to locate the file on your hard drive.
    • One you have located the file, click the Attach button.
    • A bar will show the progress of the upload . You should then see your attachment listed.
12. Choose Preview.
13. Review your post. If you make any changes, preview it again.
14. When ready, select Submit to post.

Notes:

• The system will not offer you a Submit button if you do not give your post a title.
• Choose story on the create content page to post to the course home page. The rest of the procedure is the same as for creating a personal blog entry.

Learning to Navigate the Site

For the first day of class, you'll want to explore some of the features of the site. This document gives an overview of a few features you might want to take a look at that will help you to navigate the site.

Navigation

In the header visible at the top of every page, you'll find one row of links:

• The first four take you to important sections of the course guide.
• The others take you to useful resource sites at Purdue.

Once you've logged in to the site, directly beneath the header on the left, you'll find the main navigation block, accessible from every page:

The navigation block is your gateway to many areas of the site useful for creating and viewing content and managing your work. For example,

• blogs
  Lists all the blogs on the site and includes a direct link to your blog in its submenu.
• create content
  From here you can post to your individual weblog or the front page (see How to Post to Your Individual Weblog).
• image galleries
  These are useful for uploading screenshots and other images that groups need to review and discuss.
• members
  Need to find out someone's email address? Use the members list. You can also click on any username to access the personal account page. Only registered users have access to the private portion of account pages.
• my subscriptions
  Our site allows you to "subscribe" to blog posts and other content so that you can keep tabs on follow-up responses. You can set your default subscription settings in my account > edit.
• recent posts
  This display allows you to access all of the recent content posted by everyone. Note how it provides red astericks to denote pages you have yet to read and notices of new unread comments.
• search
  Search the content of blog posts, stories, book pages, and galleries; also search for users by name or username
• my account
  Links to your profile information, site settings, and more. Adjust your account profile here.
• categories
  This function allows us to categorize all of our posts. By the end of the semester, there will be literally thousands of posts, and these allow some degree of organization. Later in the semester, we will use this same function to organize group spaces for Project 2 and 3.
• log out
  Use this to log out of the website, which is recommended after each session.

Book Navigation

All of our course materials on the site are integrated into the course guide:

The course guide is a hypertext with many levels of pages.

• You can use the book navigation links that show previous and next pages below the main text or use the breadcrumb navigation at the top.
• Use the printer-friendly version link beneath any page to get a text-only version of that page and all of its subpages collated into one. For example, if you go to the top page of the guide and click on printer-friendly version, you will see the entire course guide, including the calendar, on one screen (a very long one).

Principles for Comments and Replies

Posting comments and replies to the reading responses and drafts of others will be a primary means of class interaction and discussion. Instructors may promote blog posts to the front page of the course website. There, everyone will respond to and discuss the readings, drafts, or other work posted to our course website. The course description explains the purpose of this coursework:

All comments and replies to another's blog post should follow effective rhetorical strategies for networking with others on the Web. (Readings from the course text provide guidelines to follow.)

• Keep threads alive and relevant.
• Follow-up comments with further discussion.
• Think of your comments and replies as part of a lively class discussion in which everyone participates.

When commenting and replying to blog posts on the course's front page, you are required to

• Read through the posts on the course home page referred to by the assignment.
• Before using the comment and reply features for the first time, you might want to consider reviewing How to Post Comments and Replies .
• Strive to be thoughtful and analytical in your comments.
• Try to find something new to say instead of saying what has already been said in the original post and in other comments already posted.
• Feel free to share personal experiences which shape your views on the topic discussed.

You should also

• Provide links to additional resources on the web which would better inform the discussion. You should always link to any other texts on the Web you mention, even those on the course website.
• Contend with and/or support the original blog post. If you are criticizing what the blogger has said, remember to do so respectfully, which encourages further dialogue. "This sucks" would not be an appropriate response. Neither would "That's great!" if you don't explain what you mean.
• Direct attention to related and relevant issues. You may find that none of the posts on the class website about a particular set of readings confront what you feel is an important issue on the assigned texts. As long as it is related to the general topic of the readings or the topic of this class, feel free to post a comment which turns the conversation in a new direction (use the subject line to clearly specify this new direction).
• Occasionally post to blog posts not on our front page. If you like, you may choose to post three of your comments or replies to any other recently submitted blog posting on the class site from the instructors and/or other students, whether or not those posts focus on the topic up for discussion.
• Use emoticons and acronyms to convey additional information (such as tone and intonation).

For those of you wishing to do more than the minimum requirements of the course, you might visit the class website additional times per week and post new comments and/or replies to any of the blog posts.

Principles for Posting to Your Weblog

You'll do a lot of the writing for this class in your individual weblog space on the course website. You can access your weblog via your my account page.

One way to think of a weblog or blog is as a journal. However, unlike a journal that you might keep at home (as well as most if not all of the writing you have done in school before), your blog space is public. Your fellow class members will be invited to read your blog. Classmates will respond to your posts with comments and replies. Group members will review notes you take when doing research. And, of course, since it's on the Internet, other Web readers may encounter your writing and take a look at what you have to say.

There are many uses for weblogs, but we'll only use them for a few things here. During this class, you'll be asked to use your course weblog to

• share drafts of your work-in-progress for peer review
• keep a project log
• post research notes

In addition to the individual weblog space that everyone has, the home page of our course website is a community blog space where anyone can post. While most of your blog writing will be posted to your individual weblog, we'll use the home page as a place to promote discussion among all class members. For example,

• When there is a reading response assignment, your instructors may promote someone's post to the front page for community discussion.
• Groups may be asked to lead discussion by posting their reading responses or blog posts to the course home page instead of to their individual weblogs.
• Groups may be asked to share proposals and progress reports with the entire class.

Good Blogging Practices

• Titles for blog posts should reflect the context of what you have written, not merely restate the name of the title of the assignment or reading. Interesting and informative titles draw more interesting responses from others.
• Blogs should demonstrate the principles of writing for the Web as they are covered in this course.
• Bloggers link. Use hyperlinks when referring to another post on the public Internet and follow good attribution practices. Hyperlinks mean converting text to a link, not merely cutting and pasting in an URL. To do so, you'll have to know a little HTML for creating hyperlinks.
• People visiting the course website from the Internet won't know what you mean if you just mention "the reading assignment for today." Since PW Online is password protected, others on the Internet cannot access it. Treat it like a printed text. At minimum, you should mention the name of the text and the title of the chapter or section you are referencing.
• Good bloggers always keep in mind that they are writing for a public audience.

To Learn More

• To receive credit for your work, be sure to follow the course requirements for reading responses and project logs.
• Optional: Read Meg Hourihan's What We're Doing When We Blog for a brief description of weblogs. For further reading on weblogs, take a look at The Weblog Webliography on Kairosnews.

Principles of Reading Responses

Each week, you will be responsible for creating a reading response/individual response. Each reading response should be specifically focused on the reading and the prompt provided on the calendar, clearly indicate that you have read and thought seriously about the reading, and be sufficiently developed. Reading responses should be 250 or longer. Post your reading response as a blog entry or comment and use the tag provided in the prompt itself.

Sometimes, you and each of your group members will be assigned to post your reading response to the course home page by submitting a story. The posts on the course home page will then be the focus of full class discussion. Selected reading responses will also be promoted to the front page for more lively community discussion.

In composing your reading response you should:

• Be sure to focus your response on the subject of the prompt.
• Link your response to recent class discussions online, your current project work, something you might have read elsewhere, and/or previous professional, academic, or personal experience writing and communicating in other contexts.
• Discuss how the reading contributes to your understanding of the current project, expands your understanding of recent discussions, or suggests ideas for your work in the class.
• Be sure to properly cite the original reading and any other sources you might mention. Good citation practice is critical in all writing and especially so on the Web.
• You can apply the rhetorical considerations discussed in Principles for Posting to Your Weblog to your reading responses.
• When it is your group's turn to post reading responses to the course home page, consider that the goal of these blog posts is to share new information and stimulate discussion. If your group is reponsible for posting about an assignment, check to see if anyone has already posted a response on the reading. If so, read through it. Shape your blog post to take the conversation in different directions.

Project Log Guidelines

Purpose

Because you will have a weekly record at the end of the project, your project log will help you to complete the Peer Collaboration Evaluation Form due at the end of each project. Project logs also provide evidence of each group member's contribution to the project. And detailed project logs lend more credibility to your evaluation of others in your Peer Collaboration Evaluation Form.

After college, you may find keeping a project log useful in your professional career:

• In the busy life of a professional, it can often be difficult to remember all aspects of a project when compiling monthly or quarterly progress reports.
• Consultants can use project logs to provide supporting evidence of work done on a project in preparing invoices or in case a client questions billable hours.
• Once a project is completed, a project log can be useful as a record for planning similar, future projects that will be completed by others.

Requirements

At least once a week, post a short report to your weblog covering all of the following:

• Use informative titles (e.g., Project Log for Week 5: Project 2 Takes Shape)
• Tag your post with "Project Log"
• Report on the status of the project: Is it in early drafting? Is it production ready? Is your group conducting research? Etc.
• Record your contributions to the project that week.
• Record the contributions of others in your group.
• Record the time and date of group meetings and communication and describe briefly what was accomplished. Did the group have a large email discussion? Did you IM with another group member? Etc.
• Report on any scheduled plans for completing specific tasks in the project. What group members have taken on which specific tasks? What are the prospective deadlines?
• Plan out ideas for completing the project, including ways to collaborate and communicate more effectively with your group.
• Reflect on any lessons you have learned about collaboration and electronic communication.

Remember. Your project logs are public and can be read by other group members. Be diplomatic. Do not write about what other group members failed to do or negatively evaluate their participation. Simply record what others have agreed to do and the tasks which they have completed. You will have ample opportunity to assess the work of others at the end of the project.

You can of course post more than once a week.

Questions about Assignments (Ask Them!)

At some point in the semester, almost everyone is likely to have some questions and concerns about how to complete an assignment. In a normal face-to-face class, these questions might be answered in regular class discussion.

Because this is an online class, each week, one of the instructors will blog about the following week's assignments, inviting open discussion. If you have any questions or concerns, check out the most recent blog posting about assignments on the course home page. If your questions and concerns are not answered in the comments, post them to the comment board.

Know that all class members are encouraged to respond to questions--not just the teachers--so that we can discuss the assignments. If you can help clarify or answer any concerns of your classmates, please do so. Plus, participating in these discussions is one way to demonstrate more effort than just the minimum requirements of the class.

While some of you might think, "I'd rather just email the teacher directly," sharing your concerns on the class website can benefit everyone. Each blog post and comments on the next week's assignments will be a resource that everyone can use. The question you ask might help someone later, someone who hasn't thought about the assignment in the way that you have. Yet, they still might arrive at the same question later on. They need only read through the blog and comments to find the question that you already posted, as well as an answer.

If you feel you need a more immediate response, still post your question or concerns, then email your instructor, who will be sure to respond to your email by replying to your comment ASAP.

If you have something personal to discuss, something not to be shared with the rest of the class, you are, of course, welcome to email your instructor privately.

Employment Project

Employment Project: Assignment Description
During the Employment Project, you will learn strategies for seeking and securing employment, with particular attention to the rhetoric of the documents people normally use to represent themselves to potential employers. The goal of the project is to learn how to represent yourself, which is very different from simply constructing a list of your accomplishments, both honestly and effectively. This project asks you to work individually, but there will also be chances for you to work with your peers to exchange ideas and feedback.

Project Summary
I am asking you to both locate a real and specific job or internship for which you are qualified (or very soon will be qualified) and prepare the application materials for the position. If you already have a good job, you need to find one that would be an advance for you, then prepare application materials for that position.

• Step 1 of the project asks you to learn about and use various web-based resources for job seekers and ultimately to select one real job to pursue.
• Step 2 asks you to prepare a print resume suitable for such a position.
• Step 3 asks you to prepare the cover letter.
• Step 4, you will assess your experience in a Project Assessment Document. The final step, Step 5, requires you to workshop and revise your resume drafts. Remember the Project Assessment and Revision Sheets because many students often forget this deliverable!!! In the process of completing each step, you will work closely with your peers and me to shape your writing so that it represents you and your experience fully and effectively.

Although I will comment on your drafts of each of these documents, you will not receive a grade for them until you submit the final portfolio.

Deliverables

1. Job Ad Analysis. Provide an exact copy of the job announcement, a one-paragraph description of the position in your own words, and a two-paragraph discussion of why you have chosen this position and why you believe you are qualified for it. Not counting the actual job announcement, this document should be approximately 300-500 words in length.
2. Print Resume. Your print resume (one or more pages in length, depending upon the type of job and the depth of your experience) should adapt features drawn from the samples discussed in class or available for review at the Online Writing Lab. It is critical that you shape your resume to the specific job you have chosen to apply for, so be sure to include only the relevant aspects of your professional experience. As in the Job Application Letter, your writing needs to be error-free, concise, and presented in an easily readable format. Part of this step is generating references which are appropriate for the position, which will be presented professionally whether they are part of your resume or not.
3. Job Application Letter. The job application letter, or cover letter, is critical to your efforts to secure a job, perhaps as critical as your resume itself. For this project, your letter should be no longer than one or two pages (one is preferable in most cases), following the suggestions and models discussed during class.
4. Project Assessment Document. As you near the end of your work on the Employment Project, prepare a word overview and analysis essay of your deliverables and the process you used to complete them. Your Project Assessment Document should answer most of the following questions, each of which is tied to the major goals of the assignment:
5. Revision and Drafts. This deliverable requires you to a) complete all drafts on time and prepared for class and b) provide quality feedback on your revision sheets. The structure of the workshop is as follows: The writer(s) will sign up for a workshop day and then turn in a draft at least 48 hours before their workshop day (i.e. If you workshop on a Monday, your paper needs to be emailed Friday).Your Project Assessment Document is due when you turn in your completed Employment Portfolio.

   All four final deliverables should be fully revised and submitted by the beginning of class.

The full project needs to be submitted in this format (it will not be accepted in any other form):

• Paper clip together your final drafts of Steps 1–4 (this means that you need to save subsequent drafts as different files as you revise)
• Staple together the pages of your Project Assessment Document and place it the folder or envelope
• Place all of these materials in a manilla envelope or folder

Grading
The Employment Project is worth 20% of your course grade. The breakdown for each of its components is as follows:

• Step 1: Job Analysis—One Job Only (10 points)
• Step 2: Job Application Letter (30 points)
• Step 3: Print Resume (30 points)
• Step 4: Project Assessment Document (10 points)
• Step 5: Drafts and Revision (20 points)
• Total (100 points) = 20% of Overall Course Grade

Grading criteria
When I assign a grade to your project, I will pay particular attention to see whether you have effectively adapted your documents to the job for which you have applied. Your writing needs to be precise, accurate, and well-suited to the context (the job/field) and to the rhetorical situation (in terms of tone, style, and content). In this case, a generic, catch-all resume and cover letter will not satisfy the requirements of the project. The project will lose one full letter grade for each day it is late.

White Paper Project

Project Summary

During this project you will learn about

• the white paper genre through collaborative creation of a white paper.
• research, as applied to a professionally-based report directing information and analysis toward audiences who need such data to make a decision, or to recommend a course of action to decision-makers
• collaboration, project management, and strategies for writing and revising.

In this project, groups of four members will be asked to do web-based and library research and then to write an informative white paper focused on a technical process. This research document will result in a visually and verbally accomplished document of 1750-2000 words--not including bibliography, ex. summary, or proposal--that presents findings to an appropriate rhetorical situation pertaining to the specific technology you are analyzing.

White Paper (make sure you are logged in to PWonline): A white paper is an informative and definitive overview of a well-focused topic. White papers typically include an "Executive Summary," "Background Information," "Key Issues" or "Key Developments," "Resource List," and a number of other sections, depending on the nature of the subject matter (a chronology, remaining challenges, future prospects, etc.)

Rhetorical Situation

The primary audience for your white paper consists of readers who are concerned in implementing solutions to the problem you are addressing, such as the effectiveness (or lackthereof) of your chosen technological, electronic, or digital procedure. Although they may be experts in their field, your reader's familiarity with the technology and policies need to be addressed by your paper. The purpose of the white paper is to identify a problem and provide objective information which could lead to a solution.

Length and Format

The length of your white paper will depend somewhat on your choice of topics, but should be within 1750-200 words (formatting will vary based on the design employed by each group, but every white paper should be visually sophisticated.)

Project Goals
This project emphasizes several important goals that all professional writers should bear in mind and that are consistent with those of the Professional Writing Program at Purdue. The White Paper Project emphasizes shaping research, writing and design to very specific situations and purposes:

• Writing in Context: Analyze professional cultures, social contexts, and audiences to determine how they shape the various purposes and forms of writing, such as persuasion, organizational communication, and public discourse.
• Writing Process: Develop and understand various strategies for planning, researching, drafting, revising, and editing documents that respond effectively and ethically to professional situations and audiences.
• Collaboration: Learn and apply strategies for successful collaboration, such as working and communicating on-line with colleagues, setting and achieving project goals, and responding constructively to peers' work.
• Research: Understand and use various research methods to produce professional documents, including analyzing professional contexts, assessing and using information resources, and determining how various media and technologies affect and are affected by users and readers.
• Technology: Develop strategies for using and adapting various communication technologies to manage projects and produce informative and usable professional documents.
• Document Design: Learn to argue with visual data, understanding and implementing various principles of format, layout, and design of professional documents that meet multiple user and reader needs.

Deliverables

There will be both group and individual deliverables for this project.
Groups will be responsible for the following:

Group Deliverable 1: Proposal Memo.

Each group will turn in one topic proposal, in the form of a professional memo. This memo will include information about the topic(s) under consideration, the potential solution(s) to be examined, and possible resources to achieve both goals. Follow the guidelines for memo writing outlined at Purdue's OWL and discussed in this class. Remember that you are selling an idea—this is a persuasive, not descriptive, document. This means presenting the issue as worthy of consideration, and the solutions as relevant, while demonstrating the feasibility of the project within the parameters of the assignment.

Group Deliverable 2 and 3: Draft and Final Copy of White Paper.

Each group will be required to hand in two final hardcopies of their white paper. In addition to the print copy, each group will provide (at least) two drafts of their white paper: one centered on the design changes and another focused on writing changes. If necessary, it is acceptable email me a PDF (I still require a hardcopy) version of their white paper before class (it helps to keep printing costs low).

Group Deliverable 4: Annotated Bibliography.

Each group will present their material if the form of an annotated bibliography. This bibliography will be, roughly, 750-1000 words (depending on the amount of research your group performed.

Individuals within groups will be responsible for the following deliverable:

Individual Deliverable 1: Project Assesment Document.

An important component of your project is successful collaboration. Each member will reflect on their participation in the project and on the experience of working in a group.

Turn-In Procedure
The turn-in procedure for the White is similar to the Employment Project:

• One folder that includes two paper clipped copies of Final Draft, two copies of a rough draft
• The Annotated Bibliography
• An Project Assessment Document to be emailed to me by the due date (end of Monday, March 17th)

Grading

The White Paper Project breakdowns as follows:

• Group D 1: Proposal: 15%
• Group D 2: White Paper Draft(s): 10%
• Group D 3: White Paper Final: 45%
• Group D 4: Annotated Bibliography: 20%
• Individual D 1: Project Assessment Document: 10%

Grading Criteria

When I assign a grade to your project, I will pay particular attention to see whether your white paper is informative and accurate and that you avoid, as much as possible, grammatical and structural errors. You should strive for a balance of perspectives and accurate coverages of a focused topic. The point is not to advocate for a position or "pamphleteer," but to establish a foundation of knowledge about the subject that future students and researches will find useful. I will also weigh your feedback on the Collaborative Project Evaluation form (Word format) in assigning a grade for your participation in the project.

Successful collaboration will be a critical component of this
project. Follow guidelines for successful collaboration as described
within the text, and discussed in other course readings and messages. To summarize, you should

• Work collaboratively with the rest of the group in researching and
  drafting a white paper, including participating in any online group
  meetings and providing deliverables in a timely manner in the requested
  format.
• Follow good professional communication practices, especially in project and issue logs
• CC all group members on any email communication regarding the
  project (including contacting the instructor, unless of a personal
  nature).
• When assigned, provide detailed feedback to other groups on their projects/drafts.
• As a group, respond on the course website to any and all feedback offered to the group's project.
• Conduct oneself in a professional manner in all group communication and when giving feedback to other groups.

deliverable due dates

• Project proposal: Friday, February 22
• Annotated bibliography (draft): Friday, February 29
• All other materials, including Drafts must be included in Final portfolio on Monday, March 17th

White Paper: Draft Guidelines

Here are the items that will need to be present within your white
paper. Remember, you will complete two drafts -- the first, will be design focused. The second will be focused around all the changes in rhetoric, style, editing, and language.
Major details

• These drafts should be versions of a nearly complete white paper (6-8 pages, single spaced block-style) -- but if the first draft has at least 4-5 pages, that's a good start. For these shorter drafts, here are couple of recommendations related to how to provide more, and more detailed, information!

Recommendations

• The title should be descriptive and reflect both the writing situation and the white paper's target audience.
• Headings should reflect content/writing situation presented within each section
• Sections should include: intro/executive summary,

  history/background of issue discussed, research/analysis-based material
  supporting the main position, an overall interpretation/analysis of
  information presented throughout the white paper, a conclusion, and a
  bibliography section

Specific items to look for within drafts

• A clearly-stated position or a strongly implied position (similar

  to direct and indirect thesis statements within academic essays)

• An identifiable context or situation to which the topic/position is related
• A clearly-defined organizational pattern that establishes overall reading flow and connections between ideas presented
• Evidence that the white paper is appropriately tilted toward target audiences
• Balance in research-based sources and sufficient analysis of source-based information
• Effective incorporation of graphics and directly-quoted material (introduction, source, and analysis/interpretation)
• Thoughtful, engaging prose style throughout (just because a
  document highlights research doesn't mean it's OK to be boring,

  artificially elevated in diction, abstract and/or unclear!)

White Paper: Proposal

White paper proposals should be no more than a 1,000 words, single-spaced, in length and incorporate/address the following items:

• a working title for your white paper
• a brief description of the subject matter to be covered
• specific mention of the position your group plans to take within the white paper
• a brief discussion of your target audience -- important because
  this will help you further narrow your topic *and* articulate your
  position
• a discussion/analysis of possible sources for researching this topic
• an overall assessment of how your white paper would contribute to a larger "discussion" of the subject matter covered

For those of you who would appreciate a bit of direction in
organizing these proposals, I would suggest a four-paragraph proposal
arranged in the following fashion:

• Paragraph 1: brief description of subject matter and specific
  mention of your group's position -- with indirect mention of your
  envisioned target audience
• Paragraph 2: more details related to your target audience, and a
  brief analysis of how technologies might affect this target
  audience
• Paragraph 3: discusssion/analysis of possible sources for
  researching this topic -- presented in a way that highlights research
  *and* ties together points made in the first two paragraphs
• Paragraph 4: assessment of how your white paper would contribute to a larger "discussion."

Keep in mind that readers have a number of reasons for accessing
your white paper: learning about your subject matter, researching a

variety of positions taken on your topic, tracing "developments" in a
career field/technology/ making a decision
related to policy, economics, or personnel.

Service Learning Project

Introduction

Thus far, you have produced several rhetorical documents, both as individuals and as groups. You have created text and images in order to persuade various audiences of decision makers. In the Employment Project, you created resumes and cover letters with fairly straightforward arguments: “I am the best person for a particular position in a particular organization.” That is, you should decide to give me the job.
In the White Paper project, you faced a more complex rhetorical situation. White papers have to begin by convincing the audiences that there is a problem that needs to be addressed. Then, they have to anticipate objections and propose viable solutions. All the while, the white paper has to spur the audience to action. Unlike the employment project, however, the white paper project required collaboration not only within your groups, but also with the audience you imagined for the project. Though the paper did not address an actual audience, it still had to address stakeholders with varying background knowledge, interests, and power.

Project Summary
For this project, groups of 3-4 members will be asked to locate a real world client and negotiate a reasonable and mutually beneficial writing project which will be completed by the end of the semester. In working with community members, students will operate in a real world writing environment that requires collaboration with their group, their organization, and their instructor to complete the project by semester's end. It is each group's responsibility to establish their own client and project, though all clients and projects are subject to instructor approval. The instructor will veto any project for an organization which has individuals from the group as members, as well as organizations which have formal marketing departments. Students are encouraged to work with non-profit organizations, student organizations, academic departments, and small businesses. Potential projects include the following:

• A brochure for an after school program
• A policy manual for Habitat for Humanity
• A press release for a charity event
• A marketing campaign for a coffeeshop live music series
• A market analysis and series of fliers for a campus club membership drive
• A promotion for an academic department guest speaker
• Internal policy documents for a departmental office

It is crucial that projects are appropriate in length and content. The project needs to take roughly six weeks to produce, so project options too small or ambitious may need some revision. It is also crucial that the project is mutually beneficial; the work needs to be of importance to the organization and educational for the students. For potential organizations, check out the United Way, the Journal and Courier List of Lafayette Organizations, the Boiler Volunteer Nework, or the student organizations at SSINFO.
Project Goals

This project emphasizes several important goals that all professional writers should bear in mind and that are consistent with those of Professional Writing at Purdue. The Public Document Project emphasizes the collaborative writing process in context. It will include research specific to the organization and will require appropriate technology in producing a document designed to meet the organization's specific needs:

Writing in ContextAnalyze professional cultures, social contexts, and audiences to determine how they shape the various purposes and forms of writing, such as persuasion, organizational communication, and public discourse.
Writing ProcessDevelop and understand various strategies for planning, researching, drafting, revising, and editing documents that respond effectively and ethically to professional situations and audiences.
CollaborationLearn and apply strategies for successful collaboration, such as working and communicating on-line with colleagues, setting and achieving project goals, and responding constructively to peers' work.
ResearchUnderstand and use various research methods to produce professional documents, including analyzing professional contexts, assessing and using information resources, and determining how various media and technologies affect and are affected by users and readers.

TechnologyDevelop strategies for using and adapting various communication technologies to manage projects and produce informative and usable professional documents.
Document DesignLearn to argue with visual data, understanding and implementing various principles of format, layout, and design of professional documents that meet multiple user and reader needs.

Deliverables
There will be both group and individual deliverables for this project, though group work composes the majority of the project and grade.
Group Deliverable 1: Short Memo: This 100 word rough draft memo (a Word document sent by email) should inform the instructor of your group members, and suggest the kinds of organizations the group will contact and the kinds of projects that the group is interested in undertaking. This will be composed before meeting with potential clients.

Group Deliverable 2: Formal Proposal: In this detailed 2 page project proposal, groups will propose and plan out the scope and specifics of their project. Each group proposal will serve two functions: to inform the instructor of the project so that it may be approved, and to serve as a contract between the group and client. A copy will be delivered to the client after approval by the instructor. Remember that this is a persuasive document serving multiple functions for multiple audiences. This proposal must include the following elements:

• Name of organization.
• Contact information of the organization.
• Goals/Mission Statement of the organization.

The proposal should also address project goals and deliverables:

• The deliverables determined by group and client.
• The intended audience for the deliverables.
• The intended process to complete these goals.
• Detailed timetable for completing this process.
• The group division of labor, including tasks and rationale.
• A complete Gnatt chart.
• Research completed so far towards the project.
• Research still necessary to complete the project.
• Resources needed to complete the project (technological, research, etc).

Proposal must be turned in no later than Monday, April 7. Earlier proposals will be accepted and encouraged.
Group Deliverable 3: Weekly Progress Posts: Every week (for a total of five posts), each group will post updates to their Wiki that informs the instructor of their progress on the project. These posts should include tasks completed, meetings conducted with group and client (if necessary), any problems encountered, and goals for the following week. Posts should also evaluate group progress in regards to the timetable established in the proposal. Complete this Weekly reports in PWOnline.
Group Deliverable 4: Rough Draft: A rough draft of the project which meets standards for a draft negotiated between group and client and will be workshopped.

Group Deliverable 5: Final Project: A final project submitted to instructor for evaluation and comment. This will be submitted simultaneously the to instructor and the client beforeTuesday, July 31 at 5:00 P.M.
Individual Deliverable 1: Collaborative Project Assessment Document—the same form you filled out for the white paper.

• Deliverable 1 Collaborative Project Assessment: 5%
• Deliverable 2 Rough Memo: 10%
• Deliverable 3 Proposal : 20%
• Deliverable 4 Draft of Document: 20%
• Deliverable 5 Final Document: 45%

Grading Criteria
The final documents will be graded on how well they meet client needs and professional writing standards. Because of the unique nature of the project, groups will be graded based on a specific set of standards created for their project. These standards will vary greatly between projects, and are partly the result of negiotiations between client, groups, and instructor. Projects cannot be revised after final evaluation.