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.