Project 3: Client-Based Service Learning Project

 

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 2-4 members will be asked to locate a real world client and negiotiate 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 or employees, as well as organizations which have formal marketing departments. The instructor will also veto any project for an organization that has an individual from the group as a family member/close friend. Students are encouraged to work with non-profit organizations, academic departments, and small businesses. Clients must be in the West Lafayette/Lafayette community. Past projects included the following:

  • A brochure for an after school program
  • A policy manual for Humane Society
  • A press release for a charity event
  • A marketing campaign for a coffeeshop live music series
  • A market analysis and series of flyers for a campus club membership drive
  • A promotion for an academic department guest speaker
  • Internal policy documents for a departmental office
  • A website for an organization
  • Product or service description

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, Purdue's website, or the Journal and Courier List of Lafayette Organizations.

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 of the organization and will require appropriate technology in producing a document designed to meet the organization's specific needs:

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, though group work composes the majority of the project and grade.

Groups will be responsible for the following:

Group Deliverable 1: Short Memo
This 300-word memo should inform the instructor of your group members, and suggest three organizations the group will contact and the kinds of projects/deliverables (needs) 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. Ultimately, this document is written to your client, not me. This proposal must include the following elements:

  • Name of organization.
  • Contact information of the organization, which includes:
    • Name of your contact person
    • Address of the organization
    • Phone number
    • Email address of your contact
    • Website URL (if applicable)
  • 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.
  • Established deadlines (meetings, drafts, final submission, etc).
  • The intended process, detailed timetable, and group division of labor (in a completed Gantt chart)
  • Research completed so far towards the project.
  • Research still necessary to complete the project.
  • Resources needed to complete the project (technological, research, etc).

Group Deliverable 3: Weekly Progress Posts
Every week, each group will post updates to the Forums that inform 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 regard to the timetable established in the proposal.

Group Deliverable 4: Rough Draft
A rough draft of the project which meets standards for a draft negiotiated between group and client. Drafts will be turned in one week prior to submission to client. (Drafts should be submitted to clients after conferences.)

Group Deliverable 5: Presentation
Your presentation to the class serve as the "practice run" for the presentation of your materials to your client. Therefore, you should do everything in front of the class that you plan on doing when you go to your client's business/organization to present them with your final project (this includes what you plan to wear, hand out, and explain about the materials you've produced for them). You will not be allowed to do a PowerPoint presentation. You need to focus on communicating an idea - explain what the company/organization can do with your materials, how to change them in the future, and even what you learned from working with them.

Group Deliverable 6: Final Project
A final project submitted to instructor for evaluation and comment. This will be submitted to instructor before submission to client.

Individual Deliverable 1: Project Assessment Document
A final project assessment submitted to instructor.

Individual Deliverable 2: Peer Evaluation Collaboration Form
Attached.

Grading Percentages:

  • Group Deliverable 1: 6%
  • Group Deliverable 2: 8%
  • Group Deliverable 3: 8%
  • Group Deliverable 4: 6%
  • Group Deliverable 5: 20%
  • Group Deliverable 6: 40%
  • Individual Deliverable 1: 6%
  • Individual Deliverable 2: 6%

    • 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. The ultimate goal of this project is to produce deliverables that your clients will actually use, so it will be graded with that in mind.

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