Introduction for Instructors

This assignment sequence is designed to take up roughly the second half of a semester-long project in an upper-division writing course (assuming time will be taken up by various scaffolding assignments not listed here, assigned prior to and during this sequence). The first half of the project is available under the assignment sequence titled ‘Group Data Advocacy Project part 1: White Paper.’

The assignment sequence titled ‘Create an Original Data Visualization’ can be incorporated into this project. It can be assigned to individual students with instructions to create a visualization that can be incorporated into their group’s final project.

The following assignments contain student-facing instructions, originally delivered via the Canvas LMS, that lead from the deliverable brainstorming stage through the final draft of the project.

Assignment 1: Your Dream Project

For next class, describe the coolest, biggest thing you think your group could create for the final project, if everything went smoothly. The idea is to create something that goes out into the world and makes some kind of meaningful change. Would you want to create a video? An op/ed that would get published in a major online publication? A presentation to the City Council, or to the Board of Regents? An interactive data visualization? A compelling piece of data journalism? Some combination of these? Something I didn’t mention?

While you are describing your dream project, explain:

what part of the idea you like best;
what you would ideally want to accomplish (i.e. what success would look like);
what obstacles might stand between your group and this dream.

Let me know if you have questions!

Assignment 2: Propose a Group Project and Submit Examples

As a project group, take a look at the individual “dream project” proposals and decide what you are actually going to propose together. Once you have a plan, submit it here (one proposal per group, one person submitting for everyone).

Your proposed project plan should explain:

What you propose to create (i.e. what the deliverables would be);
What stakeholders or community partners you propose to collaborate with (if anyone) and what they have said about your idea;
What you want to accomplish (i.e. what success would look like for this project);
What obstacles stand between you and that success, and how you plan to overcome them.

In addition to the above – and this is important – please include

Links to at least 5 (preferably more) examples of the type of things you intend to create. (Note: these examples do NOT have to be on the same topic as your project. They are simply examples of the KIND of thing you want to make – models for you to emulate. You are looking for models of form, not content.) I am happy to discuss proposals anytime. Be aware that next time our class meets, your group will be pitching this idea to me and the whole class so we can help you troubleshoot and plan.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Assignment 3: Analysis of deliverable genres

Your group needs to complete a genre analysis before beginning work on the deliverable(s). You have flexibility in how you structure this document, but the end result should look and sound professional.

For this first draft, I want you to do basic background research on the genre, and then assemble a set of real-world examples.

Step 1: Background research

Do some initial background research to answer the questions in the categories below. The purpose of the initial research is to learn who creates the genre and why, who uses it and why; what basic terminology people use to describe the genre and its parts; and how best to find real-life examples of it. Your research could be online, or you could talk to people who are involved with the genre you are analyzing. Sources could include Wikipedia, or websites that teach people how to create in the genre.

WARNING: At the start of your process, figure out exactly what genre you’re talking about. Many genres have sub-genres, and inside those are sub-sub-genres. Make sure you’re working in the right territory. If somebody has asked you to create a fundraising video for their nonprofit organization, don’t prepare by analyzing a bunch of music videos. “YouTube video” would be too broad of a genre in this case. Narrow down as much as possible. Here are the preliminary questions:

Function and people

Who are the typical designers/creators? What do they want the genre to accomplish for them? (If there are multiple different categories of designer/creator, please discuss them separately.)

Who are the typical readers/users? What do they want the genre to accomplish for them? (If there are multiple different categories of readers/users, please discuss them separately.)

Terminology

What basic terminology do people use to describe the genre and its parts? For example, does the genre go by different names in different industries, or in different English-speaking countries? When people talk about the genre, do they use any specialized vocabulary? List and define any terms that seem helpful and whose definitions aren’t obvious.

Location and circulation

Where does the genre usually appear (in what context or medium)? How is it disseminated, and to whom is it available? Where are you likely to find authentic examples?

Form

Briefly, what seem to be some attributes that most or all examples of the genre seem to share? What are the characteristics by which one can recognize the genre?

Step 2: Find real-life examples

In some cases, finding an example of the genre requires just a simple internet search. In other cases it can be much tougher. For example, if you search for resumes and cover letters, most of what you find will be samples and templates, because most people don’t post their resumes and cover letters on publicly available web pages.

Note: you can eliminate many false positives from your Google search results by using the minus sign as a search limiter. For example, searching for “project charter pdf -sample -template” will remove results that contain the words “sample” and “template.”

The more examples you can find, the better, but you need to find 8 at a bare minimum. I strongly recommend searching for terms like “excellent [genre name]” and “terrible [genre name]” to see if you can find both good and bad examples for your collection.

In your document,

Provide a link to each example, and label it as appropriate (e.g., by title and source organization).
Write approximately two paragraphs in which you discuss what makes this example similar to, and different from, the others in your analysis. What makes this one more successful or less successful? What parts of it might you want to emulate? What mistakes does it make that you’ll want to avoid?

This is a group assignment, so only one person from your group needs to post it.

Assignment 4: Final Project partial draft 1

Like we did for the White Paper, we will be constructing the group final projects in pieces, with each group member contributing bits over time. However, because the group projects can take a number of different forms, the exact form of your individual contribution may vary from group to group. Ultimately, every group must give each of its members a specific homework assignment that forms a direct piece of the final project.

If your group is creating a written final project (a report, an op/ed, an article) then I recommend each member writing 500 words for this homework assignment, if possible.
If your group is creating a data visualization, one or more members could contribute sketches at this stage.
If your group is creating a video, you could be contributing parts of the script or storyboard, or potentially unscripted / unedited footage.

Other types of contributions are possible. If your group is in doubt about how to split your project into smaller stages, contact me and we’ll discuss.

Assignment 5: Final Project partial draft 2

Once again, every group must give each of its members a specific homework assignment that forms a direct piece of the final project.

If your group is creating a written final project (a report, an op/ed, an article) then I recommend each member writing 500 words for this homework assignment, if possible.
If your group is creating a data visualization, this is probably the stage at which you should start moving from sketching into drafting / coding / writing accompanying text.
If your group is creating a video, you could potentially be contributing editing or filming hours at this point.

Other types of contributions are possible. If your group is in doubt about how to split your project into smaller stages, contact me and we’ll discuss.

Assignment 6: Final Project complete first draft

Submit a complete rough draft of your group’s final project here. (Only one person needs to upload per group.)

This draft will be workshopped and revised. The second draft will also be workshopped and revised, and then you’ll turn in a final draft at the end of the semester. Let me know if you have any questions or run into difficulties.

Assignment 7: 250 words of revision work (or equivalent)

For next class, coordinate with your groupmates to split up the work of revising your Final Project draft in response to the feedback you got, and in accordance with your ultimate goals. For written projects, each person should contribute at least 250 words of substantially revised or newly written text, uploaded here. For non-written projects, figure out a roughly equivalent amount of work and document it here in whatever way makes sense.

See me if you have questions.

Assignment 8: Final project final draft

Once your final project is complete, upload it here. Only one person from your group needs to do this.

Let me know if you have questions!