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English 3110 Projects

The course work consists of five major projects. As noted in the syllabus, you must complete all major assignments to receive a passing grade for the course.

For virtually all of your writing assignments, you will write two drafts: first and final. Please note the different due dates. For first drafts, you don’t have to turn it in on the due date for the first draft. Just bring a fairly polished draft (electronic version) to class on the day indicated in the schedule. An editing partner will read and comment on your draft.

Save your final draft as “filename(LastNameFirstName).doc” and email it to me as a Word attachment. For more information on each project, click on the link for the complete instructions.

Each project must be saved in exactly the file name as specified in my project instructions, and each project must be turned in electronically, typically as email attachments, unless I specify otherwise.

Introductory Memo (50 100 Points)
This will be your first memo in this class as a way to introduce yourself to me: who you’re, what you major is, what career goals you have, what writing courses you’ve taken, what you hope to gain from this class, what your writing strengths and weaknesses are, etc.

Visual Design (150 points)
For this assignment, you’ll find a one-to-two-page document that’s poorly designed in both content and format. You’ll carefully revise and redesign this document to make it an effective one. You’ll also write a memo to the author of the document, who happens to be your boss, to explain why the original document was not well designed and why your revision is effective.

Job Search (200 points)
This assignment requires you to design a job search packet including at least a resume and cover letter that could be used for a real job search.

Here’re some samples of relatively good design and some samples of poor design.

Instructional Design (200 Points)
You’ll write some effective instructions for a certain product, such as a software feature, for an appropriate audience.

Final Project (400 points)
This will be a group project. You’ll work in groups of 3-4 to do a real technical writing design for a real client. You’ll be responsible for finding the client and the project. The project could be a brochure, a grant proposal, a consulting proposal, a recommendations report, an annual report, a web site, a policy manual, a user’s guide or tutorial, or any other technical writing product. This project consists of three graded components and a couple of ungraded components:

• Initial Proposal (50 100 points)–You will be responsible for identifying at least one possible project. After initial research, you as a group will then write an initial proposal providing some basic information about the project. The purpose of the initial proposal is to inform me of the project and convince me why it will be a good project for the class.
• The project (250 350 points)
• Oral Presentation (100 points)–When you’re done with your final project, you will present your project in front of your client. Your classmates will act as your client.
• Rhetorical Analysis (not graded)–Accompanying the final proposal, each group will also be required to turn in a rhetorical analysis in which you carefully analyze the rhetorical aspects of the project: what process you went through, how effective your project is, why you have done the project the way you did, how successful your collaboration was, what you would do differently next time, etc. The purpose of the rhetorical analysis is for you to step back from your project and examine it with a critical eye. The focus of the analysis will be on WHY rather than WHAT.
• Group Evaluation Form–This form provides you a chance to evaluate your group members in terms of their contribution to the project. Download the form and save it as GroupEvaluationForm(LastName).doc” and email it to me.
• Naming your files–Please name all your files “final(YourNames).” If you’re submitting multiple files, your file name should be followed by a more specific file name. For example: 
  • final(SmithJohnsonKing)-Proposal
  • final(SmithJohnsonKing)-RA
  • final(SmithJohnsonKing)-Brochure
  • final(SmithJohnsonKing)-Pamphlet
  • final(SmithJohnsonKing)-Presentation