"Every new idea is just a mashup or a remix of one or more previous ideas."
—AUSTIN KLEON
—AUSTIN KLEON
OVERVIEW
MULTIMODAL REMIX What?First, let's clarify some key terms:
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DESCRIPTIONThroughout the semester you have developed your skill in the writing process: brainstorming, researching, outlining, drafting, editing, peer reviewing, and revising. This assignment asks you to research a topic related to cultural literacy, take what you have learned about the writing and research process, and adapt your findings to a unique rhetorical situation, meaning you will select a topic, audience, genre, and medium to present your conclusions about the research. For instance, you might choose to present your conclusions to an audience of parents with children ages 2-4 in an infographic, or a YouTube video to high school students in the Mountain West region of the United States.
This assignment asks you to compose a critical essay that provides an analysis of literacy as it relates to a cultural phenomenon, event, movement, or pastime. The essay should focus on how language and rhetoric function in public discourse communities and how certain rhetorical strategies are used to enact social, cultural, and/or political change. This assignment is built on the premise that understanding a particular cultural phenomenon will help us to better appreciate and comprehend that culture’s literary productions, just as a careful reading of a literary text may lead us to better understand the culture from which it emerged. For example, you might consider:
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"The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house."
—AUDRE LORDE
DETAILS
PRE-PROJECT PROCESSThough the presentation of your final project will be completely up to you, each of you will be required to compose and submit the following pre-project assignments for my feedback and approval:
PROJECT PROPOSAL: a short, one-page project proposal in which you identify your research problem, explain why your question is problematic and/or why the question is significant or important, define its significance to you and your position at this time, and identify the modality you plan to use for your final presentation. ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY: an annotated bibliography of the 6+ sources you plan to use in your project. These sources must include, but are not limited to:
OUTLINE/OVERVIEW: before receiving final approval on your project, you will be asked to compose a short, functional outline of your thesis, major arguments, and preliminary evidence. COVER LETTER/REFLECTION: as with all assignments, you will need to submit a reflective cover letter addressing the questions posed in the Cover Letter Assignment Sheet. |
FINAL PROJECTThis project is about affordances of different media, especially in terms of interactivity with your audience. You should imagine your audience as extending beyond our class. In other words, imagine that you will share this project in a public venue and not just to your peers and professor. Depending on your audience you might create:
For this project, I want you to think creatively about how to represent your research in a new format and genre keeping your audience and purpose in mind. Nearly anything goes. You are free to choose whatever genre and format you want to use for your remixed essay. The only requirements are that your project needs to be digital, it needs to be published online, it needs to use at least three modes of communication. Other than that, your options are open on this assignment. |
"Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity, not a threat."
—STEVE JOBS
BREAKDOWN OF ASSIGNMENT GOALS
1) Audience / Rhetorical Situation
Demonstrate that you understand the importance of rhetorical considerations for any communicative act: the audience, purpose, genre, medium, and demonstrate your thinking about your rhetorical situation through your choices for this project. Be sure that your chosen topic, mode, and medium accurately reflects and addresses your rhetorical situation. Be sure to tailor your rhetorical analysis to a specific audience who may not understand the rhetorical and linguistic context of your subject/topic. In other words, imagine your audience having limited knowledge of the type of texts, language, and rhetorical and structural elements of your subject. How can you make this information readily accessible and understandable to your audience? And, part of meeting any audience’s expectations is to draft and edit your project so that your content, style, tone, and presentation are carefully edited and appropriate for the audience.
2) Thesis & Progression of Main Points
Aim to make your project carefully narrowed, organized, and transitioned. Your thesis should be specific, highlighting just 2-3 rhetorical and linguistic features that you either find central to the construction of the argument or particularly significant or interesting. The organization of your argument and analysis should be crafted in way that your ideas are delivered to your audience in a “digestible” fashion. Throughout the presentation, please use transitional “signposts," whether visual, written, or audio to guide readers/viewers and let them know what is about to happen.
3) Sources
Accurately credit source material no matter which mode of presentation you choose. Use list of Works Cited if your project does not lend itself to a credits screen. Be sure to credit sources and use resources appropriately and fairly according to guidelines for attribution and fair use. This process will enable you to develop the skills and knowledge required of digital citizens to confidently choose and use digital resources without fear of breaking the law. Be sure that your sources pass the CRAAP test. Two approaches to using the work of others include: Creative Commons and Public Domain. We will discuss these throughout the semester.
4) Rhetorical Analysis
Select appropriate rhetorical concepts/terms your analysis will focus on and then carefully select evidence (quotes and examples) you’ll use from the text(s) to support your analysis. Your analysis should follow the “10 on 1” rule of thumb—that is, it is better to make ten observations or points about a single representative issue or example (10 on 1) than to make the same basic point about ten related issues or examples (1 on 10). Thus, be very choosy in selecting representative examples that demonstrate your ideas. It also means that you’ll need to be extensive in your analysis of those select examples, providing appropriate description and interpretation to show your audience what you see.
5) Creativity/Originality in Making Your Argument
Be creative. Your goal is to create a piece that engages the audience you’re envisioning in your argument and research. You can do this in a number of ways: by appeals to logic (logos) using alphabetic text/numbers/research. You can use images and video clips to appeals to emotion (pathos). How well do you select interesting images or video clips? How well do you arrange them to tell a story?
"Learn the rules like a pro so that you can break them like an artist."
—PABLO PICASSO
—PABLO PICASSO
ASSIGNMENT CRITERIA
FINAL PROJECT CRITERIA
AUDIENCE / RHETORICAL SITUATION |
THESIS & MAIN POINTS |
SOURCES |
ANALYSIS |
CREATIVITY / ORIGINALITY |
Does the project demonstrate an understanding of the importance of rhetorical considerations: the audience, purpose, genre, and medium? How effectively does the project tailor its argument, examples, language, modality, and presentation to meet the expectations of the intended audience? |
How effectively is the project narrowed, organized, and transitioned? How effective and specific is the thesis? How effectively does the essay answer the So what? Who cares? question to demonstrate the exigence of rhetorical analysis and to make connections to larger implications? |
Are all sources credible, reliable, and relevant? Are sources used appropriately and fairly according to guidelines for attribution and fair use? Is source material accurately and consistently credited no matter the medium of presentation? |
How effectively does the essay rhetorically analyze the text by applying 2-3 specific rhetorical concepts and adopting the 10 on 1 rule of thumb? How effectively is the analysis supported with evidence? |
Does the project engage the audience it envisions in argument, research, and presentation? Has the creator attempted to challenge their own skills and limitations by learning a new modality? Is the project original and appropriate for its subject/audience? |
PRE-PROJECT PROCESS CRITERIA
PROPOSAL |
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY |
OUTLINE / OVERVIEW |
COVER LETTER |
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS |
Does the proposal meet all requirements: one-page identifying a research problem, explaining the problem and its significance, defining the author's position and identifying a potential modality for the final project? |
Are all source credible and reliable? Are citations complete and correct? Do annotation address all components: summary, credibility, relation to research project? Are all source types accounted for? |
Is the outline detailed, thoughtful, properly formatted and easy to follow. Does it demonstrate sincere effort and critical thinking? Does it contain a clear thesis, major arguments, and preliminary evidence? |
Does the cover answer all questions in Cover Letter Assignment Sheet thoughtfully and in detail? |
Were all requirements for the assignment met? and due date met in terms of timeliness, expectations, and objectives? |
"What would you do if you weren't afraid?"
—SHERYL SANDBERG
—SHERYL SANDBERG