In this major project, you will put your research from the previous module into action! (USE PDF ATTACHMENTS OF EVERY ASSINGMENT COMPLETED ON THIS TOPIC) After spending so much time investigating your research questions, you have built knowledge and credibility. Now that you have spent some time finding the best and most relevant research about your topic and have begun to think about how your sources “speak to” each other, you will use this knowledge to argue a particular position for a specific audience. In this module, you will learn how to communicate your informed perspective, shaping your material to suit your purpose and the needs of your audience.
Your work in this project will give you experience doing something that many, if not all of you will do in the future (if you aren’t already doing it now!): crafting digital content for publication on the web. By learning to read and compose within multiple genres and to make design and style choices with various audiences and situations in mind, you are learning to be flexible, modern writers. In the 21st century, developing skills to create in a variety of media is crucial for the job market, and learning to adapt your writing for different audiences and contexts is THE way to demonstrate mastery of the art of rhetoric.
For your next project, you will write a Persuasive Web Article (ATTACHING SCREENSHOTS OF WHAT A PERSUAVIVE ARTICLE IS). There are links to example Web Articles in your prompt/assignment sheet, if you’d like to explore before completing this assignment. Here, you’ll write at least 250 words to give me a sense of what you plan to do for your web article. In particular, your proposal should cover these ideas: 1. Purpose and Audience: What do you hope to accomplish with your web article? Are you trying to persuade your audience to change their behavior? Take action? Argue in favor of a particular solution? And who is this argument is directed to? Be as specific as you’re able to with your audience — since you’re writing persuasively you should think about who you’re hoping to persuade, to take action based on your argument. Take some time to explain why you have decided on this purpose and what you really want to say. In this section, I really want to see what’s important to you, since good writing is self-motivated. For a refresher on analyzing your own rhetorical situation, see EAA Chapter 2. 2. Thesis: State the working thesis that you will assert in the final web article, and explain in about a paragraph why this will be the thesis you’ve decided on. Your thesis should be an arguable claim that others can logically have different perspectives on. It should also engage your readers’ interest that can surprise your audience with something new or challenging. If it helps, you can watch this video from your book, “Developing an Argumentative Thesis StatementLinks to an external site.”. It’s 2:30 and it walks you through developing a thesis. For more information about thesis statements, see EAA pages 303-307. 3. Style and Design: This includes visuals, writing style, and document design. Since you are writing in the genre of a web article, this means there must be some visual elements to accompany the text. What photos, illustrations, charts, or other visual elements will you include? How will you design the page? You’ll also want to write in a voice and style most appropriate for your chosen audience. What will that be? For more information about multimodal design considerations, see EAA Chapters 29-30. EAA Chapter 25 provides advice about writing style. Even if you just skim these pages, they will help you answer this question more fully.