MORN 102: C&C Writing for the Online Age: Hypertexting Composition

Spring 2012 MWF 1:45-2:50 LH 313

David E. Elder elderd@morningside.edu x5008

Office Hours: T/R 11:00-12:30 & by appointment Office: HJF Learning Center 208

This course aims to help you: 1. Show in essay and research writing that

you can develop significant theses and support them well, using language that is clear, concise, and correct. Welcome to Writing for the Online Age: Hypertexting Composition! In this course we will examine how composing has evolved due to the internet and practice creating texts in many different forms. We will map the differences between the genres usually found in a composition course and the types of electronic multimedia communication that merge together into a single method of communication called New Media This class will give you a chance to practice traditional forms of composition and then transform them into methods of communication more appropriate for an online setting.
2. Conduct effective and ethical research.

Specifically, you will:

Borrow information responsibly Use a recognized documentation style Assess the reliability of sources Search electronic and print sources thoroughly and effectively.

3. Use appropriate technologies to enhance

writing, speaking, and research. tive oral presentations.

4. Demonstrate that they can deliver effec-

Required Readings: Barton, Matt. Writing Spaces: Web Writing Style Guide 1.0. Parlor Press, 2011 OHair, Dan, et al. A Pocked Guide to Public Speaking (3rd ed.)

Engagement and active participation: be prepared for in-class writings, respectful collaboration, and
engaged class discussion which will require doing all assigned readings. The Daily Writing and Participation grade will include the following elements:

Requirements:

In-Class Writing: I will frequently ask you to complete writing assignments during our class period. These can range from informal reflections to invention and brainstorming activities or any number of other possibilities. Generally, in-class writing will be evaluated on a 1/3/5 credit scale. You will turn in at least two in-class writings per unit Drafts & Workshops: Because this class emphasizes the importance of peer responses to your writing, you will participate in numerous peer response workshops. The structure of the workshops will vary and I will not necessarily respond to each draft. However, timely submission of drafts for workshopping is absolutely essential. Generally, peer response workshops will take place one week before the final due date for each paper. Each draft should include a cover memo which outlines 1) what the current draft attempts to accomplish 2) what you think is going well 3) what you are having trouble with or would like specific response to. I will discuss the workshop requirements in more detail before the first workshop. However, please note that peer response writing will be counted toward your Daily Grade total. Conferences: At different points during the semester, I will require one-on-one conferences to discuss your writing. If I designate conferences as required, you are expected to schedule and attend a conference. Failure to attend a required conference will result in the reduction of your daily grade.

Attendance:

Course Policies and Procedures:

Your attendance is expected and required for this course. Your active participation is necessary for this class to function. With more than three absences, your final Daily writing and participation grade will be a zero resulting in a drop of half a letter grade for your final grade. Missing more than 5 class sessions is grounds for failure in the course. Also, please be on time for class so we can begin and end on time.

Late Work:

Papers are due at the beginning of class on the due date specified. Late papers will be penalized one letter grade for each 24-hour period beyond the due date unless [1] the student has an official university absence and [2] the instructor has agreed to late submission in advance of the due date.

Paper Format:

All out-of-class writingincluding response journalsmust be word-processed and in the format discussed in class. All papers will be turned in online to the course website.

Academic Support Services

This is a free service for all Morningside students and is located on the 2nd floor of the library. I encourage you to visit the folks here as they are talented and helpful.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the representation of words or ideas of others as your own and is the cause for academic failure (see the 2010-2011 course catalog for the Morningside policy on Academic Honesty). Knowing how to use sources will prevent you from inadvertent plagiarism. Proper citation of sources is not only necessary to prevent plagiarism, it is also central to effective argument. If you have questions about what might be considered plagiarism or how to avoid it, please ask me. We might also be submitting papers to turnitin.com to assess honesty and to review papers.

Freedom of Expression and Respect for the Opinions of Others

This classroom should be a place where all students feel comfortable asking questions and participating in discussions. Dissenting views presented in a reasonable manner are welcome and encouraged. Should any disrespectful conversations take place, those involved will be addressed privately.

Policy on Laptops (and other electronic equipment)

Laptops will be allowed for use in class when they have been assigned for course work. If the class is not using laptops, please keep yours closed. It is disrespectful and disruptive to be checking email or surfing the web while other students are actively engaged in classroom activities. Also, remember to turn off cell phones and other electronic equipment so you can be fully prepared to participate in class. Accommodation If you have an identified disability that may adversely affect your performance in this class, please schedule a meeting with me or with someone in Student Services as soon as possible to discuss accommodations that may be necessary to provide you with an equal opportunity for success in this class.

Your semester grade will be based on the following projects and assignments. Project grades are based on a letter system with an equivalent percentage scale (A=100%, A/B 90%, B=85%, B/C=80%, C=75%, C D=70%, D=65%, D/F=50%, F=0%). There are 1000 total points for the semester. Semester grades will be based on +/- scale, by thirds: 93.33% is the cutoff between an A- and an A; 90% between a B+ and an A; 86.67 between a B and B+; 83.33% between a B- and a B; and so on.

Portfolio (500 points, total) This semester, you will develop projects individually and as part of a group. You will earn grades for these projects, and you willreceive feedback to guide a revisionif you choose to continue work on the project for a higher grade.

Assignments/Expectations

In addition to the major portfolio projects, you will be expected to complete the following: Weekly Discussion (150 points): Instead of response journals, we will be creating a course blog. You will be required to write 5 entries over the course of the semester that comment on the weekly readings. You will also be required to write 5 responses to other students blog posts. Presentations (250 points) You will participate in two formal presentations this semester: one group presentation (10 points) and an individual presentation at the end of the semester (15 points). Each presentation will have different criteria and requirements. Attendance as an audience member is required for full credit (2 points/absence deducted from your presentation score). We will discuss grading criteria and other details in class.

The assignments in the portfolio are sequenced from the smaller projects that help you get acquainted with the software well use in class to the larger assignments designed to take full advantage of the softwares New Media interactivity. All of these projects will be posted online, thus all projects must be uploaded/ turned in before the class starts to be counted as on time Portfolio Projects

Compare/Contrast Paper: Is writing for an online setting different than writing in a traditional setting? Answer this question by doing research about different Workshops (50 points) types of written composition and the ways technology The two workshops this semester (25 points each) are affects new and old media. (50 points) crucial for your practical understanding of digital communication. They facilitate revision of your work, Web Site Discourse Analysis: Analysis of genres, enhance your understanding of collaboration, and conventions, and expectations of a specific web site. give you real responses from actual readers. You will Also, based on when the site was created, infer how need to have all materials complete and satisfactory to the site has changed based on technology available receive full credit. Dont miss these, or come then and now. (150 points) unprepared: the workshops cannot be made up for credit. Hypertexting Traditional Text Add hyperlinks to a traditional text and explain how the hypertext helps Daily Work/ Participation (100 points) effective communication (100 points) You are expected to be in class. 10 points will be deducted from your overall grade after 3 unexcused Interactive Text You will compose a text meant to absences. depend on interactive capabilities. These should be textual, visual, and aural. (100 points) Impromptu/Informal Speeches (50 points) Business Launch (Group) Launch a website for a new student organization or business. Must include logo, misison statement, video, and be New Media--with all parts interacting. You will give a formal presentation to the class as a group about your business launch (100 points toward presentation grades)

MORN 102

Assignments

Elder MWF 1:45-2:50

LH 313

Project #1: Comparison/Contrast

A 3-5 page paer that asks you to compare the types of writing done pre- and post-internet. How has the internet changed the ways in which text is used/composed and how (if at all) are arguments made differently based on the types of technology used? Feel free to have fun with this paper. How does Gutenbergs printing press differ from Microsoft Word? Deep down, are there any differences? What has changed in composing with the changes in technologies? Another way to go about this paper would be to find an issue that was argued sucessfully (based on your analysis) pre- and post-internet. How has the medium of publication changed the rhetorical strategies of the author(s)? You must include at least two sources.

Project #2: Public Discourse Analysis

A 6-8 page rhetorical analysis paper in which you will choose a political discussion taking place in the blogosphere and use primary sources (actual arguments composed before or during the controversy, rather than commentaries or analyses written after the fact) that help unpack the issue and either refute or support the arguments proposed in the blog. After selecting a topic, you will be required to identify the different stakeholders participating in the event and analyze the rhetorical situation surrounding the topic. You will determine why and what kinds of arguments are being made (incorporating ethos, pathos, logos as you go), and how the internet/New Media helps the blogger accomplish his/her goals. During this unit, you will need to meet with me at least once for a conference. We will negotiate as a class when in the writing process you want the conferences to be held: planning stages, research, or during drafting. Peer response workshops will also be held near the end of this unit, so please take that into consideration when choosing when you will have your conference.

Project #3: Hypertexting Traditional Text

On the Web, create an electronic version of a single, linear text that would benefit from linked annotations to supplemental words, images, maps, etc. on other Web pages. You will be required to choose a text you think needs illumination and could use the help of hypertext. You can choose a text that actually needs more explanation or a text that could benefit from satirical annotations. Then you need to create at least 10 annotations to your chosen text that help accomplish your purpose. Three things to keep in mind when creating your page: 1) You need to produce text/hypertext hybrid: a central page (an electronic simulation of a traditional text) with hypertext links to pages or windows that supplement and comment upon words and passages of that page. 2) Design the electronic text/hypertext so readers dont lose the main page (mistaking your annotated text for a conventional Web site) or unexpectedly find themselves off site altogether. 3) Provide visual keys on the main page to indicate where annotations are available without interfering

excessively with the integrity and readability of the original. In addition, you will need to create more than one type of hypertext annotation. Dont rely on simply annotating a page with more text. Get creative by using charts, visuals, or even sound bites to hypertext your chosen traditional text.

Project #4: Interactive Text

Create a hypertext specifically written and designed to depend upon interactive possibilities: the actions and choices of the reader/user. In other words, the meaning and effect of the hypertext will vary as the reader consciously creates his/her way through the page or site. The content of the interactive text is up to you, but it might be a good idea to choose an idea similar to the public discourse you analyzed for Project #1. This project will require an extensive amount of research: if the text is to be interactive, youll need to know more than one side of the issue about which youre writing. The project will also require you to be organized. You will need to plan out your text before you put it into Dreamweaver or you run the risk of geting lost in your own web. We will use some in-class time to work on this project, as the production will also be time consuming. One way to think about how this interactivity is created is: if the linear text is a road, and if the average hypertext is a pool of choices, the interactive text is a set of forking paths

Project #5: Action Rhetoric Project

Imagining your group as a kind of PR company, you will create a campus organization or new business that can, in some way, benefit the campus community or larger Sioux City community. You will then proceed to research the background of the company, information about its issue, and propose a potential campaign to bring further attention to the cause. In addition, you will produce the following assignments between now and the end of the semester: Design a Company Name/Logo/Mission Statement Group-written Proposal (2pgs max) Individual research paper (3-4 pages) in which you justify your campaign choices, including everything from why its important to what should be done and how/why your proposal best meets those needs Final presentation where you pitch your Web site to a real audience in a multi-media presentation--which shouldnt be tough, since your site should be multi-media. (10-12 minutes) Final Assessment and reflection (1 page) upon the project and your collaborative experience which outlines your involvement in the group and how your group worked together to produce your presentation.

GOAL: Feel free to be as creative as you wish while keeping in mind your objective: to persuade a skeptical audience of both the existence of a problem and the reasonableness of your proposed solution. Also, you will make an artifact that advertises your company and its Web site that you

will actually distribute to classmates and put somewhere on campus to try and put your argument into action. TIME: Because of time constraints, your group will need to be well-disciplined and begin working immediately. It will be up to each group to decide how the company is structured and to assign specific tasks/roles. You will be provided with ample in-class meeting time to talk about ideas, work on writings, share your research/findings, etc. However, if your group fails to produce during allotted class-time, you will lose those privileges. During each class time, I will be available for consultation and will, of course, be visiting each group to see the progress that is/isnt being made. LABOR: It will be up to the group members to decide collectively what the responsibilities of each member will be. EVERYONE must contribute (as equally as possible, even if in different capacities). NOTE: All group members will be given the power to fire a fellow group member who is not maintaining his/her share of the workload (failing to meet deadlines, producing consistently low-quality work, etc.). The decision must be agreed upon by other group members and must be acted upon before the final two weeks of the project.