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Writing to Inform

Page history last edited by ShareRiff 13 years, 6 months ago

Writing to Inform

Civic Writing: Information about a Critical Need in a Community

due October 11th, 9am

Select an important problem or need for innovation that your community (your group) is concerned about, and write to inform a specific audience about this problem or need for innovation. Conduct research individually and share this research with your group. Create a web site (wiki space) that features an essay, and reMEDIAte a poster, brochure, happening, movie, or song about the problem.

Keep in mind that your article, site, poster, etc., will take the form of a balanced, well-researched piece that we see published on the front page/site of the newspaper, not in the editorial section, so your text must engage counterarguments, both as a means of invention and as a means of delivery/presentation. As with WTE, the purpose of this type of writing is to present multiple aspects and perspectives on the issue, rather than arguing for a specific viewpoint or outcome. We will begin to amplify a specific viewpoint or outcome when we translate each group's effort into the problem statement of your group's NOFO, and you will have plenty of space to articulate a supporting argument for the perspective you want to amplify the most when we perform the Writing to Convince exercises later in the semester.

UPDATE, 10/5:

The collaborative writing vis-a-vis Earth Democracy is working, so let's follow through with this exercise as a way to complete the WTI phase of the semester. The due date for the WTI portfolio AND the midterm reflection will be 9AM Monday morning (10.11.10).

Helpful Hints:

In this project you will need to use visual elements to help inform readers in this project. Consult Chapter 18, “Communicating with Design and Visuals" and "Visualizing Variations" box on pp. 232-33. And of course create a wiki post based on your findings (thrice weekly!).

tag: visual rhetoric

Writing to inform often includes the kinds tools described on pages 686-716 in Chapter 13, “Using Strategies That Guide Readers.” We will devote some class time to discuss this as much as you wish, and of course use these heuristics (which include transitioning, defining, storytelling, and more) to create wiki posts (thrice weekly!).

You will need to conduct research and select sources ("outside testimony") for this project. We will consult Chapter 19, “Finding and Evaluating Information from Sources and the Field.” You may also need to consult Chapter 20, “Synthesizing and Documenting Sources.” Again, we will devote needed class time to discuss this, and....create individual LinkPiles which we will annotate as part of our daily wiki practice (at least thrice weekly!).

Definition

Blood in the Gutter

Narrative

A Periodic Table of Visualization Methods

We will devise other exercises, born out of your own research and writing, to make sure that we can rehearse the many tropes and strategies for writing to inform, which is a distinct challenge in the context of our era (the "infoquake"), where identifiying disinformation and fact-checking are part of our everyday reading practices.

Writing to Inform Rubric (subject to revision and elaboration)

Qualities	Highly Effective (5)	Effective (4)	Satisfactory (3)	Needs Further Attention (2)	Needs Attention (1)	No Attempt (0)
Addresses Intended Audience	The writer clearly understands the needs of the intended audience and has adapted the writing to that audience.	The writer seems to understand the needs of the intended audience but could do a little more to adapt the writing to meet those needs.	The writer seems to understand the needs of the intended audience but could do a lot more to adapt the writing to meet those needs.	The writer could do more to demonstrate an understanding of the needs of the intended audience.	The writer could do much more to demonstrate an understanding of the needs of the intended audience.
Clear Sense of Purpose	The writer’s purpose is clear throughout the entire project.	The writer’s purpose is clear throughout most of the project.	The writer’s purpose is clear throughout some of the project.	The writer needs to do more to clarify what the purpose is.	The writer needs to do much more to clarify what the purpose is.
Focused Subject	The writer has effectively focused on details that clearly relate to the main point of the paper.	The writer has focused on details that mostly relate to the main point of the paper.	The writer has focused on details that relate to the main point of the paper.	The writer needs to do more to focus on details that relate to the main point.	The writer needs to do much more to focus on details that relate to the main point.
Useful and Relevant Information	The writer has effectively presented information so that readers can readily use it.	The writer has presented information in such a way that readers can most likely use it.	The writer has presented information in such a way that readers may be able to use it.	The writer needs to do more to clarify how readers can use the information.	The writer needs to do much more to clarify how readers can use the information.
Clear Explanations and Accurate Information	The explanations are clear, and the information is accurate.	For the most part, the explanations are clear, and the information is accurate.	The explanations are somewhat clear, and the information is somewhat accurate.	Some of the explanations need to be clearer, and some of the information could be more accurate.	Most of the explanations need to be clearer, and most of the information could be more accurate.
Efficiency	The writing is appropriately concise when it needs to be.	For the most part, the writing is appropriately concise.	Some of the writing is appropriately concise.	The writing could be more concise in a number of places.	The writing could be much more concise in a number of places.
Conventions	The writer has attended to all the necessary conventions of writing to inform.	The writer has attended to most of the necessary conventions of writing to inform.	The writer has attended to some of the necessary conventions of writing to inform.	The writer needs to attend to more of the necessary conventions of writing to inform.	The writer does not attend to most of the necessary conventions of writing to inform.

Links

Huxley vs. Orwell cartoon by Scott McMillan

Disinformation "everything you know is wrong"

Propoganda

Comments (4)

Question, and I feel as if this should be rhetorical, but are we using the groups we will be using for the NOFO's? and also, it says it will be on the front page of the newspaper - does that mean The Crow's Nest?

I actually think that the WTI groupings should be more organic and smaller than the arbitrary and larger NOFO groupings.

By suggesting a newspaper medium, I am attempting to speak to the kinds of audiences that form around "writing to inform" rhetorical situations. The Crow's Nest and the St. Pete Times are local papers and could serve as outlets or models of outlets for our WTI research and compositions, but we could also any number of locally produced 'zines (small-scale publications with very specific audiences/purposes) as an example of an audience-writer-text meeting place.

so, can we use our earth democracy groups to do this? Because I really feel like we all connected well and therefore (at least in my group) can Do posters, etc based on crimes against women.

Yes, we have a lot of momentum, now, so the Earth Democracy blogging and experimentation will be our WTI.

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