Daily Message, Aug. 30

Hi All,

It’s nice to see that people are off to such a fast start. You should be well into Module 1 by now, and you may have noticed that Module 2 is also now available for you. Module 2 does not have a project associated with it; you'll just do the readings and complete a reflection for the module.

Here’s a quick overview of what’s due this week:

• Read: Non-Designer's Design Book, Chapters 4-6
• By Friday, Sept. 3: Submit Module 1 (introductions analytic memo) draft for peer review
• By Sunday, Sept. 5: Complete Quizzes 2, 3 and Exercise 1; return Module 1 peer response

Housekeeping

I don't know about you, but I was finding the original schedule for this class (the one that appears in the syllabus) to be a little visually confusing and hard to follow. I've posted what I think is a cleaner, easier to read syllabus on the course home page today. Let me know if you have any questions. I think I've resolved all of the day of the week vs. date conflicts; virtually all work in here is due on a Wednesday, a Friday, or a Sunday. If you find that a date and day don't line up, let me know.

I've also added a couple of documents that will help you complete Module 1, which you'll find in the Project 1 folder:

• Memo template: You must use this template for your analytic memo
• Sample Analytic Memo: This analytic memo describes a slightly different variation of this assignment (we're doing informal profiles instead of Facebook) but is a sample of a first-draft of analytic memo. I've annotated this version, which has some superficial strengths and a lot of weaknesses
• Peer Review worksheet: You'll need this at the end of the week when it is time to do peer review

Looking ahead to the Analytic Memo
You'll post a draft of your Module 1 analytic memo to your peer response group by Friday. (Peer groups have already been set up at random; we'll discuss them in more detail later in the week). You should be working on your draft now.

A couple of things to keep in mind about the Analytic Memo:

1. Follow good memo format. This means an introductory paragraph that summarizes the entire memo, use of headers to help guide the reader, short body paragraphs with topic sentences, and a concluding paragraph that offers to answer any questions the reader might have and provides an open avenue for communication.
2. Be sure to provide the information requested. Take your time and analyze the materials and the situation in depth. As an aside, I want to once again point out that this class is as much about you coming to understand your strengths and weaknesses as a writer (along with your writing process) as it is about the content. There are a variety of skills that I hope you develop and enhance for document design, but always in the context of your own writing process.
3. Finally, memos DO NOT have signature blocks. I'll mark down if you submit a memo with a signature block at the end.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know. Otherwise, enjoy our beautiful not-hot day.

Julie