Daily Message Nov. 8

Good Day,
We're in work mode in earnest this week. Module 8 will be available on Friday, but until then Modules 6 and 7 should keep everyone plenty busy.

Module 6
Your enhanced resumes and reflections for Module 6 are due by Friday. The biggest weakness I saw across the board with the drafts I reviewed was that people were going far enough in terms of "re-envisioning" the resume. Most drafts that I looked at were very attractively packaged but still very much in the vein of a resume that you really could send out for a (creative type) job. You might find it helpful to stop thinking of the resume as a job-seeking document that you're going to send off to some employer, and instead think about the ways your resume could be re-envisioned as a starting point for a document that represents  the "real you."

Melissa quite kindly agreed to share her draft, and I've posted it over on the discussion board. Remember, resumes are due by Friday.

Module 7
Your team should already have settled on a set of instructions and agreed on a strategy for developing your analysis. There are a variety of ways to do this, but the key is to define the sections for the document and be absolutely clear about who is responsible for what. On the project page I've given you sections that should be in the report, but you can add sections if you believe that they would be helpful. You might look at the samples in the Reading section for ideas about how to construct the report and what other sections might be appropriate.

You can divide the sections of the analysis among group members or each person can do an analysis and write up a draft to share. Then you can combine the drafts. Just be sure to discuss how you plan to put the work together so that everyone in your group is clear about the process.

To stay on track with this project, each person’s contribution should be delivered to the group by this Friday (Nov. 12). Of course, as a group you can agree to push the due date for the drafts back, but I would recommend that you get drafts to each other no later than next Monday The final draft for submission, along with your individual or group reflection is due next Friday (Nov. 19).

As a reminder, here are the sections that I recommend you use in your report:

1. Introduction
   
2. Summarize the rhetorical situation
   Describe in detail the instructions and the target demographic. This, of course, will include a discussion of the rhetorical situation (writer, reader, text, and context).
   
3. Describe the visual language
   Describe the visual language in detail--everything from typefaces to the size and shape of the pages to the kinds of graphics used.
   
4. Discuss the rhetorical impact of the document's visual language
   Analyze how the visual language responds (or doesn't respond) to the rhetorical situation. Use the six cognates as the basis for your discussion.
   
5. Assess the role of visual conventions
   Describe the degree to which the visual elements do (or do not) follow visual conventions for instructions and the impact that these conventions have on the visual rhetoric.
   
6. Overall assessment of the instructions
   Provide an overall assessment of the instructions and make any recommendations appropriate.
   
7. Conclusion
   If you count the Introduction and Conclusion as one, then in most groups each member should be responsible for two sections. As I said yesterday, you really should have a detailed conversation about style, content, tone, and format before each person begins drafting.

This memo should be no more than 5 pages (and probably no less than 2 pages). Be sure to follow good memo format (including an introduction and conclusion), and don't forget to offer an open avenue for communication.

As always, let me know if you have questions or need some advice when it comes to solving problems.

Otherwise, have a great week!

Julie