Final Project

Final Project (20%)

Goal: The purpose of this final project is to take the skills accumulated in our previous work (discipline awareness, ability to perform meaningful research, writing for specific audiences, critical thinking, etc) and put them together under one roof. This project will model both academic writing skills (research paper as genre) and professional writing skills (technical, efficient, and precise composition) while asking you to contribute, in a meaningful way, your voice to the scholarly conversation (discourse) surrounding your topic. You should be using the same topic (though a more focused/narrow version of that topic is encouraged) as you did for your Lit Review, so that your argument/proposal can build onto the discourse of the field.

Audience: Your audience for this paper will be the CEO, Director, Leader, President, etc of your chosen exhibit body (ie the CEO of Facebook, the President of the University, or the Director of IT at Target) – someone who can help you put your plan into action, but needs to be persuaded, made aware of benefits/risks, etc. First person is acceptable here, but not a requirement.  The audience must be a real, concrete, researchable body/group of people (or a person) who can enact/advocate change towards your plan. This can be a company, an advocacy group, a governmental body, a school district, a non-profit, etc etc.  It cannot be "anyone who thinks X" or "People that..." -- it needs to be a clearly defined and researchable audience so that you can research how to address them and what rhetorical decisions you should make in appealing to them. Scenario : [Your EXHIBIT] has recently put out an ad for an expert consultant in [Your Field] to help turn things around for them. They’ve recently been struggling because a specific problem and they are looking for someone with knowledge in the field who is creative and has good critical thinking skills, to identify the problem and propose a specific, plausible (realistic – this means no magic, but based in reality and backed-up by research/data) solution. They are accepting proposals from a number of competitive consultants in the field and will select the best, most persuasive and well-supported plan (and pay handsomely!).

Format: The format of this project will be specifically modeled to simulate the experience of composing a persuasive, academic research paper, while simultaneously borrowing from proposal, prospectus, and other professional writing forms. Full formatting and section details are discussed on the next page. Beyond the listed section/goal requirements, you may format this paper as you see fit. It need not resemble a traditional research paper, as it is not a traditional research paper. Include: Title page, body of paper, references page, all double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12pt font. Grading: This paper will be graded on the quality of your plan, the quality of your research, and the quality of your writing/persuasion. An “A” paper will follow all instructions, establish credibility and authority of the writer as “expert,” use logical appeals supported by clear analysis, diverse and thoughtful research, and persuasive writing. It will also maintain a cohesive and appropriate tone throughout and consider its audience in content (and exclusion). Rubric to follow.

                                                               Format Part 1: Why They Need You Identification of problem: In 3-5 sentences, you will use this space to identify 1) the problem you have decided to investigate, 2) the exhibit/institution/company facing said problem, and 3) the possible root/causes of the problem. For example (a hypothetical): “Since 2013, Facebook Inc.’s client base has fallen 15% resulting in unstable stock prices. In order to increase revenues, Facebook has increased the amount of advertising space and frequency of targeting advertisements on its main page and member’s homepages. This move has contributed to an additional 5% decrease in Facebook.com membership in the past year. Some users have pointed to Facebooks increasingly lax privacy settings and user-unfriendly Terms of Service as cause for their ‘logging-off.’”

Context Paragraph/History: In this space, you should compose brief a paragraph wherein you detail the information necessary to properly contextualize the issue and solution. This may mean providing brief corporate/company/organizational history, discussing what the problem/issue does or could mean for your exhibit in the “long-run,” defining terms/boundaries of your solution/proposal, etc. Think of this section as justification and background for establishing a solution and persuading your audience. Remember you are writing to someone who knows this company/body, so make sure to frame any “known” information in a way that makes it clear to them why you are sharing it – what are you trying to get them to realize? Solution (thesis): In 1-2 sentences, you will use this space to construct a clear, concise, and contestable thesis claim/position which will argue for a specific plan of action/policy/solution to your identified problem. For example: “In order to combat flailing revenues and dipping memberships/site visits, Facebook should initiate a more user-friendly Terms of Service policy, wherein users have more customizable control over their privacy settings and the ownership of posted photos and text.” Part 2: How You Can Help Strongest Points: In 3-4 paragraphs, one for each of your 3-4 strongest, you should lead with a persuasive contestable Subclaim, followed by 1-2 pieces of credible evidence (a quote/paraphrase from a scholarly study/article, a statistic or some other data, etc), and some interpretation and analysis of that evidence (what it means for the subclaim, what it means for the overall solution). There should be at least one citation of a source per each of these paragraphs. Note: Feel free to include a chart or graph if you feel visual representation will help, though it is not a requirement. For example:

“Current Facebook users have grown tired of feeling like commodities, so it is increasingly important to improve user morale to maintain and increase site membership. According to a 2014 study by Jones(2014), users who reported having positive experiences with their social media outlets – positive social media experiences were defined as experiences in which the user made 3 or more unique actions (posted a status, “liked” a link or status, visited a third-party link, or sent a new friend request) – also reported seeing fewer advertisements and were not asked to share personal product or search preferences with the social media site (p. 11). This shows that when members are consciously aware of the “business” driving social media sites like Facebook, by being asked to click on ads, or share personal information or data, they end up not spending enough time on the site to contribute content. Facebook needs users to create and participate in user-made content to keep themselves and their friends on the site, making Facebook a more attractive target for sponsors.”  Risks/Problems (Counter-claim/Alternative Perspective and Rebuttal): In this section (2+ paragraphs) you will discuss 2 things: 1) potential obstacles or problems and/or risks facing the implementation and/or success of your plan (be thorough!) and 2) a potential alternative plan that may have merit, but how/why you see it as less desirable to your plan/policy/solution. Don’t forget to refute the anticipated counter-argument/obstacles. You should cite one scholarly source and one non-scholarly source from an opposing/alternative view in this section, to lend credibility to the other side.

Part 3: What You Need From Them Conclusion: In this space, compose 2-3 paragraphs in which you present your final persuasive “sales pitch.”  Sell it  – tell your audience exactly what you need from them moving forward (future research, funding, new consultants, changes in policy, etc (whatever!), how and why your proposal is the best possible solution/what the effects will be moving forward (how will this help?), any remaining information needed to “seal the deal.” The conclusion should seek to convince the audience that your policy fully addresses the broader problems causing their struggle as a company or institution, and that it is in their best interest to hire you as consultant. Don’t forget to make this proposal and the solution attractive to your audience – they have to WANT to buy-in.

References Bibliography:  APA formatted, 4 scholarly + 1 non-scholarly sources (minimum), on a separate page.

Note: You can use some creativity in how you present this proposal to your audience. Some students in the past have written/presented these as letters, brochures, included visual representations of data/evidence, etc. You can also simply present it in distinct sections, however, within each section, please write in full sentences/paragraphs.

Problem:  Background: Solution: My Plan: Risks: Conclusion:, etc. 

1. What skills in writing and research do you feel were most valuable in preparation and completion of this final project? Give examples regarding how you utilized those skills in creating your final project [100-150 words].

2. Copy and paste what you consider to be your best, most effective argument/persuasive paragraph in the Final Project. Note: It should be a paragraph which contains a subclaim and evidence(source). Now, using your knowledge of rhetoric and research and writing methods/practices in your discipline, discuss what rhetorical moves (writerly decisions/choices made) and discipline conventions you employed/adhered to in composing that paragraph, especially considering your specific audience. You must discuss how you made decisions regarding your utilization of at least two of the following: Tone/Voice, Writing to Audience, Context, Medium, Goal [200-300 words, not including pasted material]. It is especially important to highlight/emphasize how you integrated your sources, interpreted or analyzed their contribution(s) to the discourse/how they address your thesis claim/topic, and presented that information to your  professional  audience.

3. What do you think is the single most important trait or skill to make a writer successful? What advice would you give yourself during week 1 of this class? What is your biggest challenge as a writer? What is your biggest strength? [200 words].