Final Project

Rough Draft

For this week, by Tuesday 6/23, you should post your rough draft for peer review (peer review will be done next week).

Our Rough Drafts should contain Part 1 and some of Part 2 (1-2 argument paragraphs plus Counter Argument). All-in-all, for the rough drafts, we are looking for a good 2 paragraphs, plus thesis/solution in Part 1 and 2-3 paragraphs (so far) for Part 2.  These drafts will be posted by 6/23, peer review feedback will be done by 6/26, leaving you with a bit of time to consider feedback, revise, and complete your final projects. Work hard on the drafts and save yourself some time next week having to write it all at once! Make sure you read the entire prompt for the final project in the Major Assignments folder. There is more to it than what is listed below or what is required for this first draft. 

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.