Dear Class,

Our course will be built around a single, term long project, the Exploratory Story Package. You will be learning about this in the first days of class. The course guide you are reading is like a textbook– we will not be using every section, only those assigned.

For an idea of the kind of story you’ll be creating, you can visit two of our readings Taxonomy of a Digital Story and Multimedia Storytelling: Learn the Secrets from Experts.

For examples of the final project you’ll produce, visit this one by students in another version of the class.

The US Withdrawal from the Paris Accords

You’ll be finding most of what you need in the course guide, however, you’ll be invited to the following:

• A course site where you will blog
• A google folder which makes it possible for me to link certain kinds of material and make them available to you
• MyCourses, which will host our discussion boards

The first week of class will be devoted to getting acquainted with the kind of project we will be doing and familiarize you with the digital platform we’ll be using, Atavist. When you return from your break, you’ll be working on drafting your project and continuing your research into the form and your topic.

Our first readings will be links to online sources to give people time to acquire the text book. You will be using our textbook by Thursday. The book is called The MultiMedia Journalist: Storytelling for Today’s Media Landscape by Jennifer George-Pallilonis.

Since we’ll be working with technology and since some of you will be new to online classes, expect glitches and hitches. Don’t get stressed. Contact me immediately, though, and we can sort things out. I read email throughout the day. If you email me after five, I’ll respond the following morning. By the end of the first week, you will be familiar with google docs and folders (if you aren’t already), comfortable with writing in Atavist, and able to create blog posts on a google site

Always make a leap though. Unless you’re unable to do an assignment, take your best shot: it’s better to show what you understand. It makes it easier to help. Likewise, if you’re confused about an assignment, don’t simply write “I’m confused”. Instead, tell me what you think the assignment asks of you and how you intend to approach it. Most of the time, you know what you need to do, but may feel unconfident about your choice. In any case, if I know what you understand, then I can help you out. If only know that you feel confused, I won’t know where to start.

To start, please read the syllabus and read our Week One Schedule. You’ll find the work you need to begin to find your way assigned in the schedule.

You are welcome to work ahead on reading notes and discussion. You must complete all of a week’s assignments by the end of the week.

I will post the schedule for Week Two by Wednesday, once I’ve had a chance to make adjustments based on what I learn about the class from the first assignments.

Follow the schedule carefully and please, send me any questions as you have them.

Best,

Robert

rdanberg@binghamton.edu

Assignment Overview

You’ll be creating an “Exploratory Story Package,” which you’ll research and write over the next four weeks. It will be due on the lat day of our class.

It’s by creating this story package that you’ll learn how to create a digital text using images, text, and sound combined in different modes, to tell the story of a problem to an audience.

As a class, we’re going to create a publication using the digital publication platform, Atavist. (Over the first days of class, you’ll be learning how to work with Atavist by setting a Project File in Atavist where you’ll post some of your course work).

The publication we’ll create is called “On Time”. In this publication, the audience finds multimodal articles (what we, behind the scenes, call an exploratory story package).  

In Atavist, a page is called a “Section”. Your story package will comprise a section. The articles covers issues that are in the news now, but that the audience might find hard to understand or difficult to research.  Our approach is to present audiences articles that explain and inform, by writers passionate about issues with a stake in them.

Given the short period of time we have to complete course we’ll be using a case model. See the case below.

The Case:

You are a writer/editor for a new publication called, “On Time”. I am the publisher and editor-in-chief. The pieces you create will be similar in nature to Vox.Com’s “Explainers”. The Vox Explainers provide readers with an overview of a topic or issue that can be found in the news but often often involves complex details, information, and background. The “Explainer” attempts to break the issue down by providing background, key information, and an angle on the issue that helps the reader understand the issue’s importance. An “Explainer” is not an opinion piece, although its point of view may be clear to the reader. It’s not an educational piece, per se. It informs, it reports, and it guides. The goal is to help the reader understand the issue’s significance and to guide the reader along the path to exploring the issue on their own.

As writers, you’ll be pitching me a story. I’m willing to hear a story you have in mind, but because our time is short and the research process is hard to ramp up quickly, below you’ll find a list of stories that I, as publisher and editor-in-chief, know our readerships wants to know more about

By the end of the first week of class, you’ll be pitching your story and its angle.

Contents:

Your Exploratory Story Package will combine four different elements:

• 1,250 word textual element (that’s approximately six pages, typed, double spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman) with links to other texts and definitions of concepts
• A digital essay (250-350 words of text with no more than 10 slides)
• Infographic
• Graphic elements, such as a slide show, graphics you did not create but found in other sources, and images

Models

Here are models for the text you’ll create.

• How Americans Think about Climate Change in Six Maps;
• Is Sushi ‘Healthy’? What about Granola? Where Americans and Nutritionists Disagree.
• 95 Degree Days: How Extreme Heat Could Spread Across the World
• The Supreme Court’s Big Racial Gerrymandering Decision, Explained
• Why You Shouldn’t Exercise to Lose Weight Explained in Sixty Plus Studies
• Ramadan 2017: Nine Questions About the Muslim Holy Month You Were Too Embarrassed to Ask, Explained
• US Officials are Starting to Treat Opioid Companies Like Big Tobacco–and Suing Them

Topics:

Our time is so short that a long period of exploring issues that are important to you in particular– which often takes time to brew– can be for some of you impractical. As is the case with publications, On Time is interested in certain issues, although you are free to pitch your own. Something to keep in mind though is that, even in the case of these topics, you’re going to have to find an angle you think interests the audience. Your piece has to get people’s attention and keep their attention– a report or summary will fail to do so. We are not creating annotated bibliographies or research reports.

Each of the topics below is drawn from the news and accompanied by a “seed source” which contains links to other sources. All the seed sources except for the the ObamaCare source (which is so recent the seed source is a times article)are taken from an excellent online publication called The Conversation.Com. The articles at The Conversation are written by academics and researchers– you can be confident of the expertise of individuals who write for it and the sources they provide.You are welcome to use the sources linked here. Your first “Source Review Blog” (You’ll learn more about this over the next few days of class) should be on the seed source your choose. You can use the links from the source to launch your research.

Below are topics that interest the publisher of OnTime.

• Ruling Striking Down ObamaCare: Ruling Striking Down Obamacare Moves Health Debate Center Stage.

• Sexual Harassment Policy: Nearly All Sexual Harassment at Work Goes Unreported– and Those Who Report Often See Zero Benefit

• Opioid Addiction Treatment: See An Addiction Researcher Shares Six Strategies to Address the Opioid Epidemic

• Medicare for All: See Medicare for All Could be Cheaper Than You Think

• Data Privacy: See Your Smartphone Apps are Tracking Your Every Move– Four Essential Reads

• Ethical Limits for CRISPR: See CRISPR Babies Raise an Uncomfortable Reality

• School Discipline Reform: How Activists Are Fight Racial Disparities in School Discipline

• The Constitutional Right to An Education: Fight For a Federal Right to An Education Takes a New Turn; (see this linked article for background–The Students Suing for a Constitutional Right to An Education)  

• Sleep Deprivation and Adolescence: Neuroscientists Identify a Surprising Low-Tech Fix to the Problem of Sleep Deprived Teens

• Civic crisis of Facebook, Google and Twitter: Three Ways Facebook and Social Media Companies Could Clean Up Their Acts– If They Wanted To

• Electric Vehicles: Switching to Electric Vehicles Could Save the US Billions– But Timing is Everything

• Teens and Screen Time: New Findings Add Twist to Screen Time Debate

The Role of Research:

OnTime, the publication we’ll be making, sees itself among the same family of publications as Vox.Com, TheAtlantic.com, The New York Times and Aeon when it comes to exploratory story packages. They rely on the most current information, the most qualified and considered opinions, and a mix of scholarly and non-scholarly, but credible resources. It assumes writers have the capacity to assesses the validity of resources– the editorial board of OnTime, of which you are a member, will do the same through peer feedback.

Over the first week of class, you’ll take your research through several stages appropriate to your place in the writing process. You can think of roughly four stages:

• Identify a Topic: You begin by reading among two to four possible topics to identify the one you’ll focus your effort on.
• Find an Angle/Make a Proposal: Once you identify your topic, you’ll look for an angle. Your work reading other published exploratory story packages will help you figure out what we mean by “angle.” You’ll be trying to figure out your focus, the question you’re trying to answer for the audience that you know matters to them and can motivate your piece.
• Develop Expertise/Further the Focus: Through this part of the process, you develop your understanding of the issues, how it’s discussed, and what makes your angle rich and real for the audience. You’ll be coming up with plans and drafts at this point.
• Subtract/Add/Integrate: Your focus is on writing and planning. You begin to draft the piece at this point, to integrate your sources into the writing, looking for additional sources if you need them and dropping what doesn’t work.

Source Review Blog:

The Source Review Blog is where you will post reviews of sources you have identified for your story package.

Number of Sources

By the time you complete the project, you’ll have at least seven sources cited as part of the final project.

Type of Sources

Paramount is credibility. You’ll likely find you need to use, however, some  combination of government sources, scholarly sources, and general sources depending on what you need to do in your piece. I’ll be assessing your sources as we go and offer you direction.

You’ll be learning about appropriate sources and research through our Source Review Blog

Form of Citation

You’ll cite your sources in two ways, In-text Links and Works Cited at the bottom of the textual component of your document.

In-Text Links

In text you’ll link appropriately within the document, which you’ll see in your reading of similar texts is how work is cited in general readership publications.

Works Cited

You will also create a works cited document using MLA Format.

Writ 351New Media Writing: Argument and AdvocacySummer 17

Instructor: Robert Danberg, PhD Phone: Upon request email: rdanberg@binghamton.edu

Course Description

In this class, we’ll explore the creative and critical potential of new media to argue and to advocate. Students will create, write for and edit stories that combine audio, video, graphic, and textual elements.

Learning Outcomes

• Be able to use a critical, rhetorical approach the content and design of online texts
• Be able to identify audio, video, textual and graphic forms and how they serve communication in mult-modal texts
• Use a critical rhetorical approach and knowledge of multimodal texts to design and compose their own online publications
• Draft, write, plan and revise online content

Course Text

The Multimedia Journalist, Oxford University Press,Jennifer George-Palilonis

Communication

I will communicate via email and announcements through Blackboard.  Please read all communication promptly.  At times, I will ask to “Please Reply” that you have read and understood the email I’ve sent. Communication is extremely important to your success in class.  If you have problems with assignment instructions or personal or technical emergencies that have an impact on your performance in class, you must contact me.  When you contact me, we can, perhaps, arrive at a solution.  

Disabilities  

The Writing Initiative is committed to open access for students with disabilities. If you have a disability that requires specific accommodations in this course, please let me know as soon as possible. This information will be kept confidential.  

Late or Missed Assignments

Late and missed assignments will have an impact on your grade. See Course Contract in our Guide.

Statement of Support

If you are experiencing undue personal or academic stress at any time during the semester or need to talk with someone about a personal problem or situation, I encourage you to seek support as soon as possible. I am available to talk with you about stresses related to your work in my class. Additionally, I can assist you in reaching out to any one of a wide range of campus resources, including:

• Dean of Students Office: 607-777-2804
• Decker Student Health Services Center: 607-777-2221
• University Police: On campus emergency, 911
• University Counseling Center: 607-777-2772
• Interpersonal Violence Prevention: 607-777-3062
• Harpur Advising: 607-777-6305
• Office of International Student & Scholar Services:607-777-2510

In the event that you choose to write or speak about experiencing or surviving sexual violence, including sexual harassment, dating and domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and rape, please keep in mind that federal and state laws require that, as your instructor, I notify the Title IX Coordinator, Andrew Baker. He will contact you and provide you with on and off campus resources and discuss your options with you. If you would like to disclose your experience confidentially, you can contact University Counseling Center, Decker Student Health Services, Harpur’s Ferry, Ombudsman, or Campus Ministry. For more information, please go to https://www.binghamton.edu/ivp/or https://www.binghamton.edu/rmac/title-ix/.

Plagiarism and Binghamton’s Academic Honesty Code

A primary goal of this class is to teach you how to use and document sources appropriately. If you have questions or are confused, please do not hesitate to ask. Any violation of the Academic Honesty Code, however, constitutes plagiarism, which can result in failure of the course or suspension from the University. The Academic Honesty Code defines plagiarism as:

Presenting the work of another person as one’s own work (including papers, words, ideas, information, computer code, data, evidence-organizing principles, or style of presentation of someone else taken from the Internet, books, periodicals or other sources). This includes:

• quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing without acknowledgement, even a few phrases;
• failing to acknowledge the source of a major idea or ordering principle central to one’s work;
• relying on another person’s data, evidence or critical method without credit or permission;
• submitting another person’s work as one’s own or using unacknowledged research sources gathered by someone else. (http://bulletin.binghamton.edu/integrity.htm)

Overview:

Project Report Four supplies the editor of On Time with the package of infographics and images that will be a part of your story package. You will create the Project Report in your Project File.

Resources:

Please re-watch or refamiliarize yourself with the following material so that you’re clear on principles to follow.

Ten ways to use infographics (This page is laid out somewhat poorly. The ten ways are spread out over two pages– five and five. When you get to “comparisons”– the infographic of Batman– beneath it to the right is a red “next page” button. That will take you to the next five.);Video Infographic: Your Brain on Visualization; Graphic Design for Data Visualization

Multimedia Journalist: 214 to 216 “Speaking to the Eyes” (This section concerns charts and graphs);216 to 217 “Illustrating the News” (Infographics); 218 “Diagramming a Diagram” (This identifies the parts of your infographic)– you will need to have these elements done correctly.

Section One: Sketches of Two Potential Infographics.

Create two infographics that illustrate some part of your story. Use the “Legend” from Structuring Information as the basis for both designs– note that the graphic on p. 219 is a system, with its elements presented against the backdrop of the car they refer to. While you do not have to post a finished infographic, if you use a picture of the sketch, make sure that the structure is clear and, even if you’re “painting in broad strokes” supply detail that helps me and your classmates understand the overall idea.

Do not use a graph or chart here.  They are in the next section.

Submit the sketches by uploading them to atavist. Beneath each in a short paragraph, briefly explain how you see the finished sketch.

Section Two: Charts and Graphs

Chart or Graph One: Created As you did with the infographics, sketch at least one chart or graph that represents data in a clear way. Use the “Legend” from Structuring Information as the basis for both designs– note that charts are often comparisons, and that in the “Legend” from the chapter we read, you’ll designs that suggest charts and graphs. While you do not have the finished data, if you use a picture of the sketch, make sure that the structure is clear and, even if you’re “painting in broad strokes” supply detail that helps me and your classmates understand the overall idea.

Beneath it, in a short paragraph, briefly explain how you see the finished sketch.

Graph or chart Two: Found  

You’ll find excellent representations of data that are worth embedding, attributed, that you can use in your story as long as they have a direct connection to some part of the story– as long, that is, that there is a line a reader can follow from that information to your story.

Pretend I am the reader of the story, tell the story of the chart. Be a teacher. In a paragraph directed at the audience, briefly do the following: identify the chart or graph, explain how to read it, describe what it shows, and explain it’s significance in terms of how it helps us understand your topic.

Section Three: Image Portfolio

Upload three to five images (or more) that you could use for your story. Remember, images are not meant to be “decorative”. Avoid shutterstock. If a reader only saw the images, they should have a sense of a point of view and a relationship, like in a picture book. You can read the picture book to a child, but that child, whether they read or not, can understand the flow of story and ideas just by “reading” the pictures.

As with the other section, the images should be followed by a paragraph that explains how they function, why you’ve included them and how they’ll be incorporated.

Section Four: Other Media

If you intend to incorporate other media, embed or list here, along with an explanation for their inclusion. Remember, you may find a documentary instructive, but you don’t want to have something that directs attention from your story. However, you may have found a brief interview, or clip of a performance, or tour of a neighborhood, that you think are valuable.  If you, make sure that the you use information from them as a source in your pieces, so that readers understand the presence of the material in its fuller form.

As with the rest, briefly explain why you want to include this material.

Citations

Use MLA to create citations for images, graphics, infographics, data, and ideas at the bottom. You may have trouble with the indented tab. If so, don’t worry about it. Follow the overall form.

Remember that if, say, you’re illustrating someone’s quote, or someone’s explanation, you must cite them, since they originate the idea. In infographic can be a paraphrase as well as an illustration.

Please embed a link so I can go directly from your file to the original if I need to.

Go to Atavist.com.

To create your project file, you’ll be using a class account rather than making an account of your own.

First, Login:

User Name: rdanberg@binghamton.edu

Password: WINTER351 (This is case sensitive; no spaces)

If you are not brought directly to the WRIT 351 page, go to the top right, where there is a yellow icon. Select that icon and choose WRIT 351.

If you are brought to the Course Guide or a project in process, look to the top left and select the “Project” icon, which will bring you to our class project space.

Below is a video which shows the steps.

Create and Name Your Project File:

Once you have logged into Atavist, Select New Project.

Name your project <351 Last Name> example: <351 Danberg>

Choose a project theme and navigation type

Review Atavist Help Videos

Set Up and Basics

• 0-0:50 Opening up Your Project
• 0:50-2:05 Add Text 1, Intro to blocks to add images, video, sound, etc.
• 2:05-5:42 Set up a section (think of it as a chapter); Give it a title and subtitles; Choose a Title Design; Choose a Divider Color (Slightly different than video. Divider color appears only if you choose a design that is not “Simple” which is the default); Paragraph indent Save and Preview

Adding Text and Images

• 0-  2:05    Create Your Project, Give it a Title and Add Author’s Name
• 2:05-8:00 Title Design (Choosing Your Title Page), Navigation Bar (Left or Top Table of Contents– Slightly different than the Video:  to see the choice between paginate and scroll, you must choose left  or top table of contents– choose paginate); Theme (Type and style  of the text in the document; 8:00-end Preview

Adding Text and Saving

Adding text is easy. You can type directly into Atavist or paste text into it. With your early drafts, I suggest using Google Docs. Atavist is a terrific streamlined publishing program, but not a word processing program. You can’t revert to previous drafts as you can in Google Docs. It has not function for spell or grammar check, outlining or commenting. If I am writing something brief for a document like the course guide, I might type directly into Atavist, but even so, when my internet connection is slow, I type my content into a Google Doc then copy and paste.After you’ve entered content, select “Save”. Atavist doesn’t save automatically so do save periodically. You can see how things will look once published by choosing “Preview”. But do not “Publish”. When you publish, the document becomes available on the web. As long as you don’t publish, it remains in the project stage, open only to the class and me.  

Review Atavist.Com Help Resource Documents

https://docs.atavist.com/– Choose “How to…”. The Atavist help pages are excellent and are good examples of multimedia documents of the kind you’ll produce. The writing is clear and organized, the page designs favor easy reading and navigation, and video/graphic elements are apt and easy to use. We’ll primarily be concerned with “Compose,” “Manage,” and “Design”.

Please see Week Three and Four: 1/7 to 1/15 in our google drive Assignment Calendar folder.

Please follow this link to the calendar in our google drive folder.

Assignment Calendar

Our course calendar can be found in our Google Drive Folder.

Course Policy Agreement

Summer 2017

WRIT 351

Late Writing Project Assignments:

Deadlines in this course are frequent. To complete the major Writing Project, you’ll submit writing and planning material regularly.  Late assignments affect your final grade in the following ways. Two late assignments equals one missing assignment. Two missing assignments and you fail the class.

• One day late: I subtract 4  points from your final grade for every late assignment. You receive brief overview comments.
• Two days late: If an assignment is two days late, I subtract 6 points. You receive no comments.
• Three days late: See Missing Project Assignments.

Missing Project Assignments:

• After two days, an assignment is no longer late it’s missing. Two missing assignments and you fail the class.
• Three days: I’ll accept an assignment on the third day, but subtract 10 points from your final grade you’ll receive not comments.
• Four days or more: The assignment is simply counted as missing whether you submit it or not. When this happens, I subtract thirty points for the first assignment. You fail the second time.

Late or Missing Course Work Assignments:

You will be required to submit Course Work Assignments, including reading notes, discussion boards, blog entries, and other forms of writing meant to help you produce you understand course material. A pattern of late or missed work (as described in our Grading Policies) will have effect the Studio Grade.

Status in Class:

I will send a “Status in Class” email to students who have fallen behind in coursework and are in danger of failing the course two days prior to the withdrawal deadline. (See below)

Learning Agreements:

I will, on occasion, agree to a Learning Agreement up to one day before the withdrawal deadline. A Learning Agreement stipulates work to be done to become current with class. Typically, a Learning Agreement will include penalties to be deducted at the end of the course and have

Email Replies:

If I send an email to you or the class with words “Please Reply” in the subtract line, I expect a reply within twenty four hours. When I put “Please Reply” in an email, it’s because the information is important to your success in class. If I don’t receive a reply from you, I subtract five points from your final grade. Whether you reply or not, I hold you responsible for the information.

Technology Back Up

Since you are in an online digital media course, the expectation is that you have access to technology. The technology we will use is readily available on most computers. You will not have to pay for additional technology. But you are expected to have back ups readily available. That means that you must identify the local library or friend, for instance, in the event your hardware breaks down. You also must notify me immediately if that issue arises and be prepared with a solution.

Continuous Access

You may be taking other classes, working, or participating in an internship. You may have travel plans. If you are enrolled in the course, you are expected to maintain access to the course and complete assignments.

Clear Prompt Communication

In the event that you have an emergency, you must contact me immediately. Contacting me after several days of missing assignments, travel or work issues not work. If you contact me in advance or promptly, it is possible we can work out solutions.

Grading:

Class Participation: 50 Points

Since we don’t meet face to face, you participate though means like the following: homework, discussion boards, emails, etc.. You start the term with 50 points. I consider these fairly easy points to get. Do the assignments. Do them on time. Do them competently. I keep track of what you do and how you are doing. A pattern of late and missed work or work that doesn’t show adequate engagement or effort results in subtractions of points at my discretion.

Story Briefs: 50 points

There are three that you’ll receive comments on. You’ll submit two at the end of the term worth twenty-five points each in response to my comments.

Editorial and Project Reports: 50 Points

There are three projects reports and two editorial reports that you’ll submit to me and your colleagues. I consider these fairly easy points to get. Do them. Do them on time. Do them competently. They provide your colleagues with necessary feedback. You cannot receive editorial reports if you don’t submit one, although you must complete editorial reports for everyone you are assigned to review.

Story Package: 100 Points

You’ll receive points for each of the elements. I provide you with a rubric. I expect competence for each of the elements, with the understanding that some people come to the table with different levels of experience and gifts. For example, people who have the gift for design, as opposed to words, may excel with infographics and digital essays. I have provided a rubric that describes what I think of as competence and success.

• Text                    25 points
• Digital Essay           25 points
• Infographics and Images 25 points
• Overall Experience      25 points

Course Grade Break Down

A            243 to 250

A-           240 to 242

B+           237 to 239

B            233 to 236

B-           230 to 232

C+           227 to 229

C            223 to 126

C-           220 to 222

D+           217 to 219

D            213 to 216

D-           210 to 212

Discussion boards are meant for you to exchange ideas with one another, but since they are class assignments, they are also a way for you to demonstrate your powers of observation, your understanding of course concepts, and you’re ability to engage critically and reflectively with your classmates.

Many students find online discussion boards a welcome difference from conversation in class simply because you have time to think and, if you’re a bit shy about speaking in groups large or small, you might, as I do, simply feel more confident about expression yourself.

I will read and reply privately to your first discussion board on July 6 to let you know if you’re on track, but I look to see a couple of things.

Entries are meant to be discussions, not long discourses, so anywhere from fifty to one hundred fifty words is enough (depending, of course, on what you say and how you say it).

Be thoughtful and reflect. Answer the questions you’re asked or respond to the task. Make connections between things we’ve read and things we are doing. For example, in our July 6 conversation, you’ll be reading a story package after reading our assignment sheet. Connect those things. Consider your answers in terms of your own project. Connect to the work of others. Make comparisons and distinctions.

Try not to see things in terms of “good/bad” or “yes/no.” Suspend judgment at first and ask yourself “How does this work? How does it make its point?” If you’re impulse is wholly positive or negative, consider asking yourself “What is the source of my response? Something I know, feel, believe or think? Is this new to me, different than what I am used, or quite like something I’ve seen before?”

Always start with the obvious and rely on your powers of observation. Always remember that we are approaching this work as creators of work, which means we pay attention to details. The poet Auden wrote something to the effect that when he looks at a poem, before he asks what it means, he looks at it as if it is a machine made out of words, then analyzes it to see if he can figure out how it works. So offer examples to support your claims or make observations.

When you respond to a classmate, be fair and thoughtful. Don’t simply agree or disagree with or “Yes” or “No” or single sentence. Reflect back what you believe the person to be saying. Offer a contrasting view or a confirming one, elaborate or add to what the person is saying, but but don’t forget to offer particulars or illustrations to make your point..

Source Review Blog

Overview:

Your issue blog informs me and your colleagues of your developing research expertise. You can’t write a credible and accurate piece for publication unless the sources you rely on can be checked and evaluated by readers, editors and colleagues.

Present yourself as an objective describer or evaluator who is inquiring into the issue, but leaving aside judgment for the time being. You should not advocate for a position– you are reporting on a source and its value to the issue you research.

In the end, because your story package will require at least seven sources, your issues blog should have at least seven sources. By the time you submit your piece you may find that you use more sources than seven, or that sources in your issues blog don’t appear in your final story package. This is okay.  

You have a blog page found here at this link for the WRIT 351 Source Review Blog where you will also find a page called “Examples One and Two” which will show you how to format your piece.

Requirements:

Each entry will review a source that contributes to your understanding of the topic that your story package will concern. You’ll submit entries over the course of the first two weeks of class.

Each entry has three parts.

Part One: The heading, which will be in MLA Format.

Part Two: A summary of the source. The summary should describe the source’s topic, position, and major points, as well as the kind of information it contains.

Part Three: An evaluation of the source. To evaluate the source, you will use the resources in the “Source Review Blog” packet, the BEAM chart, which gives us a common language for talking about the source and the CARS checklist.

Formal Requirements:

Length: In total, the entry should be 200 to 300 words long.

Title: Your post’s title should be the title of the source you are reviewing.

Format: See the examples on our WRIT 351 Source Review Blog.  

Submission: Create a section in your Project File with the title: Story Brief: Name of Story

Overview: As part of the editorial team, you’re looking at models for the pieces we’ll create. You’ll be submitting reports to me (three of them) over the course of the class. These reports are called “Story Briefs”.

When you write something like this, you’re doing something different than when you write an academic essay. You’re reporting the outcome of your analysis. I am the audience– a publisher and editor who is looking for your point of view on a particular piece I’ve assigned.

Don’t work your way toward your point, make your point. Provide examples. Elaborate and explain. Think in terms of writing like this as an action: to inform, to report, to explain. It doesn’t begin with a formal introductory paragraph. The reader– myself– requested that you submit this. Concise clear prose.

The first parts of the piece will show you can make detailed observations and analyses. If your observation and analysis is sound, it becomes the basis for your evaluation at the end of the piece.

Heading: At the top of the Atavist Page, in bold, the name of the story. Then, begin the piece. Each individual section should be in bold.

Form: Complete the story brief using the following sections. The complete story brief should be between 350 and 500 words. Bold face the sections below. Before you begin writing, read the rubric. You’ll see I prize detail, illustrations and examples of your points, engagement with course readings and use of course concepts found in readings to show me you are doing the reading.

Content Summary: In this section, provide a detailed summary of the content of the story package under consideration. It should include how you understand the purpose the writer’s set for themselves, the central question you believe the piece sets out to answer, a summary of the kinds of evidence the writer relies on, the approach the writer takes and conclusion the writer arrives at. By the end of this section, I should be clear on the focus of the story, what you understand the author’s goal for the reader to be (How the author may want to change the mind of the reader or add to reader knowledge).

Summary of the Form: In this section, summarize the structure of the piece and its elements. This section is an account of the story elements and the arrangement. This may include the kinds of charts and graphs, the division of the text into parts, the length of paragraphs, the frequency and kind of links, the overall graphic design, use of audio, video, etc. You do not have to do a comprehensive list, although you might give examples or use bullet points for categories of elements. By the end of this section, I should know what the focus of the story how the different forms (links, graphs, charts, video, etc.) combine to tell the story.

Analysis: You will create section heading for the body of the brief based on your conclusions. Remember that what makes something an “analysis” is that a thing is looked at in terms of component parts from a particular perspective. So the parts you decide on are up to you. For example, lets say you found the use of links particularly intriguing or effective, along with the use of color and graphics in the design, and the way particular kinds of charts and graphs work with respect to the text interesting to consider. By the end of this section, I should understand the story forms used in the piece, the focus of each story form and its contribution to the whole piece.

Review and Reflection: In this section, I want to understand how you understand the effectiveness of the story. Consider whether the presentation was effective, the design and structure easy to follow or confusing, whether the story package was engaging, its strengths and weaknesses, and whether the piece left you satisfied, confused, or wanting more.

Reading Notes: Instruction Manual

When you take notes, you read with a purpose in mind, so your note taking should serve that purpose.

The reading you are doing is intended to help you create work and to read work like a creator. Your notes should reflect your purpose– to collect information that will help you better understand the work you are creating and how to make it.

“Instruction Manual” is a simple note-taking technique that is based on what research in cognitive science says about learning information– if you want to retrieve information later, it helps to think, when you are taking notes, about how it can be used (rather than making lists and storing up data).

Your instruction manual compiles key points so that when you are writing, responding to discussion boards or other class material, you can easily find information that you can use.

Write these notes as if you are creating a reference manual for someone else to read (your future self or a classmate).

Your notes demonstrate to me that you’re thinking discriminately about the subject matter.

Instructions:

In your Project File, create a section for reading notes.

All instruction manual assignments belong in the instructional manual section. For each new set of notes, put the chapter and the date before begin and them.

Summary: Start with a summary that explains what the chapter does (it describes…, it explains how…), how it’s laid out (It’s divided into sections that…Each section explains an…), and the main ideas of the reading (the writer says that journalists need to …There are several different kinds of…)

Takeaways/Cheat Sheet: Make a that tells a reader what she should do or not do, remember or ignore, that provides her with any definitions she needs, things to watch out for or concepts to remember. No more than ten, no fewer than eight.

• Choose items based on their significance to you.
• Be concise and direct.
• If you use any special phrase directly from the reading, put quotes around it and a page number in parenthesis.
• Put page numbers in parenthesis at the end of the bulleted statements to remind us where the information came from in the book.
• Define terms you use that might be unfamiliar.
• Offer examples from outside of the reading if you feeling that would help make something clearer.

Project Report One is your first effort to articulate your story package– the final project that you’ll submit.

To access the instructions you need to complete it, follow this link:  

Project Report One

When you write this, keep the final product in mind. Review the Story Package Assignment Sheet. Consider the stories we analyzed in the first week, which scrolled down a single page made up of parts in which the story elements were embedded. Although the text book alludes to other kinds of design and architecture, mentally translate into what we are putting together.

This project report is a multi-part document. I will offer responses to it to help you develop your story. I may ask you to revise.

For this assignment, you’ll create an audio script, which you’ll also record. The assignment is based on the From Where I Stand audio stories we listened to on The Newest Americans.

Overview: The From Where I Stand audio stories (Link 1, Link 2, Link 3) provide listeners with a view of an issue from the reporter’s perspective. Among the pieces we listened to, we hear reflections on transgender experience, refugee, and the immigrant experience. An important aspect of these pieces can be found in the phrase “From Where I Stand,” which implies two things. One is that the author’s perspective is at the center. The second is that author is looking outward. The writer sees his or her experience as a way to talk about an issue that concerns them. You have two choices: You can create a piece that reflects on some aspect of your particular issue or you can reflect on another issue. Remember that this is more like an essay, than a memoir. The writer’s experience is a starting point or a vantage point, but it’s not “about” the writer, it’s the writer’s view of some aspect of the world he or she feels compelled to reflect upon. Take your issue into account. Think about what motivates you.

Once you’ve written the piece, print the script. I want you to read it aloud several times, then record it. Once you’ve recorded it, I want you to listen back to it and edit your piece with readability, conciseness, intonation, and other features related to voice.

Instructions: Compose a 375 to 350-word script. The script will be assessed based on the features laid out in the rubric linked below, which you’ll be familiar with from your reading and discussion.

Rubric: From Where I Stand Rubric. It can also be found in the submissions folder.

Form: Write your script in a way that that shows spacing and rhythm. Think in terms of short paragraphs that chunk sentences together.

Submit: Upload your script to your submissions folder.

Font and Spacing: 12 Point Type, Times New Roman, Double-spaced

The Elements of Your Story Package

1. Point of View

What is the main point of the story and what is the perspective of the author? Point of view is an angle on things, an attitude or stance, toward the subject.  It should be strong and clear and reflected in the angle of vision you provide the reader.

2. A Dramatic Question

What is the key question that keeps the viewer’s attention and will be answered by the end of the article. This is the compelling reason why the subject is  important to the audience.

3. Emotional Content

What issue come alive in a powerful way and connects the audience to the story’s subject? The most compelling articles are ones that have emotional content that the audience can connect to and understand. The article offers details and stories that brings the subject to life.

4. The Gift of Your Voice

How does the writer’s stance on the issue come to life for the audience?

In an article, voice is an important part of the telling. You don’t have to be dramatic. In fact, it’s likely that if you’re overly dramatic, you’re more likely to tell the audience more about how you feel and turn them off. Your voice comes through in how you bring the article’s subject to life for the audience. It’s important to speak the story in a way that shows how it matters to the audience’s community.

5. The Power of Detail and Evidence

What kind of appropriate information and credible supporting evidence do the writer provide to help the reader experience the subject? Your goal is to bring the subject to life for the audience. The audience relies on you for information. To be powerful, though, that detail and evidence must be credibly source and offered without immediate judgment.

6. Structure

How are the parts of the piece organized and how is the piece organized into logical parts that enhance the reader’s experience of the article? Effective structure depends on the purpose being clear to the reader and on the writer providing the reader with just enough direction to read confidently and make sense of the journey through the piece.

7. The Power of Story Forms

How do the various elements combine to provide readers with different ways to connect with and interact with the subject matter? Each element may play a different role within the content of the story and the context of the telling, but together they form a whole that engages the audience.

8. The power of the “lede” and the closing.

How does the writer open the reader to connect the audience to the story and close to leave the audience with a strong impression?

Articles like the ones you write open and close powerfully and emphatically. The opening, which is often called the lede, connects the audience to the subject. Similarly, the last moment you have with the reader. It should be vivid and and powerful, leaving the reader to ponder the implications of what they have learned.

9. Navigation and Architecture.

Is the reader able to easily find her way around the various story forms and feel control over the experience of the story? An advantage of the story package, or at least an aspect that can make it a uniquely powerful experience,  is that readers can control the experience of the story. They can read from beginning to end, but they may choose to look at elements separately or navigate the story in their own way.

Submitting the First Draft

When you submit the first version of your textual element, submit it as a google doc in a folder in your submissions folder in our drive. Name that folder Textual Element.

Title: At the top of the page, I should find a compelling title. I would like to versions of the title. One should be in form of a question. The other can be in the form of a statement or phrase– your call.

The Lead: The piece requires a lead. Please don’t write your lead until you’ve read the reading for today, pages 109 to 112 (including the section called “Quotation”. These pages offer several different possible ways to write a lead. I want you to write two different leads based on the suggestions you find on those pages. Beneath each of those possible leads, please tell me what kind you chose and why you thought it might work.

Body of the Story: We’ve worked extensively on how to construct the piece. I would like the piece to be broken up into sections, either beginning with a subheading or a question, as per the pieces we’ve read. Please put those subheadings/questions in bold in the draft.

From pages 112 to 117 you’ll see tips for writers and an annotated story. Adopt these tips as part of our style guide. I want you to attend to the following in particular:

• Establish your angle.
• Stay on point.
• Provide Context.
• Use quotes wisely.
• Avoid unsubstantiated statements.
• Please also review the tips on 102 and 116.

One thing we haven’t looked at much is the how paragraphs work in these stories. A close look and you’ll see that they typically are two to three sentences long. Our text book’s author writes: Write brief paragraphs of two to three sentences each. This is not an essay, it is a news story. So instead of separating paragraphs by topics, think of the paragraph as an independent unit of thought. I would like you to experiment with this, even if all of your academic training pushes back against this requirement. Think musically, in fact– in terms of emphasis, the rhythm of the piece, and how your reader’s eye moves across the page. If you’re uncertain at any point, trust your gut and make a choice. But this is what I want to see.  

Concluding the Piece: We’ve discussed endings. While you can can sum up in several ways, for example, talking to the reader about a new point related to the piece that makes more sense having read the piece (see the digital essay on teen pregnancy), or talking about the implications of the information you’ve presented is something is done or not done, or describing the implications of the information for related issues. What I do not want to see: Simple repetition of what you’ve already said. A sudden change of voice to an impassioned outcry. An assertion that something is right or just that you think your audience ought to agree to without discussion.  

As with your lead, I want two different versions of an ending to choose from.

Citations: Embed links into the appropriate phrases throughout the piece as you’ve seen it done in other pieces. At the bottom of the piece, center the word “Citations” and list them in MLA format.

Note Other Elements: Use the comment function through out to note where other related story elements might go. For example, if you have a paragraph that describes some type of legislation and intend a graph related to it, use the comment function to say “Graph that shows….” or “Image that ….” or “Digital essay that reviews…” or “Infographic that summarizes….”

Overview: Your story package needs images, which can come in the form of infographics or collection of images. See pages 117 to 119 in our

Infographic: Use one of the programs we’ve worked explored to create an infographic, graph or chart that can be used in your story packages.

Image Package: Collect five images that can form a powerful part of you story package. In the end, you may not use them all. It is conceivable that a graph or chart you’ve found can be one of them, but it must be uniquely powerful or valuable. Avoid stock images for “decorative” effect. For example, a story about teachers with a picture of a teacher behind a desk chosen from Google Images. Curate powerful images we otherwise wouldn’t find.

Submit: Upload your Infographic or Images into a section in your project folder. Each should have a caption or cutline as described in our textbook reading listed in the overview. Include citation information in the caption.

Overview: Says/Does is a critical reading strategy that focuses your attention on content before making a judgment. It ensures that you read closely, paragraph by paragraph and focuses your attention on what the author is attempting to do. You may, later on, conclude that the author may have done one or another thing unsuccessfully, but your credibility when talking about the author’s technique and content will always depend on whether you are fluent in the subject matter.

Instructions: You’ll be assigned something to read or watch. After you’ve read or or watched it at least once, answer the following:

Describe your initial reaction (emotional, intellectual, critical?) to the piece. Then, trace and explain the source of the reaction. For example, is the writer critical of a position you take? Do you have an opposing political opinion and an alternative explanation? Have you read research that counters the writer’s claims? This piece of informal writing is often one hundred fifty to two hundred words long.

Paragraph by paragraph, answer the following questions. What does the author say? What does the author do? One or two sentences will suffice. In fact, this helps you practice summary and paraphrase. Do not quote, but you can use key words.

Example of Says Does: Question 1 of Why You Shouldn’t…,

Paragraph 1:

The writers introduce an expert, Herbert Tanzer, made a discovery about physical activity and weight loss that surprised him. They describe a surprise consistent with their point, which they expect surprises readers.

Paragraph 2:

Describes how the tribe, the Hanza, contrasts with Westerners in terms of activity. It describes the components of activity and uses a quote to make the contrast clear.

Paragraph 3:

Describes Tanzer’s goal which is to find evidence to supports a widespread belief about the causes of obesity. Paragraph tell us what he intends and summarizes the expert’s belief he wants to confirm.

Paragraph 5:

Tells us that Tanzer expected that given the way the Hadza lived, they’d show the belief to be true. Gives us the thinking from Tanzer’s point of view.

Format: In your Project Journal, create a section called “Says/Does.” Each time you complete this exercise on an article, you’ll create a heading to separate it from others that has the date and title and divide the work up into subsections. For example.

Why You Shouldn’t…,

Initial Reaction and Explanation:

Here you’d put the answer to that part of the says/does activity.

Says/Does:

Here, you’d put the “Says Does” according to the example above.

Week Four

Monday, July 24

Due: Script for Digital Essay. See the Digital Story Guide, p. 27.

Due: Digital Story Map. See the Digital Story Guide, pgs. 28-30. Instructions on page 28, example on page 29, form to use on page 30.

Wednesday, July 26

Due: Revised Digital Essay Draft

Due: Digital Essay Graphic Draft Worksheet. See the Digital Story Guide, p. 31.

Friday, July, 28

Due: Mock up of Story Package Text, Outline of Story Package Text

Week Five

Monday, July 31

Due: Draft of Textual Element

Tuesday, August 1

Due: Infographic Plan

Wednesday, August 2

Rough Cut: Digital Essay

Thursday, August 3

Due: Infographic Draft

Monday, August 7

Due: Draft Complete Story Package Due

Wednesday, August 9

Due: Story Brief for submission (You choose one to submit for a final grade; the others will be considered as part of the participation grade)

Friday, August 11

Complete Story Package Published

Creating your Digital Essay or Slideshow with Voiceover:

Recording a digital essay or slideshow with voiceover is fairly straightforward. Whether you use Imovie, MovieMaker, PhotoStory, Power Point or any other slideshow program, you’ll work with two tracks, a track for your images and a second for audio. Your first submitted draft is a rough cut. A rough cut is subject to revision. It won’t have opening titles or closing titles. Although it’s not required in your piece, it will not have sound effects or a sound track.

Make sure you have access to your completed story board and that your images or graphic elements or organized for easy access while you work.

Below you’ll find links to instructional videos.

• Windows Photostory
• Imovie
• Windows MovieMaker Part I;Windows MovieMaker Part II

In principle, these programs work the same way. Imovie and MovieMaker have more capability than PhotoStory or a program like PowerPoint but PhotoStory, PowerPoint and programs like it serve perfectly well.

The programs all work in similar ways. Within the each program there are separate tracks or timelines for each kind of element. There will be a track where you will place the visual elements, and a track for you to place your voice over. You can create additional tracks for a soundtrack or sound effects.

You’ll build each track separately by importing elements, which you then place on the timeline. Your first step will be to import the images you wish to use. Place them on the timeline according to your story table.

After you’ve created the visual timeline, create the audio timeline. The easiest thing to do is to import record your audio in another program and import it.

People record their audio tracks in two different ways.

• The record their entire script following their story board. When they do, the pause between frames so that if they want to make cuts later, they can.
• They record the script in chunks, one for each frame of the story table. Then, they import each separate clip and align it with their images. Some people find that this makes it easier to manage the timing between images and video.

Overview: Piktochart gives you the ability to create graphs, charts, and other visual elements than can be used in your piece and in your digital essay. You are welcome to use images you create for your digital essay in your story package. So, for example, if you’ve created graphs for use in your digital essay and found compelling images, you may repeat them.

However, I want you to create at least one more comprehensive infographic of the kind we have viewed and seen in our text book, one that explains, describes, or narrates some element of your story. It may simply be a representation of some aspect of your story. For example, it may be a timeline of key events with explanations. It may be a “before and after”. It may break down a complex idea into components or compare approaches to legislation or law enforcement.

Instructions: Create a folder in your google drive called “Infographic”. Inside it, create a document called “Infographic Plan.” Use 117 to 119 in our book for a reference, particularly “Anatomy of an Infographic” on 118. You must look at that chart to complete what you are asked below.

Answer the following questions:

Choose a specific infographic we’ve looked at together, either as part of our infographic discussion or a piece we’ve looked at, a template from Piktochart or an infographic that you have seen and consider a good model. Explain how it’s a good model or starting point for what you intend to do.

What is the point of the infographic? Describe it’s visual layout and components.

1. What will the headline be?
2. How does it complement your story?
3. What will the text tell the reader?
4. Describe the “chatter,” if any?
5. What kind of “explainer” text will it include, if any?
6. What kind of “callouts”?
7. List the sources you’ll use.

Recording Voice: There are several ways to record voice. Perhaps the simplest is to use your phone or a recorder, then download your file to your computer and, finally, upload it, in our case, directly into Atavist. (Tip: No matter which technology you use–  phone, recorder, direct to your computer– you get clearer sound that is easier on your listener if you use a mic. No need to invest; even a mic on earbuds gives clearer sound than recording on the internal mic on a computer). There are several programs for recording voice on your computer that can give you editing capability as well, a capability that can enable you to make changes without re-recording the whole, to cut or add, and to add sound effects or a soundtrack easily.

• Mac Users: Macs come with GarageBand loaded onto your computer. It’s fairly easy to use and YouTube is full of instructional videos. When you make a GarageBand recording, however, you need to remember to export your file to your computer as an Mp3 file to upload to Atavist. If you’d like me to put together a brief tutorial for you to refer to, let me know. You can also use QuickTime to record video, but QuickTime requires one extra step to make an Mp3 file. You need to put export to Itunes, then use Itunes to convert. QuickTime doesn’t allow for the same ease of editing.
• PC Users: For PC users, I recommend downloading the free version of Audacity to record audio. You can make the Mp3 you need to and also have access to editing. Audacity is also available for Macs, but GarageBand does the same work you need.

Imovie Digital Story Basics

This video is about 12 minutes long, but it is comprehensive and worth viewing through if you’re going to use imovie.

This moviemaker video is about ten minutes long.

Lead: The lead starts your piece. You will not be using “Lead” as a heading”

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The Promise of Computer Assisted Writing Instruction

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What (According to the Experts) Computers Can Teach Writers

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I learned that the previous video had recording difficulties and have quickly put something else together. Forgive it’s rough organization.

Please remember to use the atavist.com tutorials (Compose, etc.) that we have looked at to help you understand how to use and integrate the blocks that allow you to upload and arrange elements.

Overview: Our conference will be concerned with talking through your project. Write me a 150 to 200 word memo that provides me with the information below.

Instructions: Your memo should do the following.

• Paragraph One: Use this boilerplate sentence: “In the following, I summarize our conversation, outline my plans and describe the steps I intend to take next.” The next sentence or two should say what I will find in the body of the memo, for example: “I describe how I intend to focus on the role that computer-assisted writing technology can help dyslexic students. I also describe my next research steps, which are to identify specific technologies and find first-person and research accounts of how they are used.”
• Paragraph Two: Summarize what we discussed about the project, including any concerns either of us expressed or things we agreed.
• Paragraph Three: Describe how you see your project’s topic, what you believe your audience needs to know, and the story elements (video, graphic, image, audio, etc.) that you think you’re think you will include.
• Paragraph Four: Describe the information and content you’ve collected and what you feel you need to find.
• Pargaraph Five: Write a one sentence closing paragaph. Thank you for reviewing my project. Please let me know if you have any additional questions or comments.
• Closing: Sincerely, Your First and Last Name.

Heading: Use the heading that you used for your Pitch Report.

Submit: Create a section in your project folder for the memo.

Infographic Peer Review

Overview: Your classmates have created infographics using one of the programs that we explored or put together a package of images. In the peer review, your goal is to reflect back to your classmate what you observe in their images or graphics.

Instructions: Go to your classmates project folder and find the page for the assignment. At the bottom of the pages, write your classmate a note in response to the following. Remember that you yourself have tried to accomplish something similar, so think in terms of your efforts, what the textbook has said, and what you have seen elsewhere. Try not to read your classmates notes, so that the creator of the graphic you’re responding to gets each individual response.

• What story does the graphic element tell, that is, what is meant to show, tell or explain to viewers?
• How does the graphic element tell the story or portray the information?
• What features of the graphic element do you see as most effective (color scheme, mode of representation– bar chart, pie chart, images in a particular order, cutlines and captions)?
• Is there anything you can suggest that you believe can enhance or make the graphic feature stronger or clearer?

Watch the Digital Essay/Slideshow in your class mates’ project folder. As with the other peer review, your goal is to reflect back what you “get” so the creator knows if he or she has accomplished their goals.

Write a note that does the following:

• Express what you understand to be the central question that the piece answers.
• In a short narrative, describe from memory the narrative arc of the piece– beginning, middle, end?
• What do you consider the strengths of the piece? Be specific and explain what makes that feature effective.
• What would help you, as a viewer, become more engaged in the piece? Where do you think the creator can develop (voice, graphic, order of slides, timing, etc.)?
• Are there any questions the piece raises that you think the creator might answer?

Overview

Project Report Two is a proposal for your explorative story package. You’ll want to be sure to re read the assignment material to make sure you are addressing everything that is being asked for in the assignment. Re read the email you wrote me and my reply.

This will also help you become more familiar with features of Atavist.

Submit

In your project file, create section called “Project Report Two.” Change the order of sections so that it comes first.

For each of the sections, which I explain below, use heading one. Learn how to do that at this link: Compose.

Please put the sections in the order below.

Note

Although the pitch comes first, I’d suggest rewriting your pitch last, after you’ve created the supporting documents, which will you will link or upload, first. They will help you think through your ideas and clarify them. It’s likely I may look at them first or as I read your pitch for the clarity of your vision.

Sections

Revised Pitch Letter

I want you to use the form of the email you sent me, and see the pitch letter as a next step in our dialogue. You do not have to say “Dear Robert.” But use the same paragraph form.

You may start your first paragraph by saying, Thank you for considering resubmission of my idea for a story package currently titled…… I have reconceived my idea based on our correspondence. I want to propose a story that….”

Once you’ve demonstrated that you took my first and second email into account and summarize the topic of the piece, go on, in the subsequent two paragraphs to describe the piece, its design and content.

It’s best to go from “big” to “small”. That is, in the second paragraph, describe how the text will be divided up and the overall design of the piece. While in your first letter to me, you talked about the model last, use the models in the paragraph to give me an example of what intend to include, paying special attention to how the elements relate to each other and how you expect the reader to se them.

In the third paragraph, choose specific elements that merit particular attention. Each one has to be chosen and designed and linked to the textual element. Images, for example, often can be understood as a narrative of their own, even if they placed throughout the piece. Describe the strategy you intend to use for these aspects of the story.

In the fourth paragraph, describe the unique challenges your topic offers you as a writer. It doesn’t serve to say “I don’t see any.” Think about what might be hard for you audience to understand, the experience you want them to have, and the topic’s unique features. You don’t need a solution– identifying a challenge is often most of the way there.

Textual Element Design

The textual element is typically divided up into sections, using subheadings, topics, or questions that help the reader (and the writer) focus. Even when their are not headings, the test is divided up into parts that, like a jigsaw puzzle, fit together into a whole. Use the Diagram Legend from Structuring Information. Sketch two versions of your story package’s textual element using two of the three in the legend, System, Process and Comparison.

Draw and photograph these, then upload the photos in this sections, being sure to identify and explain them in captions.  To learn how, review Blocks. Look to the bottom right of page (don’t select the “doc” link). You can click through. Read the “Basics”. If you look to the top left, you’ll see three bars. Click that for a Table of Contents. Find out how to create a parallax image. Enter captions to name each.

After the image, describe which you think is the most effective organization.

Infographic Sketches

Create two infographic sketches.

Infographics should be thought of as operating in two ways– as a complement to the text and on its own. Someone could be reading, review the graphic, and find they understand better because information is represented graphically. We’ll be looking at infographic programs like Vengage and Piktochart, free programs that enable you to create infographics easily.

Challenge yourself to think beyond the representation of data to the explanation of concepts, analysis of systems, or timelines and processes. If you are thinking about data, consider different ways to represent the elements through images– unless bar graphs, etc. suit the goal of clarity for your reader.

Use the Diagram Legend from Structuring Information. Sketch two versions of your story package’s textual element using two of the three in the legend, System, Process and Comparison. Look at the models for inspiration– look back at the story packages you like best. No need to draw well. For inspiration, visit the templates at Venngage. Notice that the templates are categorized in a manner that relates to the Diagram Legend. Look at different categories.

Draw and photograph these, then upload the photos in this sections, being sure to identify and explain them in captions.  To learn how, review Blocks. Look to the bottom right of page (don’t select the “doc” link). You can click through. Read the “Basics”. If you look to the top left, you’ll see three bars. Click that for a Table of Contents. Find out how to upload an image and enter a caption.

Story Board

Create a story board that lays out the sections of your document, your approach, related images, and sources.

To make your storyboard, go to the following link: Story Board Copy. Create a document in your submissions folder. Copy and past the chart you find in Story Board Copy into a document in your submissions folders.  

Use as many pages as you needs. Detail is necessary, but this is really to sketch out the whole as you see it now so we both can see where you’re going. A more detailed outline will come later next week.

So that I can see your storyboard, simply type the Storyboard for (Your Title), then link to the google doc. Go to your google doc, copy the link, and paste it. Learn how to do that at this link: Compose.