E-Rhetoric - Visual Map Assignment

What is the assignment?: For this assignment, you will construct your own visual map of your hypertext, using Inspiration or the graphics program of your choice. You can use the visual map that you will begin in class on Friday the 29th as a starting point, or you can create an entirely new one.

Why are we doing this?: The goal with this assignment is to begin to conceptualize the differences between organizing your research project as a linked hypertext instead of a linear academic essay; this assignment encourages you to start experimenting with the architecture of the site so you have a firm foundation in place when you begin drafting the hypertext as a whole. Basically, the visual map offers you the same opportunity to structure your argument that a traditional outline does. However, it encourages you to do so in a way that more accurately reflects the non-linear format of a hypertext.

How does this assignment fit in with the different steps of our research project?

By this point in the quarter, you should have completed substantial research on your project through looking at both primary and secondary sources, working with on-line resources, using the libraries, and perhaps even conducting first-hand research through fieldwork, interviews, and surveys. However, as you approach the task of taking your notes and transforming them into a formal written product, you may find yourself somewhat confounded by the difference between writing a traditional linear argument (i.e. a traditional research paper) and composing a research hypertext.

During class, we will spend some time discussing visual maps of existing websites as a means of understanding the unique ways in which information is chunked, linked, and ordered in hypertext. In particular, we looked at a series of sample research hypertexts from the Winter 2001 CS201 class and from the Winter 2004 E-Rhetoric class in order to think about best practices for website design for an argumentative text.

By creating your own visual maps, you will be building on these discussions as well as completing an important first step toward organizing information for your research hypertext.

What features should our visual maps contain?

The visual maps of individual students will vary in shape and complexity; however, here are some basic guidelines:

At this point, try to have each bubble in your visual map equal one node/page of your hypertext. That is -- try to conceptualize the project in terms of the different pages you'll create, not just the different points you intend to make.

The visual maps should contain a central or top-level homepage that branches into a clearly definable series of at least three or four major paths (i.e. major sections of your topic). That is, if your topic were Feminism and Cyborgs in contemporary Film, you would have one bubble labelled with that title and then, branching from that central bubble, four different bubbles -- one for T4, one for BladeRunner, one for AI and one for the Bionic Woman (if, that is, you planned to structure your argument around these four texts). In doing so, you will create a 1st (Fem & Cyborgs bubble) and 2nd level (the films) of pages.

After you've established your paths, keep branching to at least a second or third level (you can take it as far as you want beyond that) -- remember, each bubble represents a page (sometimes called a "node").

Within in each bubble, at a minimum include a sentence or phrase that describes the content of that node/bubble/chunk. You can write more if you like (you can even link to drafts of those nodes if you're that far along in the process, but that's in no way required). Consider using the note function in Inspiration to expand your thoughts.

Use color, shape, etc. to help delineate the progression of thought or the relationship between ideas.

You will probably find this mode of organization moves you away from a progressive, linear argument, and toward a more dynamic, reader-oriented model. However, your hypertext should nevertheless contain a strong line of interpretation or argument that is developed within each topic or subtopic page.

Please note: your visual map will not be as detailed as those you constructed when you retro-mapped the research hypertexts that we looked at in class. It will not contain the complexity of linking between the different nodes that we saw in those articles. However, like any outline, it should be as comprehensive as you can make it at this time.

Keep in mind that there is no right way to construct the visual map. This is part of a process, an opportunity for experimentation. Your grade will be based on your effort, innovation, and the nature of your arrangement/structure for your hypertext.

What additional resources are available to me?

For an overview of how to approach writing and organizing a hypertext, you might find the "webpage" section of chapter 8 of Envision to provide some helpful tips. Keep in mind, however, that for this assignment, you are focusing not so much on aesthetic and rhetorical design as much as the structure/organization of your hypertext. In addition, review the Multimedia Design website for ideas about organizing information.

Also, feel free to e-mail me, IM me, or talk to me in class if you have any questions about this assignment or the project as a whole.