Due date: Monday, February 9, printed out and posted to Panfora

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 have spent some time reconstructing 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 articles from the academic journal Kairos in order to think about best practices for website design for an argumentative text.

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 began in class on Wednesday the 4th as a starting point, or you can create an entirely new one.

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

• 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 the Media, 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 the 4th layer (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).
• Use color, shape, etc. to help delineate the progression of thought or the relationship between ideas.
• Please note: your visual map will not be as detailed as those you constructed when you retro-mapped the Kairos articles. 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.

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.

Unlike a traditional paper, your hypertext probably will have no formal "conclusion." Do not forget, however, to include a bibliography link.

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.

Resources

For an overview of how to approach writing and organizing a hypertext, you might find the "webpage" section of chapter 8 of Envision (Alfano & O'Brien, forthcoming 2004) 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.

Questions about this assignment? E-mail me or bring them up in class.