| You
may write this reflection as a formal essay, similar in shape
and tone to the Media Analysis,
or you may employ more creativity. If you choose to indulge your
inner creativity, you may construct in a specific genre or to
a specific audience:
- a
portfolio cover letter
- a
cover letter for a job or internship
- a
letter to our class
- a
letter to future e-rhetoric students
- an
electronic communication (discussion board posting, blog post,
IM chat)
You
may (with caution) adopt a different form as well, but in any
case, your audience must be clear and you must follow the strategies
and stylistic guidelines of the genre that you choose.
What
is key is that
- you
cover the material that you need to cover
- you
use specific detail/evidence where appropriate
- your
writing and analysis be rigorous, not sloppy or superficial
|
| Think
of the content of the reflection in relation to the Media Analysis
assignment. There, you spoke of how you translated your proposal
into a presentation and then into a hypertext. Now, you should
talk about how you transformed a research project into presentations
and a hypertext.
Your
introduction. This
is the time to set up the context, the voice, and the argument
for the rest of your reflection. It length and approach will vary
depending on the genre you choose, but the reader should be clear
after reading the introduction as to
- what
audience you're addressing
- what
you're going to discuss (topic)
- and
what your take on this topic is (your argument)
Talking
about presentations. Since you have "reflected"
already on your collaborative presentation, your discussion of
the oral presentation component should in some ways be more general
(how does oral argument and media components aid in delivery of
arguments), but should where appropriate reference specific examples
from your presentations.
Talking
about hypertext. In
this section, you should reflect on the experience of delivering
a research argument through a linked hypertext. Since this is
the first time that you've officially "reflected" on
this, it may be a bit more detailed than the previous section.
Some
questions you may want to address include:
- How
do you assess your project in terms of Mary Hocks's categories
of audience stance, transparency, and hybridity?
- How
do you use logos, pathos, ethos, nomos, and kairos in your project?
- How
did producing a research hypertext resemble and differ from
your experience of producing a traditional academic research
paper in PWR1? Please focus on the changes you made to account
for the different medium.
- What
did writing in hypertext allow you to do that you could not
have done in another medium/genre/or mode of writing?
- How
satisfied are you with the results of your choices? What would
you like to be able to do over again or spend more time on?
Keep
in mind that you don't need to address everything, but your discussion
of this material should seem complete and well-thought out.
Basically,
in this section, you should be making an argument about using
e-rhetoric/hypertext to deliver research, using your own project
as evidence in support of that argument.
Your
conclusion. The
form of your conclusion will vary depending on your chosen genre.
However, it should pull everything together, be interesting in
its own right (pose an interesting question, make an allusion,
give related information), and make your argument clear for the
last time. In it, you may want to look forward (how will what
you learn impact your own future academic and professional work),
point to larger implications (what does this all suggest about
the future of writing and rhetoric), or suggest changes (to your
own writing, or to the University curriculum, for example). |
| Remember
to take some care constructing your ethos as a writer. This may
involve not only referring to specific concepts we discussed in
class, but also establishing your credibility through word choice
(i.e. using the word "scannable" rather than just saying
"I tried to make my hypertext easy to read" increases
your ethos as an e-rhetorician).
Don't
forget to that you need to support your argument with specific
example, whether this be anecdotal (drawn from your experience)
or concrete (links to relevant websites, PowerPoint slides, or
your own hypertext pages). Don't forget the power of the visual:
- Attend
to the "look" of your reflection, especially as it
relates to your chosen genre
- Include
visual evidence directly in your reflection through screenshots
and embedded images. Remember to analyze your images; don't
simply insert them as decoration!
Finally,
try to have fun with this assignment and use it to pull together
your final thoughts on Writing and Rhetoric as a soon-to-be PWR
graduate.
|
