Writing Project #3: Joining a Conversation

Task: Based on your prior knowledge and new observations of a communitys practices, write a text in a genre of your choosing in order to join an ongoing conversational argument/conflict. Purposes of the Assignment: This assignment will allow you to gain a better understanding of how contextespecially values, goals, and beliefsinfluence what people do. It will help you move from analysis to production: from understanding something to doing something based on what you know. It will also strengthen your skills in writing an argument in a public action genre and in choosing a genre yourself based on your rhetorical goals. Steps: 1. In this assignment, you will investigate (analyzing texts, through observing, or interviewing) a community that interests you, and locate a debate or conflict within the community. The community might be the same one whose genres you analyzed for the second writing project or a different one. You might already be a member of or very familiar with the community (your hometown chess club, a sports blog, a religious study group, engineering majors, etc.) or it might be a community you want to join (English majors, student governance, professional weight lifters, etc.). In order to work for this assignment, the community must have some organization to it (a monthly meeting, newsletter, website, or something else that you can observe or analyze). Requirements: -The community you observe cannot be our classroom, or anything illegal. -You need to analyze at least one (1) physical text from the community

(newsletters, pamphlets or brochures, websites, etc.) in addition to any interviewing/observing you might do. Interviewing/observing is not required unless the community's literature is not thorough enough.

2. Once you have identified the community, investigate its current practices (beyond what you already know) by analyzing its texts, interviewing members, or observing the group in action. You are seeking first to understand the community, its values and goals. What matters to them? How does that influence the way they operate? Requirements: -Analyses of the community's texts and exploring the purpose and audience in regard to the greater context of the community 3. From your observation, interviews, and textual analysis, locate a current debate or conflict within the community that you could join. Do you agree with it? Are you against it? Why? Requirements: -It must be a debatable topic without a clear "correct" side.

4. Decide what debate or conflict you want to address. Consider who could hear what you have to say, and select a genre that suits your purposes and audiences. Consider a letter to the editor, blog posts, op-ed piece, or letter to someone in authority. Write that text to argue for your position in the debate/conflict. Requirements: -If you choose an electronic genre (a blog post), make sure you are able to print a hard copy -Your argument, supporting points, and analysis write up must written in the genre that is more formal in your community--the genre that would get your argument heard by the community/those who could have influence on the matter. -If your communities genre is character limited (e.g. Twitter), then perhaps an email to a moderator addressing an issue in the community would be more effective than a short comment or post. However, you could also plan a series of comments that would cover all the points of your argument in response to hypothetical disagreement you might face, or other community members' questions about your stance ("where's your proof?" "why does our community care about this issue?") 5. Write a detailed reflection on your process: why you chose the community you did, how you investigated the community, what obstacles you encountered and how you responded to them, what your investigation revealed and how you decided what to argue, why you chose the genre you did, and what you encountered in trying to write that new genre. Requirements: -Your reflection of the process must be at least 1000 words Group Conferences You will be assigned a group to discuss your argument and reflection drafts with. I will be present, but it is up to you and your peers to strengthen each other's assignments (location to be determined). Engaging each other's arguments and processes of joining different communities will serve as peer review, as well as help you to reflect on your own. Before the meeting you will provide background information and drafts to your group, as well as reading their backgrounds and drafts in order to be prepared for an active discussion. Failing to prepare/participate will negatively affect your individual assignment grade. Further details will be provided. Evaluation Criteria: You will turn in two write-ups: both the argument you wrote and your reflection. The argument will be 40% of your grade, the reflection will be 50%, and your conference participation will be 10%. Your project should demonstrate new investigation into the community through your argument, thoughtful analysis of its practices, your distinct position, a well-supported argument for your position, and a rhetorically appropriate text in a rhetorically appropriate genre. Important Dates: Peer review drafts due: Friday November 9 Peer review conferences: Friday November 9 Monday November 12

Wednesday November 14 Final essay due: Monday November 19