Overview
PAPER PROMPT:
Step 1: Choose One Common Professional Genre to Research & Analyze
- Identify one professional writing genre from your future career OR one academic writing genre that your discipline uses. (Use this resource to think about possible genres: https://www.montclair.edu/center-for-writing-excellence/digitaldashboard/resources-for-writers/writing-in-the-disciplines-across-the-curriculum/ )
Step 2: Research & Analyze Genre
- Research your selected genre and collect at least 2 secondary sources that help you understand this genre. You’ll want to “google” the genre to see what suggestions or advice is given about writing this genre--the information you find about the genre will be your secondary sources. You might even find out why this genre is important, how often it is used, who might write it, etc.
- Find and rhetorically analyze at least 2 samples of this genre. You will need examples of the genre--these will be your primary sources. You can find examples in the folder I shared above. You can use those or search for your own. As you rhetorically analyze these documents, you will want to identify the typical rhetorical situation and typical rhetorical choices.
Step 3: Decide How to Present Material
- Choose a genre for your "How-to" publication. While your publication needs to be appropriate for a professional setting and must provide enough information as to be helpful for new members of your community, the type of publication you create is up to you.
- Your publication could be a text-based document, like a how-to manual or cheatsheet (like those laminated study guides you can find in the bookstore). It could be more interactive like a presentation (think Google slides or powtoon or prezi) with a narration. You could even create a video or podcast (with an accompanying script). This list is in no way exhaustive--I am sure that you can think of many other approaches, but this should *not* be an essay about a genre.
- Justify your choice. You will want to think about why this genre is most appropriate for your people in your field. You will need to explain your choice in a persuasive cover letter.
Contract Grading Guidelines for Draft/Review:
- Present a draft of your "How to" Publication for Peer Review
- Include a 400-500 word Cover Letter that:
- Describes the choices you made in building this "how to" and answers:
- Who is your audience for this?
- Why did you present the information this way?
- What did you want writers to know or prioritize about this genre?
- How did your secondary sources/samples influence you?
- Cites the secondary sources you consulted
- Links to or cites the samples of the genre you used
- Describes GenAI Acknowledgement (not included in word count): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BApmXvulBc__JHvE4ibpo2UCGd6JrNkgghBdYUECOnU/edit?usp=sharing
- Describes the choices you made in building this "how to" and answers: