Required Project, 1 of your 5 major projects
Important Dates
- Sept 12: Rough Drafts for Peer Review, due by 11:59 PM
- Sept 14: Feedback on Classmates’ Work, due by 11:59 PM
- Sept 19: Project due by 11:59 PM
- Sept 26: Grace period ends at 11:59 PM
Goals
 learn the characteristics of the kinds of writing you will typically do in the workplace |
 identify ethical/intercultural and global issues that can impact the kinds of writing in your field |
 think about the writing you will do in the future as you create something you can use later in your career |
The Project Assignment
You will survey the kinds of writing people in your intended career do and arrange the information in a table. You’ll provide a short description of the different kinds of writing, identify the typical audiences and purposes, and classify the kinds of writing, matching the items to the chapters in our textbook and resources online.
Your project should meet the following criteria, which are included on the rubric:
- includes at least 10 different kinds of writing that are typical in your field.
- identifies the audience(s) and purpose(s) of each kind of writing.
- matches the kinds of writing to the chapters in our textbook and to resources online.
- identifies ethical/intercultural and global issues that can impact the different kinds of writing.
This chart will be a go-to resource once you are in the workplace. You will also use it as you decide on the projects that you want to complete for the rest of the term.
Step-by-Step Details
Step 1: Decide on the career you will focus on for your project.
Your major and experiences may have prepared you for several careers. For this project, you need to choose one (ideally the one you are most likely to pursue after graduation) and explore this field in more detail.
You can choose any career you like. You can focus on a career related to a job or internship you have had. You can also think about an academic future if grad school is in your future.
Step 2: Gather your data, and create your table.
Create your project in Microsoft Word. Do not use Excel or Google Drive because the formatting options are limited in those tools. Remember that formatting errors may mean you need to revise..
Do a thorough analysis of the writing in your field. Survey the kinds of writing people in your intended career do and come up with a comprehensive list. In your table, provide a short description of the different kinds of writing, identify the typical audience and purpose, and classify the kinds of writing, matching the items to the chapters in our textbook and resources online. Use these two examples to help guide your research and writing:
Think of your audience for this project as yourself. Your goal is to learn about the characteristics of the kinds of writing you will typically do in the workplace. A year from now, if you were in the workplace, you should be able to come back to this analysis to remind yourself of the kinds of features to include in a text you are writing.
You will post your draft for peer review by 11:59 PM on September 12. If you do not post your draft on time, you will not be assigned peer review partners.
You will send feedback to your partners by 11:59 PM on September 14. Use the advice you receive from your readers to revise before the due date. There are no rewrites or revisions after the grace period ends.
Step 3: Write your cover memo.
Write a cover memo that tells me whatever information I need to know to understand the work you did on your project. This memo should be the first page of your project. Your table will be the second page. Both documents should be in one file.
Your memo should use standard memo format, with the headings of To:, From:, Subject:, and Date. See Chapter 9 (“Writing Correspondence”) of Markel for more details on writing memos.
Include this kind of information in your cover memo:
- Explain a bit about your field and career so that I have some context for your project.
- Tell me what you did to make your work stand out.
- Discuss anything you have questions about or are unsure of.
- Tell me anything else you want me to know before I read your project.
Be sure to explain the background on your piece fully. This cover memo is where you tell me about the work you put into the project and provide some self-evaluation of your work. The cover memo is the first thing I will read, so it is your opportunity to make sure that I have all the information that I need to understand your project.
Step 4: Submit your project in Canvas.
Compare your project to the requirements in the rubric to make sure you have fulfilled that assignment.
When you are finished with your cover memo and project, you will turn in your work in Canvas, following the submission instructions. Remember that there are no rewrites or revisions after the grace period ends.