For Project 3, you will be choosing one of your previous papers to remix into a new genre with a new audience. The new genre will still convey some or most of the information from your original paper, but will be written for a new audience and purpose and in a different genre.
Choose which paper you want to remix.
Choose a genre to remix this paper into.
Gather samples of your new genre to analyze.
Write the content for your new genre paying attention to style, tone, and other written conventions.
Design your work to fit with the design and formatting of the new genre.
Once you've chosen which former paper (from Project 1 or Project 2) that you want to remix, you'll choose a new genre. Your new genre must:
include writing (i.e. it cannot be a visual-only genre),
include a design or visual element,
be written to a clear and logical audience,
be written for a clear and logical purpose.
be significantly different from your initial genre (i.e. a letter cannot be remixed into an email).
Both the audience and purpose should be different than your initial paper.
Example
Let's say that you chose your Genre Analysis Essay for this paper, and your Genre Analysis had been on PowerPoint presentations for class lessons (i.e. what a teacher might present during class during a lesson). You could create a video tutorial on how to create effective PowerPoints for teachers. The audience is now other teachers and your genre is a video tutorial. The purpose is to teach other teachers how to create PowerPoint lessons.
Another Example
If your Argumentative Essay was a letter to the school board about why the dress code policy should be changed at your former high school. You could remix this into a PowerPoint presentation for parents at the school to explain why you are trying to get this policy changed.
Some possible genres, depending on your paper choice, audience, and purpose:
Newsletter
PowerPoint presentation with speaker notes (all of the information should not be on the slides; it should be created with the idea that it would be shown with a spoken presentation)
Infographic
Video Tutorial
Quick Reference Guide
Newspaper Article
Webpage
Similar to Project 1, you'll need to look at samples before you create your new genre. This time, however, you will not be using your own samples. You'll need to find samples online or in-person of the genre you wish to create.
When searching for results, consider using a regular internet search (i.e. Google) and image searches. By searching for images, you might be able to more easily find samples at a glance. Also, consider being specific when conducting your search. If "example news article" is too broad, something like "local news article school district change" might give you some examples that are more similar to what you are looking for. If you need help with your search, please ask for help or make an appointment with the Reading and Writing Studios!
Once you locate your samples, look for trends with the writing and design conventions. Figure out what you need to do to write and create this genre.
Save at least 4-6 samples to your Project 3 folder.
The samples should be similar to what you plan to create. The content doesn't need to be on the same topic, but they should be similar in style, length, etc. to what you want to create. (Some genres have a lot of variation, so pick samples that will help you).
Annotate the samples to point out the conventions of the genre. Make sure to look for BOTH written and design conventions.
I will use these samples to gauge how effectively you are writing in your remix genre and to give feedback. So, be thoughtful about this step.
If your genre is online, I recommend that you save the webpage as a PDF. You can also take screenshots if some of the formatting is getting lost on the PDF. If your genre samples are on paper, I recommend taking photos of the genre.
For either, please make sure that you get the whole document and not just the first page or top of the page.
To save a PDF, go to File > Print and then select PDF as your printer.
Once you get a good sense of how your genre is written, I recommend starting with writing the content. This will help you not become overly focused on the design elements first. Pay close attention to style, tone, length, and organization of information while you are writing. You may need several drafts before you are ready to move this into the design.
Next, you'll need to design the remix project to fit with your new genre. Pay close attention to the fundamentals of design when you are looking at your samples. Don't overcomplicate the design; focus on using the design elements effectively.
What software you use for this project will largely depend on what genre you choose. For a web page, blog, or online news article, you may want to use something like a "pageless" Google Doc. I've created a light and dark-themed example template that you can copy into your own files to get started for this. You can access those through those links or in the class public Google Drive in the "Unit 3" folder.
For things like newsletters or more complex designs, you might want to use something like Canva. If you search "newsletters" in Canva, you will find many starting templates. Just make sure to click on templates that are free for use and not the paid ones. (Look for the $ symbol in the corner of the preview image).
For images and photos, if you do not have your own to use, Pexels and Pixabay are two free image sites that allow people to download and use their stock photos.
Once you've finished the design, check that the content you wrote is working with the design. You may need to make some adjustments for everything to fit without too much white space or being crowded.
Draft Requirements
Length will vary depending on the genre of choice. The length/word count should fit the genre but there is no specific length requirement across the board.
The remixed genre must...
include writing (i.e. it cannot be a visual-only genre),
include a design or visual element,
be written to a clear and logical audience,
be written for a clear and logical purpose.
fit the conventions of the genre both with the writing and design.
As a reminder, both the audience and purpose must be different than your initial paper.
If you worked in a software/app other than Google Docs/Drive, please make sure to upload your draft to your Google Drive Project 3 folder before Peer Review.
You will be working in your teams to review each others’ papers and give one another feedback. If your team has two or fewer members present today, please let me know and I’ll combine you with another team.
To start, bring up your paper on the computer in Google Drive. Share your draft with the person who will be your peer reviewer in Google Drive using the share button on the document.Once you are done with Round One, you can switch again for round two. You only need to review two papers today (so, in a team of four, everyone won’t read everyone’s papers).
Read the entire draft.
Keep your tone positive and make suggestions for the other student (see "In-Class Peer Review" reading for more on this).
Use complete sentences and specific examples from the rough draft to clarify what you are referring to. Do not address the spelling, punctuation, grammar, or mechanics.
At the end of the paper, answer the following questions. (You can use the numbers to organize your points).
Are there any points at which you found yourself confused? Is the sequence of the points logical?
Are the ideas well developed? Does there seem to be anything missing? Are there areas that could use more information?
Does the Genre Remix seem to follow the conventions of the genre?
Is it well organized and well developed (for the genre)?
What is one thing the author is doing well?
What is one thing that could be improved in the draft?
Remember, BE SPECIFIC. Point to specific parts of the paper to explain your points/suggestions. The point of peer review is to help your partner become a better writer. Please write/sign your name before or after your peer review.
If you are absent on the day of peer review, you must work with a Reading and Writing Studios tutor to get feedback on your draft. Please let them know that you would like them to focus on high and middle order concerns for your feedback and show them the above questions. To receive credit for peer review if you work with a tutor, you must create a PDF of the session summary email you receive from your tutor after the session is complete.
After peer review, you will revise your rough draft. Focus on high and middle-order concerns during this revision. While editing and proofreading are appreciated, you will be graded on having completed high/middle order concern revision.
Revised Draft Requirements
Length will vary depending on the genre of choice. The length/word count should fit the genre but there is no specific length requirement across the board.
The remixed genre must...
include writing (i.e. it cannot be a visual-only genre),
include a design or visual element,
be written to a clear and logical audience,
be written for a clear and logical purpose.
fit the conventions of the genre both with the writing and design.
Additionally...
both the audience and purpose must be different than your initial paper from Project 1 or Project 2, and
the revised draft must be revised for high/middle order concerns since peer review.
I recommend the following steps for revision:
If you are working in Google Docs/Slides/etc., make a copy of your file before you begin revisions. If you are working in another software/app, I still recommend that you make a copy to ensure that you still have your original draft, in case you have any issues.
Read through your peer review feedback.
If you went to the Reading and Writing Studios, also look through that feedback.
Make a list of major revisions that you plan on doing, starting with the highest-order concerns.
Double-check that you are working in the correct file (and not your rough draft).
Work your way down from the big picture (high order concern) revisions, such as rearranging information, adding or deleting sentences, etc., to the smaller issues.
Pay attention to both the writing and the design as you revise.
For each paper, you will fill out a reflection and self-evaluation form to reflect on your writing process and evaluate your work. The form will need to be copied to your Project 3 folder in Google Drive and the completed form will be due with your Project 3 submission packet.
Draft Requirements
Length will vary depending on the genre of choice. The length/word count should fit the genre but there is no specific length requirement across the board.
The remixed genre must...
include writing (i.e. it cannot be a visual-only genre),
include a design or visual element,
be written to a clear and logical audience,
be written for a clear and logical purpose.
fit the conventions of the genre both with the writing and design.
As a reminder, both the audience and purpose must be different than your initial paper.
How to Make a Copy of the Form
Go to the Reflection and Self-Assessment Forms folder in our class public Google Drive folder.
Locate the form for Project 3 and double-click on the form to open it.
Once the form is open, click on File and then Make a Copy.
If Make a Copy is greyed out, check that you are logged into Google on your computer/browser.
Change the folder to your Project 3 folder in your ENGL 1180 folder.
To change the folder location, click on the folder name in the pop-up window.
Then click on All Locations at the top of the pop-up window.
Navigate to your Project 3 folder by double-clicking on: My Drive > your ENGL 1180 folder > Project 3
Once you have navigated to your Project 3 folder, click Select.
A copy of the form should now be in your Project 3.
Filling Out the Form
Carefully read the different areas of the form and fill out the form thoughtfully and thoroughly. Further instructions are located on the form.
Your Project 3 Submission Packet will need to include the following:
Annotated collection of example genres including...
Copies of 4-6 samples of your chosen genre.
Annotation of all samples
Peer review draft of your Remix with peer review notes
Either on your file (if working in Google Slides/Docs/etc.) or in a separate GDoc file.
If you miss peer review in class, you must go to the Reading and Writing Studios to get feedback and upload your post-session summary email that you receive.
Revised Remix (the final revised draft of the genre you created after peer review)
Double-check the "Revised Remix" category above for the full requirements for the final draft.
Reflection and self-evaluation form
Remember: All of the requirements for the individual items need to be met and all of the items in the submission packet need to be included in your Project 3 folder to get full credit (check plus).