Project 1 Reflection

 

This project introduced me to a new type of writing assignment. One in which due dates served as reminders to continue your work at your own pace rather than obstacles to overcome in the writing process. Previous assignments such as those in high school were plagued by either too much rigidity, e.g. “Paragraph two of your five paragraph essay is due on Thursday”, or too little structure. In this assignment however, the process began with open ended expectations that allowed for us to work within the prompt and take our own path to the finished product. Additionally, the course material provided guidance as to what is expected. Targeted discussions allowed us to test ideas for our essay in a group setting rather than awaiting comments and a number grade at the end. This assignment was helpful as well in my other classes. I had a second essay assigned at the same time, one in which the only guidance was a sentence on the syllabus. However, the lessons I learned as I composed my essay for this class aided me in crafting my other essay. There is a clear difference in writing quality as well. While my second draft for Project 1 was sloppy and incoherent at times, because I completed it before my essay for my other class, I made less mistakes on my draft for that essay and had an easier time forming my argument. Project 2 is a research based project and I hope that it will provide the same level f insight and growth that Project 1 has and transfer to my other studies as easily as well. It is clear at this point that lessons in rhetoric are important in learning to produce scholarly works and it is obvious as to why ENC 2135 is a required class for students.

Looking forward, I am interested to see how the skills learned in this assignment translate to Exploratory 1, a collaborative project. Additionally, I’d like to see how well what I’ve learned will help in writing papers for science classes. Perhaps Project 2 will be more helpful for learning to write research based rather than thesis based papers. I am also curious as to how well the writing process I described in my paper outlines the real world composition process. Perhaps my thesis was too specific as it specifically concerns audience in relation to genre. My scholarly compositions I do not think incorporate audience as heavily as the pieces I analyzed in my paper do. The works in my paper were public or published pieces but the pieces I compose are for my own practice or demonstrate skills to a professor in order to be graded. Overall I believe that my Project 1 will be a useful piece to return to at the end of the semester and to evaluate as well as a fitting introduction to ENC 2135.

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Project 2 reflection

 

Throughout the process of this assignment, I have experienced first hand the winding nature of research.  My research has not taken the path I expected it to. I was inclined to conduct many interviews as one interview led to the next. Overall, I ended up conducting three as opposed to the one interview I planned. However, my final writing was only loosely based upon the interviews. The interviews provided big picture ides of student life and interesting facts but little historical information. Perhaps I will add the interview I recorded as a resource on my website, but at the moment, the website provides only historical information and traces student life throughout it.

An obstacle I faced came in the process in which I wrote. I began by writing in a research paper-like manner only to find upon crafting my website that the writing style was unsuitable for the audience I intended within the genre of my website. Had I shaped my website as an opinion piece rather than a historical info site then I may have been able to include my original writing. Perhaps I can add the original writings as a labelled opinion piece.

I found in the workshops we conducted that the most gripping parts of my research were the photographs. The classmates I talked to were captivated by historic photographs of Florida State and enjoyed hearing descriptions of what the photographs present. One example was a photo of a historic sorority. The classmate I was speaking to is involved in Greek life and was interested by how small the sororities were and how the women dressed and acted. The women had straight faces or small modest smiles as opposed to posed smiles such as those in today’s photos. I realized that the interesting part of student life for today’s students is how it relates to them today. Students enjoy comparing their student life to that of yesterday. This is where the title of my website was derived from: Yesterday’s Student Life.

Overall, this project has helped me develop both my research and my web design skills> I switched to Wix during this project and have enjoyed using it thus far. While this meant abandoning my work on Weebly and starting from scratch I believe it was worth the delay. It is good that this project is presented as an ongoing resource as I did not have a complete, deliverable product on the due date.

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Project 3 Reflection ENC2135

 

            In Project 3, I created three compositions to expand the purpose and audience of Project 2. For Project 2, I created a historical website titled Yesterday’s Student Life at FSU. The website includes historical photographs as well as historical summaries of FSU history and student life. The exigence it serves is the lack of information on past student life at FSU. As a student, not even a history student, I approach the composition from a relatively amateur perspective. It is the equivalent of a fan site for FSU history. I conducted interviews and fieldwork, but I am not an expert. For the need to be completely fulfilled, an official office such as the Dodd Heritage Museum might see my site and decide to make an official version of there own. One thing the website can accomplish is to educate students, however, not alone. This is where the three compositions for Project 3 come into play. Each composition strategically and purposefully expands the audience of the site and widens the scope of its purpose. A new exigence is filled by the three compositions for Project 3: enhance the appreciation for and encourage the restoration of the Legacy Walk, the most tangible piece of FSU history on campus.

            The first composition is an interactive map of FSU. It serves to enhance the Legacy Walk by adding interactive digital elements to it. This eliminates the need for a tour guide and allows the user to explore the history of the campus at their own pace. There are also community aspects to the map; users can contribute photographs to be added to the map for other to view. While a public posting client could be possible, I reasoned that it could be abused to spread obscene or irrelevant photographs and would need moderation; thus, photographs will have to sent personally to be posted. This does limit the efficacy of the contribution aspects but it protects the integrity of the resource. Additionally, this bypasses the liability of release for the burden of consent will be on the contributor. In order for the resource to be used effectively, it will need to be publicized. For this reason, more compositions will be needed, namely, fliers to introduce the existence of the map. The map will also be publicized through the website and Facebook page. The composition benefits from its medium as a digital resource for it will be able to be easily accessible by users. The genre of a map allows users to visualize how they fit into the locations presented.

            The second composition is a Facebook page. The Facebook page introduces the idea of restoring the FSU Legacy Walk. It is aided by the map in that the map helps audiences better appreciate the walk and the Facebook page encourages viewers to help restore the walk. Facebook provides publicity to a large audience, over a billion users. I suppose then the audience is Facebook users; however, the subset that is intended to be reached is students, alumni, and faculty of FSU who wish to see the walk restored. Because it is a Facebook page, it has the benefits of the tools associated with a Facebook page. Events can be easily planned and shared, the page can be shared with others, and the page can be integrated into other digital media and integrate digital media. It is also a useful platform to share photos, overlapping with the interactive map.

            The third composition is flier. Its traditional in genre but demonstrates how compositions of different genre are needed as the next steps in fulfilling a purpose. In this case, the flier serves as a method of physically publicizing the campaign. It is also multipurpose in that single sided fliers can be printed and hung on walls while the back can be printed along with the front in order to create a companion for the Legacy Walk. The physical medium is flexible as well; it can be printed on different colored paper or theoretically printed on a t-shirt. Perhaps even the content could be read on a radio broadcast. It would no longer be physical and would instead be transformed into an audio medium.

            Overall this project serves as the first steps in an ongoing goal of mine. I truly do wish to see the Legacy Walk restored and these compositions will aid me in it. It is wonderful that this class provides me with composition training that actually helps me achieve my goals. In teaching me how to use a variety of genre in conjunction to reach the audiences I wish to reach, I will be better able to cooperate with others in accomplishing tasks.

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Project 3 Rhetorical Rationale ENC2135

 

For my Project 3, I created three compositions to extend the themes of Project 2 to further audiences. For Project 2, I created a website to inform readers of FSU history and student life. The purpose of the website is to encourage readers to appreciate FSU history and compare their own lives to the lives of previous students. By learning about the past, students can better understand how their actions at the university will shape the lives of future students. Additionally, the website attempts to encourage, indirectly, the view of FSU as a living community rather than a location for a service provided to them. The student interacts with their community through their daily life and will change how the university functions in the future.

             The first composition I created for Project 3 is an interactive map of FSU. The map holds historical photographs of FSU and allows for users to view what a location looked like in the past. The key aspects of the resource are its location based nature and its interactivity. Additionally, users will have the opportunity to contribute photographs to map by sending them to me to be added. The intended audience is visitors to FSU and curious students on campus. The map will serve as a way of directly comparing FSU’s past to its present while also contributing to its history. In addition to historical photos, users can contribute photographs taken in the present day and store them on a separate layer. This aspect of the resource will be more useful for prospective students who wish to view what FSU student life is like now. During the summer and spring breaks, when high school students primarily tour, there are fewer students on campus. For this reason, tourists are not able to see active student life on campus. Through the interactive map, visitors will be able to view student life in images.

            The second composition I created is a Facebook page for an advocacy campaign I am starting. I intend to advocate for the restoration of the FSU Legacy Walk. The Facebook page title is Save the FSU Legacy Walk. I share photos on the Save the FSU Legacy Walk page for Facebook users to view and share. Next semester, when the weather improves, I will organize social events to spread the word of the campaign. One such event might be a Legacy Fountain pool party. Guests can simultaneously observe the state of the Legacy Fountain and meet others who are interested in restoring the walk. Another event may be an organized walk of the Legacy Walk. Attendees will bring signs and walk the Legacy Walk, advocating for its restoration. Events could be supplemented with fliers demonstrating first hand the shape of the walk and pointing out damaged areas. The ultimate goal is to bring the Legacy Walk back to its previous status or better. The primary audience is students, alumni, and faculty who appreciate FSU’s history and beauty and would like to see it maintained.

            The third composition I created is a flier to be distributed to educate passerbys on the Save the FSU Legacy Walk campaign. The flier is not as poignant as future ones will be. It imposes no blame and instead simply attempts to get the idea heard by the public. On the obverse side of the flier is a list of notable landmarks on FSU’s campus. In this way it can serve as a companion for the walking the Legacy Walk. The critical time to distribute these fliers is when tour groups are coming. Some tours have already started and they will increase in frequency as the seasons progress. As spring break approaches, more fliers can be distributed. The three best locations for distribution are Westcott Fountain, Legacy Fountain, and Integration Statues.

            Overall, the compositions expand the scope of Project 2 and bring it to a wider audience. There is no exigence for a campaign simply sharing history, but the advocacy campaign fills a campus need. The three compositions work together to increase appreciation of the Legacy Walk and encourage its restoration. The map allows users to better appreciate the walk, the Facebook page allows users to share the campaign with friends and family, and the fliers spread the word to passerbys and visitors as well as accompanying the Legacy Walk. The three will prove useful in the continuation of the advocacy campaign and help the project succeed. Should the goal of restoring the Legacy Walk be met, it would definitely improve student’s knowledge of FSU historical student life.

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