You will write a text for a public audience that covers at least 4 claims about writing/rhetoric/language and a thorough explanation for each claim. You can frame these 4 claims as “lessons” you learned in the class, or as advice you have for other people based on your experiences (note: the advice should not be about passing the class, but about writing/rhetoric/language). Look over our reading assignments this semester and you’ll see that many of them explore lessons the author learned, or advice the author has for other writers. That’s what you are going to do here. How you decide to frame your claims will largely depend upon the specific audience you choose for your project. For example, if your audience is comprised of incoming 1101 students, then your claims will look/sound different than if your audience is made up of professional writers.
Your project should have at least an introduction or a conclusion and a title. Depending upon the genre you choose for this project, you need decide if you will include an introduction, conclusion or both along with your 4 claims. You might use an introduction that frames the claims and prepares your reader for what follows and/or a conclusion that helps tie up loose ends and provides closure–it depends on the genre (see below). Either way, you should frame the 4 claims/lessons you discuss and/or explain your reason for writing (in a way that makes sense for the genre, audience, purpose–again, see below). In other words, how can your audience make sense of your 4 claims together? Since your introduction or conclusion should be written to your specific audience, you should clearly describe what you want them to do, see, or believe as a result of reading your claims. What do you want them to do with these claims? That should be addressed in an introduction or conclusion–which genre you choose will impact whether an introduction or conclusion (or both!) is more appropriate.
You should also choose a title that interests your audience and gives them an idea of what to expect from your work. The title of your project does not need to mirror the title of the assignment (so, not “My Personal Definition of Writing”). What title is appropriate for the content, purpose, genre, and audience of your work? Remember, titles often forecast what a document is about, so you’ll probably want to write the draft before you settle on a title that describes what your draft is about.
Purpose:
To a degree, you will get to choose your purpose. Similar to what is explained above, your purpose will largely depend upon the specific audience you choose for your project. In part, this depends on whether you want to talk about lessons you’ve learned, advice you have for beginning writers, thoughts that relate to more advanced writing or professional writing, or something else. You might think of your purpose as debunking common myths about writing, or you might choose to demystify the writing process for your audience, or you might provide advice to your audience. In other words, you have to write about 4 claims, but “why” you are writing your claims for your audience is up to you. But you do need to name your purpose for writing in your topic proposal and stick to it.
Audience:
You get to pick your audience. As explained above, this is a very important decision because your audience impacts what you write and your purpose for writing. Who do you want to write for? Maybe incoming freshmen? Maybe this is a text you see being distributed to 1101 students on the first day of class? Maybe it’s a text that will be distributed at the writing center? Do you want to write for students like you–first-generation college students, Black students, multilingual writers? Maybe you want to write to students in your major, professionals in your field of study, or middle school students? Just remember that whoever you are writing for is a public audience–meaning that it is an audience beyond our classroom and there will be people in this audience that you don’t know personally. This might be an audience that you have some familiarity with (i.e., incoming 1101 students or an audience related to your culture) or an audience that is more unfamiliar to you (i.e., readers of FIU News or elementary school students). Whatever audience you select, your audience can’t be “everyone” — pick a specific group of people that will be interested in and benefit from your perspectives and then write for them.
Other Requirements:
Claims + Explanations: As explained above, your personal definition of writing should include at least 4 claims about writing/rhetoric/language. Along with each claim, you need to include an explanation that expands upon that claim. While your genre will inform the choices you make, your claims should be explained and/or defended using your experiences in this class along with your personal perspectives and/or experiences beyond this class. A minimum requirement of this project is that you make at least one reference to a class reading or assignment in support of each claim. In other words, you must draw connections between the claims you are choosing and the experiences you had in this class. You are also invited to bring in personal, cultural, and/or professional experiences as they relate to each claim.
Make sure that your claims work together in some way. This will better serve your audience and purpose. It’ll also help you make connections between your claims. Your introduction and/or conclusion will help your reader see those connections, too.
Since each claim will be clearly stated as a sentence before, after, or alongside each corresponding explanation, place that sentence in bold so that I can clearly find the 4 claims.
Don’t know what your claims should be?
The following questions are designed to help you consider your specific claims. You do not need to use these questions–they are just a list of questions to help you brainstorm what your four claims might be about.
You could focus all four claims on one question and really dig deep, or choose a couple different questions. Try to make sure that all of it works together, though, so that your document works as a whole.
What writing activities or projects from this semester were especially significant for your understanding of writing?
What is something you thought about writing at the start of our semester that you now understand differently?
What personal writing experiences do you regularly engage with and what purpose/role do they serve in your life? (e.g., social media, diary/journal writing, letter writing, scrapbooking, poetry, etc.)
What is the role of peer review in the writing process?
What is the relationship between reading and writing?
What is the relationship between linguistic diversity and effective communication?
What do you believe constitutes good or effective writing in the classroom?
What should be the role of digital writing in the classroom?
What practices should be central to the writing classroom?
What do you believe constitutes good or effective writing in your professional life?
What is the relationship between writing and social action?
What is the relationship between writing and personal expression?
How do writers construct ethos/credibility with their audience?
What is the role of giving, receiving, and responding to feedback in writing?
What is the importance and purpose of drafting in writing?
What is the importance and purpose of brainstorming and/or planning in writing?
What attitudes and habits do successful students have?
How does language/discourse affect our writing? Or identity as writers?
Last Completed Projects
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