Worth 35% of your course grade

• Proposal: Worth 15 points of the Project 4 grade
• Progress Report: Worth 15 points of the Project 4 grade
• Genre Analysis Report: 70 points of the Project 4 grade

Important Dates and Deliverables

• Apr 04: Informal Proposal due by 11:59 PM (1-week grace period)
• Apr 18: Progress Report due by 11:59 PM (1-week grace period)
• Apr 26: Rough Drafts for Peer Feedback, due by 11:59 PM (No grace period)
• Apr 28: Feedback due to two classmates by 11:59 PM (No grace period)
• May 09: Project 4 (Final Exam) due by 11:59 PM (No grace period)

Goals

become an independent writer who no longer needs a writing instructor to tell you how to compose a genre of writing

think about audience and purpose as you practice the kind of research you will need to do during your career

The Project Assignment

You will learn everything there is to know about a kind of writing you will do in your career. You will find online resources, interview people in the field, and analyze examples. You’ll publish your findings in an analytical report that explains how the genre works. You will write a short proposal and a progress report, in addition to the final report.

Step-by-Step Details

Step 1: Propose a genre to explore for your project. Return to the table you created for Project 2, or think about the writing you do or will do in your field. Choose a kind of writing that you have not previously done. Ideally, you should choose a kind of writing that you genuinely want to know more about or that you know will be critical to success in your field.

You will research the kind of writing you choose, focusing on the particular kind of writing for the next month. You will turn in a proposal for your project on Monday, April 4.

Step 2: Set your goals for the project.
As has been the case for all the projects in this class, you have the opportunity to aim for the grade you want to earn on this project. The options below outline what you need to do for the grade you want to receive.

No one, in my experience, aims for a D, so I have not included any details for below-average work. If you really want a D, just put in minimal effort and do sloppy work.

Complete the B-level project and then use unique strategies and details that are clever, original, creative, and/or imaginative. Your report should include well-chosen graphics or visual elements that increase its effectiveness. It should have no errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, mechanics, linking, and formatting.

Complete the C-level project and then use design elements (like headings, layout, etc.) to highlight key information and make the report easy to read and visually appealing. Your report should have no more than two or three minor errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, mechanics, linking, and/or formatting.

Write an analytical report that discusses the purpose and audience for a particular kind of writing used in your field. The report will discuss all aspects of the genre and will include at least 3 examples. See additional details below in Step 3. Your report should be complete, well-written, and include no more than 5 spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors.

Warning! No grade is guaranteed.
Make sure your work is error-free, fully-developed, and ready to share with the intended audiences. Any work that is incomplete or that contains multiple errors will not earn an A or an A-.

For instance, say the writer aimed for a B and used design elements to make the report visually appealing, but the finished text was full of typos. It was obvious the writer didn’t proofread at all. The project earns a C rather than a B.

Step 3: Write your analytical report.
Research and write your analytical report in your word processor. With examples and relevant formatting, your report will likely be close to 20 pages long, though there is not a minimum or maximum page length. Write as much as you need to, but be sure to include all of the required information.

Review the example genre analysis reports to see the kind of layout and design that are appropriate for your project. Be sure to include your name on your report.

The research for your report should include the following:

• a literature review and evaluation of online resources (to learn what have other researchers already studied and said about the particular genre in question),
• interviews with people who actually write and read these documents to learn about their experiences with it,
• site inspection (examining the actual physical work environment or conditions researchers already studied and said about the particular genre in question, experiences with it, that affect the process of this particular genre is typically composed).

You will analyze and explain the rhetorical situation for your particular genre—that is, you will identify and explain the problem that creates the need for this particular form of written communication, the purpose and occasion that calls this kind of writing into being, or the work that needs to be done and to which this text responds.

You will analyze the audience or users of this particular genre of written communication, including their knowledge, experience, and work environments, their motivations for working with the genre in question, how they perceive and use the text in question, and what they do with it.

You will outline the constraints at work on the writers and the readers of these documents, including computing environments, documents, facts, and workplace objects, but also less tangible factors such as relations, beliefs, attitudes, traditions, images, interests, and motives that are in play in their organizations or workplaces.

You will include a bibliography that provides documentation for all of the resources you have consulted. You may use whatever bibliographical format you are most familiar with. Here are some tools if you are unsure what to use:

• EasyBib online citation builder creates MLA-format for free.
• Son of Citation Machine creates MLA, APA, and Chicago citations for free.
• Cite This For Me creates several styles, including IEEE, for free.

You will obtain at least three examples of the particular genre in question and analyze them to extract the generic conventions, characteristics, features, and strategies that distinguish this genre.

You will post a progress report on your project on Monday, April 18. You will post your draft for peer review by 11:59 PM on Tuesday, April 26, and post feedback to your two assigned classmates by 11:59 on Thursday, April 28. Use the advice you receive from your readers to revise your report before the due date.

Step 4: Submit your work in Canvas.
When you are finished with the project, you will upload your file on Canvas. Details on how to submit your work will be included in the post for the week of May 10.

You will use the Comment section for reflection on your project. In this section you will tell me the following:

• the grade that you have aimed for.
• how well you reached your goals.
• any other information I need to know to understand the work you did on your project.

Be sure that you follow the instructions, include the relevant information, and proofread your memo. If you skip adding the Comment, you lower your grade on the project. Remember that there are no rewrites or revisions after work is graded.

As you begin work on your Genre Analysis Project, you can use these examples to guide your work.

Limited Access

I am limiting access to these examples since they were written by students in previous classes I taught. You will have to log into Google Drive, using your VT.EDU email address to access these files:

• Creating a Business Plan
• Grant Proposal Writing
• Internal Software Documentation

Students’ names have been removed from the examples and replaced with majors (e.g., “A CS Major”). Be sure to indicate your name on your report rather than your major.

Future Examples

I am hoping to use some of your reports as examples for classes in the future. I will ask for your permission during the last week of class.

What Are the Key Details?

You will post your progress report in Canvas by 11:59 PM on Monday, April 18.

Your progress report is worth 15 points of your overall grade for Project 4.

What Do You Need to Write?

Write a progress report that outlines

• what you have completed
• what work you still have to do
• how you plan to complete the remaining work for the project.

Include any questions or concerns you have that may affect your progress. Use headings and design to make your report easy to read and understand. Aim for 1 to 2 single-spaced pages.

Are There Examples?

Progress reports are generally structured in the same way, no matter what kind of project you are working on. Here are three examples:

• TNG Progress Report
• Shrek Progress Report
• Progress of My Research on the Evacuation of the R.M.S. Titanic

Also see pp. 302–311 in Markel for another example and additional information on writing your report, including alternate ways to organize your report and suggestions for what to include in your concluding paragraph. Pay particular attention to the notes on ethics and being honest in how you report your progress.

How Do I Turn It In?

1. Note that the Assignment will not open in Canvas until April 15.
2. Go to Assignments in Canvas, and choose the Progress Reports activity.
3. Click the big Submit Assignment button on the upper right. You’ll see this File Upload form:
   
4. Click the Choose File button, and navigate to your file. It must be a *.doc, *.docx, or *.pdf file.
5. (Optional) There is no requirement for reflection comments, since the progress report is already a reflection on how you are doing. If you want to tell me anything about your progress report before I read it however, you can type your message comments in the Comments… box (indicated by the orange arrow in the image above).
6. Click the Submit Assignment button, and your progress report will be turned in.

After you spend some time thinking about the kind of writing you want to learn about in more detail, you will write a short, informal proposal that tells me what you propose to study. I will review and approve your proposal (or suggest some changes). Here are the details on what you need to do.

When Is the Proposal Due?

You will post your proposal in Assignments sections of Canvas by 11:59 PM Monday, April 4. There is a one-week grace period. Your proposal is worth 15 points of your overall grade for Project 4.

What Do You Write?

Write a short proposal that explains the genre (or kind) of writing that you will focus on for your report. You can return to Chapter 11 of Markel for additional help. Address the following points in your proposal:

1. Background/Introduction
   Give some background on your genre, your experiences with it to date, what you already know, etc. Then clearly state, "I would like to study this genre for the following reasons: . . . ." What are your motivations for doing work in this area?

2. Areas to be Studied
   What are the key points you will explore/research? What are some questions you will ask and try to answer with this project? What do you intend to do with this project?

3. Methods of Research
   What is your research strategy? What exactly are you planning to do to try to find answers to your questions?

4. Timetable
   What are your target dates for various stages of completion? You have five weeks for this project, so set some deadlines for yourself to ensure you are ready to share your rough draft on April 26 and turn in your project on May 9, as your final exam. Create your schedule to finish by the due date, and remember that there is no grace period on the final exam, since I must turn in course grades.

5. Qualifications
   What makes you qualified to do this research? What skills do you bring to the table that will help you deal with this topic effectively?

6. Request for Approval
   Ask for approval; ask for guidance, articulate your biggest concerns at this point; ask for suggestions about next right steps; provide contact information.

What Happens After You Turn In Your Proposal?

I will read all the proposals and give you feedback on your plan ASAP. Keep working on your project as if you have approval.