Unit 3: Public Writing
Topic: The influence of “Jax Cuts and Jobs Acts” for individuals
Length: 1500 words
Audience: A “public” audience
By now you should all be “experts” (at least as much as a semester allows) on your interdisciplinary topic. This project asks you to write about some aspect of the research you’ve done for popular/general public audience: for example, readers of newspapers, magazines, Web pages, or perhaps clients and consumers. You have presented a case for solving an interdisciplinary problem—now, take that research and pitch it to the public. Why should these readers care? How much context do they need? This assignment offers you a chance to be creative, but remember that you need to identify your audience as specifically as possible and determine what their needs might be. The style, voice, and genre should be significantly different from the last two projects.
After weeks of collaboration, you will complete this last major project on your own. The rhetorical challenge is two-fold, since not only are you responsible for appropriately translating your research to a general audience, but you are translating interdisciplinary research and need to make sure you take into account audience analysis and assumed knowledge in more than one discipline.
Please note the examples below are not exhaustive; if other genres or ideas are relevant to you, let me know. If none of these seem feasible, talk to me:
The “Explainer” Article: Many articles in newspapers, magazines, and web sites (such as Wikipedia) publish articles that don’t make a specific argument because they are intended to inform. For example, many in the weekly science or technology sections of many newspapers, they report on some recently published article announcing a discovery or finding, and usually relay this information in “layman’s terms,” meaning one does not need to be an expert in the field to understand a new development or its significance. Often, explainer articles take a smaller piece of a bigger social issue that readers may not understand and break it down. For example, the debate over vaccine safety is a big topic right now; an explainer on that might concern itself with how vaccines work. On your case, you can take part of your inquiry issue and “explain” it to the public, focusing on what they need to know most, but without bringing in opinion or evaluation. Here is an example of a real-world explainer:
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/explainer/2014/10/ebola_infects_dallas_nurse_how_hospital_protective_gear_works.html
An Opinion Piece: If you like taking a side and trying to persuade people, you might consider writing an op-ed. An op-ed (so-called because it appears on the page opposite the editorials, which represent the ideas/opinions of the paper’s editorial board and as such, is an argument developed for a general audience.) Op-Eds are often written by experts in a particular field who are tying their theoretical knowledge into current events. They present an argument about an issue, again in “laymen’s” terms. A typical formula for writing an Op-Ed is to identify the problem, identify your solution, and work through both sides of the issue, using the opposing view to strengthen your own. Here is an example of a real-world Op-Ed, one I wrote for the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/opinion/sunday/women-and-the-treatment-of-pain.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
The Feature Article: Some of you may be interested in informative pieces that entail more design elements and creativity. The feature article—similar to cover stories in magazines, or longer form Web articles—explains trends or issues to a mainstream audience. Feature articles often employ several of the following elements: a narrative/anecdotal introduction/interview; sidebars and text boxes for statistics and addition factual information that may interrupt the narrative flow; pulled quotes, columns, and headings, as well as pictures/images.
The Web site/blog: Depending on your topic, you may want to establish a blog/website with several shorter posts and other informational/visual elements that target a public/lay audience and depend on many of the same style/content considerations as more traditional articles do. Short, concise paragraphs and judicious use of white space, appropriate visuals, effective hyperlinking of credible resources, etc. are all important for successful Web-based public writing on health topics. You may want to use free platforms like WordPress, Wix, Weebly, Sway, etc.
The Reflective Note: As with the last two projects please include a note with both the draft and the final project; let us know which genre you’ve chosen, how it will be distributed or accessed, and how you’re citing your sources and such. Please be sure you discuss content and design choices, knowing that some of you will have a lot more to say about design than others, and vice versa. As always, the word count refers to the project and the reflective note, and I expect and understand variations in length of each since there are so many options available to you. Don’t forget the brief note on how this might fit into a professional portfolio.
IMAGES: Most of these projects include some sort of image or images; even Op-Ed pieces are sometimes accompanied by them. Try to have some sort of image or images involved, and be sure to cite the image, usually right underneath the image in such documents.
AUDIENCE: Even though you’re writing for a “public” audience, remember that there is no such thing as the “general” public, so as with project three, you must determine exactly where and how your document will be distributed to your public. WHO are you aiming for—what is their age range, education and literacy level, cultural background? If it’s a blog or Web-based publication, what will the meta-language be that will attract readers? How might you link it to other sites? If it’s an explainer or op-ed, WHICH magazine or newspaper exactly will you publish it in? The audience for The New York Times is quite different from the audience for USA Today.
Unlike academic articles where scholars are likely to read your article if it contributes something new, a public is not likely to even notice your document unless you attract their attention. You have to do more to lure them in.
CITATION FORMAT: Knowing exactly where and how you’ll be distributing this document will also help you determine how to cite your sources. Simply include a regular References page for any research you did with your project itself, understanding that it is for me to see your evidence, not a part of the project itself.
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