Kickstarter Project

For blogs IV and V, I want to start thinking about a project you want to accomplish.  This project needs to be funded.  Try to imagine yourself as an entrepreneur wanting to get your project off the ground.  You can be an aspiring filmmaker, a software developer, or a restaurant owner; the possibilities are endless. Once you have decided on your project, you must write your ad.

Here are the requirements needed for this blog:

(1)An ad that is at least a paragraph long. In this ad, you must consider your rhetorical situation (the five w's and the how).  Write a professional ad where you describe your project and your goal.

(2)Make sure you name your price for this project.  Next, set a number of days for you will keep this ad open.  For example, do you expect you'll need forty days to receive ten thousand dollars for your project?

(3) Once you've completed the second set, write what your backers will receive for their donations. Here's an example:

(A) Those who pledge $100 to Pro. P's PhD fund will receive a limited edition note card with the grand scholar's research scribble.  Raspberry mocha coffee ring included.

(B)Those who pledge $1,000 will receive a hand-written rough draft entitled Pro. P's Guide to Italian Horror Movies and Soundtracks and Their Subversive Irrelevance to Composition Theory and other Rhetorical Nonsense. Impress your philistine friends with this hard-to-read scholarly chicken scratch complete with poems and sketches made during class.

(C) Those who pledge $3,000 will receive an awkward smile, a whimpy handshake, and a free continental breakfast from Denny's—coffee and orange juice not included. Consider this cheap, greasy, unhealthy breakfast as way of shielding my true elitist tendencies.  I want to be a PhD for the people.  Please note: No Romantic languages will be spoken during this sit-down, mainly because I will have forgotten them after writing my dissertation.

(4)Once you have written your incentives for your backers, conclude with the contexts of your ad (PEPE). Then write and briefly discuss the different readers of your ad. 

(5)This ad should concise and well-written.  The smoother your delivery, the more likely someone will give you money.   You may also make a video to help promote your project.

(6)This will be due by Sunday, March 2nd.  It will count as two blogs.  Best of luck.

CAMSTUDIO PROJECT: BLOG II, SPRING 2013

Camstudio is a free desktop recorder that allows you make videos on your PC or Mac.  This software, coupled with Windows Live Movie Maker, allows you to be your own filmmaker.  With some practice, you can edit and make movies like the pros do but without expending large amounts of capital.   Take  minute to click on the movie I created with Camstudio, Audacity, and Windows Live Movie Maker.  It's called Mixie-Trixie.  Some of you may remember it from the memo example I used in the previous class. To make the preview, I recorded clips from Prosperi's Wild Beasts and created a separate soundtrack using Danielle Patucchi's music.  When editing, I had to digitally split and fuse scenes to match the soundtrack.  Here is my short movie:

For this second blog, you can do two things.  You make a short clip using your smartphone, Camstudio, or any other video-recording software of your choice.   You can make movie trailer, business proposal, a tutorial, or even a music video.  The content is not important.  Once you've made the video, state its rhetorical situation, (Statement, Purpose, Main Objective, and Contexts).  Once you've done that, name the readers who would be interested in your video.  

For those of you who do not want to do a video, write about one you would like to create.  Perhaps you want to make a commercial for a small business.  Describe the video you are trying to make, the rhetorical situation of that video, and the different readers.  This will count as two blog posts.  It will be due Feb. 3, 2013, A.D.  Best of luck!

By the way, if you do make a video, make sure it is appropriate.  Use common sense and good taste.

Blog I, Spring 2013

Choices

            Congrats!  After finishing Professor P's Technical Writing Class, you land a job at a hi-tech architecture Firm located in San Diego, California.  Your job is to proofread documents written by engineers.  For the past three months, you do your job beyond expectations.   Dean Davis, your immediate supervisor, promises to promote you next month.  Hearing that makes you feel confident, and you begin to see the reward of all the dues you had to pay.

            As the third month closes, you develop a friendship with your supervisor.  Dean sees you as a close buddy and an ally. 

            One night Dean drops by your tiny office and says he wants to show you something.  You follow him back to this office and see Anna, a computer programmer and electrical engineer for the company.  Dean walks back to large filing cabinet and opens the drawer.  He takes out a large bottle of Jack Daniels and places it on the desk.  Anna smiles as he reveals three shot glasses from the bottom drawer of his desk; her dimpled cheeks lure you into a feeling of terminal curiosity.

            "Sit, down," Dean says, twisting off the cap.

             Before you can ask what is going on, Dean says, "I like your work, and you seem like someone I can trust.  I was thinking that you might want to earn more money."

            Despite the angelic instincts given to you by your mother, you decide to inquire further.  Besides, she never made much money being good.

            "Anna and I are in the deconstruction business.  We have special clients who ask us to construct buildings with faulty electrical engineering so that they burn down.  Afterwards, we all split the insurance money and construct a smaller building for a fraction of the original cost.  Would that be something you are interested in?"  

            You say, "Go on."

            Dean pours Anna's glass.  He glides to the back of his desk, gracefully falling into the comfort of his leather chair.  He throws his feet on the desk and rests his hands on the back of his head.  "For this deal, I need you to approve a defect in Anna's design that will cause certain components to get a little hot."  Dean throws Anna a smile as her eyes dart in his direction.

            Suddenly, the suppressed good employee in you urges a voice in your conscience: "What about the company?"

            Dean laughs, dropping his hands on the desk with a slam.  "Oh, the poor, poor company.  Whatever will they do when their little building burns down?  Trust me.  After this deal, you won't need to work for any company.  You can disappear and retire.  Enjoy life."

            Anna and Dean are staring at you.  Anna throws gives you a toothy green, flashing her brilliant, milky teeth.

            You start thinking about the proposition as Dean prepares a toast.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

For this blog, you are to write about what you would do next.   When you write the outcome of this hypo, I need you to answer the following for full credit:

(1)Would you take a chance and go with Dean and Anna?  Or would you try to escape?

(2)If you stay, what consequences might there be?  What rewards might you reap should you think you can get away with an unethical choice?

(3)If you decide to leave, write a little ending to this tale on how you would refuse the offer.   Write about one benefit and one pitfall of making either the ethical or unethical choice.

Blog VII Alternate

You are now at the end of course and have one big assignment left.  For this last blog posting, you are to discuss your plans for your formal analytical report.  You must answer the following questions to receive full credit:

—What sources do you plan to use and where will you find them?

—Are you going to do a newsletter or a regular research paper?

—How will you go about planning the design of your document?

—Who will be your primary, secondary, and tertiary readers?

—How will your document be useful?  Who's going to read it?  Who do you hope your primary reader will be?

This will be due next Sunday. Best of luck on either blog you choose.  Remember, this is worth 30 points.

CAMSTUDIO 

Camstudio is a fantastic program that helps you create your own videos.  This is a perfect tool for a technical writer.  You are to do the following for Blog VII and VIII:

(1)Download CAMSTUDIO

(2)Make a video.  It has to be longer than 30 seconds.

(3)Be creative and see what you can do.  This is a good way to use technology and writing to further your careers.



Blog VI

Proposal

You are to compose a plan of action for your proposal project.  You need to answer the following questions to get full credit:

(1)What are going to propose?

(2)Name the different readers of paper proposal.

(3)What do you hope your proposal will do?

Blog V

For this fifth blog, you are to pick your favorite website.    Once you have your chosen website ready, you are to do the following:

(1)Describe what your website is and what it does.  For example, if you are doing Target, then you have to write what it is and what it does.  My guess would be that the big red dot exists to sell consumer goods at modestly ridiculous prices.  A one or two sentence description should work.

(2)Once you've done that, start thinking about PEPE.  What are the political, economic, physical, and ethical contexts of your website?  Refer to your text to help you.  I want you to clearly indicate these contexts in your blog.

(3)Name one thing you would change about your website?  Since you are going to be writing a website critique, this little exercise might be helpful.   Is your website's design well-balanced and aligned? Is the text too small?  This will be due by next weekend.  Do not forget.  Of course, I will also remind you.