MULTIMODALITY AND WRITING SYLLABUS
Dr. Alexandra Hidalgo, Assistant Professor
Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures
Office: 265 Bessey Hall
Office Hours: Wednesdays 11:30-12:30 pm and by appointment
Email: [email protected]
Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures
Office: 265 Bessey Hall
Office Hours: Wednesdays 11:30-12:30 pm and by appointment
Email: [email protected]
Course Goals And Outcomes
This course introduces you to the strategies utilized in three modes of writing for digital spaces and invites you to create your own digital writing pieces individually and alongside your classmates in an environment where you receive formative feedback from faculty and peers. As you hone your digital writing skills, it is not the course’s aim to help you perfect content production in any of the genres we’re working on. Instead, the course aims to make aware of the rhetorical and creative flexibility and ingenuity that is required of content producers as they adapt to various digital writing media and genres. In order to achieve that goal, you will do the following:
- Become familiar with current creative trends in multimodal writing by analyzing existent blogs, podcasts, and social media campaigns.
- Learn general strategies for developing and implementing effective blog posts, podcasts, and social media campaigns.
- Become familiar with digital technologies utilized in the creation of blogs, podcasts, and social media campaigns.
- Work through various drafts of your blog posts, podcast, and social media campaign by taking into account the feedback of faculty and peers and provide feedback to peers on their work.
Required Texts
You will need to purchase or rent an online or print version of Writer/Designer: A Guide to Making Multimodal Projects by Cheryl E. Ball, Jennifer Sheppard and Kristin L. Arola. Second Edition. 2018.
For all other texts, you will find links on our course website’s calendar.
For all other texts, you will find links on our course website’s calendar.
Projects
Multimodal Writing Analysis Presentation (10%)
For this 8-10 minute Powerpoint/Prezi presentation, you will share with us a blog, a podcast series, or a social media campaign that you admire and analyze how it succeeds at one of three purposes: to inform, to persuade, or to emotionally move the audience. In order to make your arguments about the sample you’ve chosen, you will discuss three of the strategies it utilizes to achieve its purpose (design, use of images, sound, hyperlinking, engagement with the audience, affect, story, and use of credible sources).
Blog Post Series (20%)
You will write three short blog posts (500-800 words each) on a topic of your choice. Each post needs to include 1- 3 photographs taken by you. The blog post series needs to fulfill one of three purposes around your topic: to inform, to persuade, or to emotionally move the audience. To host these posts, you can either use your portfolio website, a blog you write for regularly, or create a new website. Wix and Weebly are easy to use options that will not be time-consuming to create if you choose the latter option.
Podcast (30%)
You will create a 3-5 minute podcast in which you use narration and sound recordings in order to inform, to persuade, or to emotionally move the audience about the topic of your choice. You can interview others and/or feature sound clips from other media. We will learn how to use Audacity in order to record and edit your podcasts, which you will host on Soundcloud.
Social Media Campaign (30%)
You will work in groups of 3-4 students to create a social media campaign around a hashtag of your creation. The campaign should seek to create awareness about a particular issue and unfold over two platforms. You can choose Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. You’ll write a blog post where you explain your campaign and then you’ll post a minimum of 50 posts over a 10-day period, including 5 original short videos, 10 original images, and sharing 15 articles/films/books/blog posts related to the topic of your campaign. You’ll also use your own social media accounts to help promote the campaign.
For this 8-10 minute Powerpoint/Prezi presentation, you will share with us a blog, a podcast series, or a social media campaign that you admire and analyze how it succeeds at one of three purposes: to inform, to persuade, or to emotionally move the audience. In order to make your arguments about the sample you’ve chosen, you will discuss three of the strategies it utilizes to achieve its purpose (design, use of images, sound, hyperlinking, engagement with the audience, affect, story, and use of credible sources).
Blog Post Series (20%)
You will write three short blog posts (500-800 words each) on a topic of your choice. Each post needs to include 1- 3 photographs taken by you. The blog post series needs to fulfill one of three purposes around your topic: to inform, to persuade, or to emotionally move the audience. To host these posts, you can either use your portfolio website, a blog you write for regularly, or create a new website. Wix and Weebly are easy to use options that will not be time-consuming to create if you choose the latter option.
Podcast (30%)
You will create a 3-5 minute podcast in which you use narration and sound recordings in order to inform, to persuade, or to emotionally move the audience about the topic of your choice. You can interview others and/or feature sound clips from other media. We will learn how to use Audacity in order to record and edit your podcasts, which you will host on Soundcloud.
Social Media Campaign (30%)
You will work in groups of 3-4 students to create a social media campaign around a hashtag of your creation. The campaign should seek to create awareness about a particular issue and unfold over two platforms. You can choose Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. You’ll write a blog post where you explain your campaign and then you’ll post a minimum of 50 posts over a 10-day period, including 5 original short videos, 10 original images, and sharing 15 articles/films/books/blog posts related to the topic of your campaign. You’ll also use your own social media accounts to help promote the campaign.
Reading and Listening Assignments
For almost every class period I will assign readings or podcasts. You will not succeed in this course if you don’t keep up with the readings and listen to the podcasts we’ll be discussing in class.
Reading and Listening Quizzes (10%)
Quizzes will take place at the beginning of each class for which readings and podcasts have been assigned. The questions will be easy to answer if you read/view the assignment and pay attention. Quizzes will be worth one point each. You will start the semester with 10 points. If you don’t miss any quizzes, you will have 10 points at the end. If you miss half a quiz, you’ll have 9.5 points, if you miss a whole quiz, you will have 9 points, and so on. The quizzes’ role is to give you an incentive to engage with the texts we discuss in class, since without understanding the assigned texts, you will not profit from this course.
Reading and Listening Quizzes (10%)
Quizzes will take place at the beginning of each class for which readings and podcasts have been assigned. The questions will be easy to answer if you read/view the assignment and pay attention. Quizzes will be worth one point each. You will start the semester with 10 points. If you don’t miss any quizzes, you will have 10 points at the end. If you miss half a quiz, you’ll have 9.5 points, if you miss a whole quiz, you will have 9 points, and so on. The quizzes’ role is to give you an incentive to engage with the texts we discuss in class, since without understanding the assigned texts, you will not profit from this course.
Attendance
Students will be expected to show up for every class and pay attention, but I realize that illnesses and other complications do occur. Therefore, you may miss three classes without penalty. After that, two percentage points will be deducted for every unexcused absence. If you miss more than six classes, whether your absences are excused or not, you will receive a failing grade. For extended absences due to medical or family emergencies, you should consult me upon return, if not sooner. A student who attends class but is not participating or paying attention may be counted as absent. Tardiness disrupts the class and everyone’s learning experience, so every tardy equals half an absence. The same applies for anyone who leaves class early. Bonus points will be awarded to students who miss fewer than their allotted three absences and who participate responsibly in class. You will receive an extra credit percentage point per each class you attend beyond your allotted three absences, i.e. if you miss no classes and have no tardies, you will earn three percentage points of extra credit.
Late Work
An assignment received after the due date is considered late (unless prior arrangements have been made). Late work is penalized 20% for each day it is late. After five days, including weekends, late projects receive a 0.
Grading
Your final grade is made up of 100 points. Here is the breakdown:
Quizzes (10 points)
Due: Throughout the semester.
Multimedia Writing Analysis Presentation (10 points)
Due: You will sign up for a date to present.
Blog Post Series (20 points)
9/16 and 9/18: Blog Post Series Planning Presentation.
10/02: Blog Post Series Draft due for Peer Review.
10/04 by 11:59pm: Blog Post Series Final Draft due.
Podcast (30 points)
10/14 and 10/16: Podcast Planning Presentation.
10/28 and 10/30: Podcast Draft due for Studio Style Review Session.
11/03 by 11:59pm: Podcast Series Final Draft due.
Social Media Campaign (30 points)
11/13: Social Media Campaign Planning Presentation.
11/18: Social Media Campaign Draft due for Studio Style Review Session.
11/25: Social Media Campaign begins.
12/4: Social Media Campaign ends.
12/6: Social Media Campaign Final Draft due by 11:59pm.
I will use the following scale to determine your grades:
94-100 = 4.0
87-93 = 3.5
80-86 = 3.0
75-79 = 2.5
70-74 = 2.0
65-69 = 1.5
60-64 = 1.0
< 59 = 0
Quizzes (10 points)
Due: Throughout the semester.
Multimedia Writing Analysis Presentation (10 points)
Due: You will sign up for a date to present.
Blog Post Series (20 points)
9/16 and 9/18: Blog Post Series Planning Presentation.
10/02: Blog Post Series Draft due for Peer Review.
10/04 by 11:59pm: Blog Post Series Final Draft due.
Podcast (30 points)
10/14 and 10/16: Podcast Planning Presentation.
10/28 and 10/30: Podcast Draft due for Studio Style Review Session.
11/03 by 11:59pm: Podcast Series Final Draft due.
Social Media Campaign (30 points)
11/13: Social Media Campaign Planning Presentation.
11/18: Social Media Campaign Draft due for Studio Style Review Session.
11/25: Social Media Campaign begins.
12/4: Social Media Campaign ends.
12/6: Social Media Campaign Final Draft due by 11:59pm.
I will use the following scale to determine your grades:
94-100 = 4.0
87-93 = 3.5
80-86 = 3.0
75-79 = 2.5
70-74 = 2.0
65-69 = 1.5
60-64 = 1.0
< 59 = 0
Services and Resources
MSU Writing Center: http://writing.msu.edu. 432-3610. 300 Bessey Hall. The MSU Writing Center is the primary writing resource on campus. You’ll also find satellite centers in several campus locations including the main library.
MSU ESL Lab: http://www.elc.msu.edu. 353-0800. 714 Wells Hall. The ESL Lab assists international students with writing in a second language.
MSU Learning Resource Center: http://lrc.msu.edu/. 202 Bessey Hall. This center offers individualized assistance to help students develop successful learning strategies and study habits.
MSU Libraries: http://www.lib.msu.edu/.
Purdue OWL: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl. Purdue’s Online Writing Lab provides information about writing, such as how to use MLA and how to plan and structure your texts.
MSU ESL Lab: http://www.elc.msu.edu. 353-0800. 714 Wells Hall. The ESL Lab assists international students with writing in a second language.
MSU Learning Resource Center: http://lrc.msu.edu/. 202 Bessey Hall. This center offers individualized assistance to help students develop successful learning strategies and study habits.
MSU Libraries: http://www.lib.msu.edu/.
Purdue OWL: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl. Purdue’s Online Writing Lab provides information about writing, such as how to use MLA and how to plan and structure your texts.
Americans with Disabilities Act
In order to receive any accommodation for any disability, students must first register with the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD). The RCPD will request appropriate documentation and make a determination regarding the nature of the accommodation to which a students is entitled. The RCPD will then give the student a “visa” that specifies the kind of accommodation that may be provided. It is then the responsibility of the student seeking accommodation to present the visa to his/her instructor.
Mandatory Reporting
Michigan State University is committed to fostering a culture of caring and respect that is free of relationship violence and sexual misconduct, and to ensuring that all affected individuals have access to services. For information on reporting options, confidential advocacy and support resources, university policies and procedures, or how to make a difference on campus, visit the Title IX website. As the instructor, I must report the following information to other university offices (including the Department of Police and Public Safety) if you share it with me verbally, in writing, in conversation during or outside class, and/or as part of your course assignments:
- Suspected child abuse/neglect, even if this maltreatment happened in the past;
- Allegations of sexual assault, relationship violence, stalking, or sexual harassment; and
- Credible threats of harm to oneself or to others.
Basic Needs Support
Any student in this class who experiences difficulty affording groceries or accessing sufficient food to eat every day, or who lacks a safe and stable place to live, is urged to contact their academic advisor for support. You may also contact the MSU Food Bank for help getting access to healthy foods. Furthermore, if you are experiencing any other challenges with basic needs, you may also notify me, and I will work to connect you with any resources that I may have access to.
