Due dates for drafts: 11/25, 12/2, 12/4

Due date for final version: Friday, December 6, 2024

Composing in a New Genre, plus Genre Analysis and Reflection

In the conclusion of your Project 2 reflective annotated bibliography, you wrote about what you learned, why it is important, and who else needs to know about it.

For Project 3, you’ll write a listicle to share your research. Project 3 is a two-part project. In addition to the new text (Part 1), you’ll also write a rhetorical and genre analysis and a reflection (Part 2)–both parts are required for Project 3.

Part 1: Composing a new text

In your new text for Part 1, you will return to the research you conducted for your Reflective Annotated Bibliography to create a new text, a listicle, for the audience you identify as needing to learn about your research, using the information you learned in your research. You will quote, paraphrase, summarize, etc,

By sharing your information in a new genre, you can reach a different (or wider) audience. You will need to identify an audience for your new text. Examples of specific audiences include: other students in your major at City Tech; students in that majors in general; students in a different major; college administration; people with a particular illness; a client for a particular project; bosses in a particular field; employees in a particular job; investors; elementary school students; your family; city planners; the NYC Department of Buildings–you get the idea! You will also need to think about how to reach your audience, meaning where you would publish or circulate your listicle.

The term listicle comes from combining article and list. There are different kinds of listicles and different ways of designing them. Here are a few examples of the format yours might take:

  • A listicle with a featured image at the top of the text
  • A listicle with a featured image at the top of the text and an image for each of the list items
  • A listicle incorporated into a zine
  • A listicle formatted using a template such as you can create on Canva.com
  • A different format that you suggest!

Part 2: Genre Analysis and Reflection

In the second part of the project you will write an Genre Analysis and Reflection about your creation and your process, approximately 600-900 words, in which you address the following:

Context

  • Why are you interested in this topic and what did you learn about it?
  • Summarize in a paragraph or two the information you want your new composition to convey.
  • As you do this, refer specifically to information you learned from each of your sources, either by quoting or paraphrasing. Be sure it’s clear which source the information came from whether you’re using their exact language or not by using parenthetical citations.

Rhetorical Situation and Genre Considerations

  • Discuss the specific audience with whom you will share your research. Briefly describe who they are, why you chose them, and how this research relates to them. What do you think your audience knows about the subject? And what might their concerns or assumptions be about this particular topic?
  • Explain what choices you made when organizing and planning your listicle. Why did you make these choices? How did it impact the tone, content, and structure of your listicle? Here is where you can talk about stylistic choices, which appeals you used (logos, pathos, ethos)?
  • State where you imagine your listicle appearing and explain why this is your choice. In other words, does your choice relate to this audience’s interest, age, or a community they are part of? To your purpose? Or something else?
  • Discuss at least 3 features of the genre that made it a good choice for your audience.

A Reflection

  • Now that it’s done, what went well?
  • Are there any changes you would make?
  • What, given all the time and money and expertise in the world, would you have done differently?
  • How will you use your new skills (research, writing, technology, media, etc) in the future–in life, in your major, in your career?

How will this be graded?

  • Content: Your project has all the components listed above, the new text (length to be determined in class) and the rhetorical and genre analysis including the information you want to share from your annotated bibliography, the audience you want to reach, your analysis and reflection, and is approximately 600-900 words.
  • Genre: I’m looking to see that your new text follows the conventions and formatting and has the features of that genre, including tone, language, grammar, and sentence structure appropriate for this genre, and is appropriate for your chosen audience. Your analysis accurately identifies how the genre is appropriate.
  • Presentation: Your project is written in a way that someone else can understand what you want your audience to learn and where you learned that information. You use formatting and organization to help your readers make sense of your writing. Your writing is proofread, meets the length requirements, and has the polish of a revised and published piece of writing.

Remember that you will reflect on and revise all projects for the final reflection and portfolio.

Acknowledgments: This project uses ideas and language from the Unit 3 assignments in the ENG 1101 Model Course, developed by Carrie Hall and Jackie Blain, the ENG 1101 Core Books Model Course, developed by Ruth Garcia and Suzanne Miller, and from Ruth Garcia’s Fall 2024 ENG 1101 course.

Photo credit: “numbers” by Andy Maguire via Flickr under the license CC BY 2.0.