Unit 3: Writing in a New Genre Assignment

Rough Draft Due: Wednesday, 5/11/22

Final Draft Due: Monday, 5/16/22

Assignment

Return to the research you conducted for your reflective annotated bibliography and what you learned about your topic, and decide on a genre in which to share your research. By sharing your information in a new genre, you can reach a different (or wider) audience. Think about what will change about the way the information is presented.

One of the goals of this assignment is to repurpose the information you have gathered and use it to compose in a new genre. Transforming your writing in this way will help you think about how the conventions of genre relate to audience and affect writing and the presentation of information.

Note: This is a two-part assignment.

Part I: Writing in a Genre

Choose one of the following genres that you would like to write in, or if you would like to choose a genre not listed here, discuss it with me first.

  • script for a TED Talk
  • script for a radio or television interview
  • Twitter thread (at least 10 Tweets for the thread)
  • an interview
  • podcast script and (optional) recording of the podcast
  • an infographic or academic poster presentation
  • a graphic short story
  • a play or film script
  • a poem or song
  • a childrenā€™s book

Use your research to draft a document for your specific audience using the format and conventions of the genre you have chosen and analyzed: be sure to pay attention to the basic features of your genre, including appropriate length and formatting. Also, be sure to give credit to your sources in order to avoid plagiarism.

Part II: Reflection and Genre Analysis

Write a one page reflection (approx. 600 words) explaining which genre you chose and why.

In your reflection make sure to do the following:

  • State the genre you chose and explain why this is your choice. In other words, does your choice relate to this audienceā€™s interest, age, or a community they are part of? Or something else?
  • Discuss the specific audience with whom you will share your argument and 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?
  • List and define 4-5 basic features of the genre you have chosen.
Here are the grading criteria for the Writing in a New Genre project:

Part I: Your original pieceā€¦

  • uses one of the genres from the list provided (or approved by me)
  • follows basic features of your chosen genre that you developed and listed in your reflection (Part II)
  • incorporates information from the research done for your reflective annotated bibliography and gives appropriate credit in order to avoid plagiarism

Part II: Your one-page reflection…

  • is thoughtfully written and follows the assignment guidelines
  • clearly and convincingly explains why the genre you chose makes sense for the audience you have chosen to address
  • clearly lists and explains the basic features of the genre

Overall: Your Unit 3 project…

  • uses tone, language, grammar, and sentence structure appropriate for this genre
  • has been carefully proofread
  • meets the required word count
  • has been submitted on time

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