Crafting the Message Syllabus

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CRAFTING THE MESSAGESpring 2011. Mondays.

To find out if classes will meet in bad weather, call 704-337-2567.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Instructor: Leanne Pupchek, Ph.D.

Office: 101 Dana

Phone: (704) 337-2240 (Office TW)

(704) 663-4861 (Home M/Th/F 10 a.m. 3 p.m.)

Office Hours: Tuesdays & Wednesdays 9:30 a.m. 2:30 p.m.

After class and by appointment.

Textbooks: Yahoo (2010). The Yahoo Style Guide.Eckhouse (1998). Competitive communication: A rhetoric for modern business.

Other resources: All kinds of resources such as these are available on the internet:http://scripped.com/help/nav/script_format

http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/howtoformatascreenplay

http://www.online-communicator.com/writaud.htmlhttp://www.imapbuilder.com/customization/interactive_flowchart.php

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/32188490/Two-column-script-format

Course Prerequisites: Graduate standing.

Course Description: This course examines how writers can use strategic constraints and

creative opportunities to plan, compose and publish effective messages indifferent forms. Strategic communication is intentional communication. Whether

you aspire to inform through news, move emotions though film, persuade

through public relations or advertising, or transmit culture through stories, youcommunicate expecting that your audience will respond in a particular way and

that your audiences response will serve a predetermined goal.
http://scripped.com/help/nav/script_formathttp://www.scriptfrenzy.org/howtoformatascreenplayhttp://www.online-communicator.com/writaud.htmlhttp://www.queens.edu/default.asphttp://scripped.com/help/nav/script_formathttp://www.scriptfrenzy.org/howtoformatascreenplayhttp://www.online-communicator.com/writaud.html


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You will plan and craft elements of a harmonized multimedia message for or

against a policy (this may include for a non-profit organization.) You will choosea client or policy for which you will create messages that incorporate the styles

and strategies we discuss. The course integrates two texts: The Yahoo Style

Guide will guide you through developing a contemporary writing styles thatconsider their effects contemporary platforms; Eckhouses Competitive

communication: A rhetoric for modern business applies the strategies of classical

rhetoric to analyze and explain how to create and refute arguments to support aclaim. We will also consider these important formats to plan audio, visual and

multimedia communications: scripts, storyboards and flow charts. Behavioral

objectives will help us evaluate our success.

Course Objectives: After successfully completing this class, you will be able to:

1. Apply rhetorical concepts to compose an argument for or against a policy or

platform.

2. Analyze arguments for fallacies and opportunities to refute them.3. Plan an argumentation proofline to guide research and communication

strategies.4. Write clear, concise, intentional multimedia messages that support an

argument.

5. Write effective messages that consider screen size, Search Engine

Optimization and legal requirements.6. Write effective multimedia messages that work in concert.

7. Demonstrate insights into how media constraints influence multimedia

rhetoric and argumentation.

M.A. Students: Keep this syllabus and your completed assignments for your Capstone

portfolio.

Learning Management System: MoodleSubmit course assignments and other requested materials using the MoodleLearning Management System (LMS). To be able to use this system, your

computer equipment must meet these specifications:

PC: Access: 56.6 Kbps modem or cable modem/DSL if available

Operating system: Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT, ME, XP or VistaBrowser: Explorer 5.5 or later, Firefox

Mac: Access: 56.6 Kbps modem or cable modem/DSL if available

Operating system: OS 9 or OS XBrowser: Firefox

For help with your technology needs, call the QUEST help desk at 704-337-

2323. For Moodle training, contact [email protected].

Course Responsibilities:

READING: Please keep up with the assigned reading and respond to it in a page

or two of writing before class time.

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ATTENDING: Please participate in synchronous activities online or on campus.Review this syllabus to confirm the nature of the scheduled class and visit the

course homepage for announcements. Call classmates to review class activity.

Students who miss more than three classes should meet with me to determinetheir likelihood of success. That being said, we all want you to miss face-to-face

classes if you are sick.Really.

CONFORMING TO PROFESSIONAL WRITING STANDARDS: To meet my

expectations for the style of your formal written work, please ensure you:

1. Review and follow the honor code. Cutting and pasting anything from the web

without attribution is plagiarizing, even if you mix up the order of the words orchange them to synonyms. (You can always go to the writing center in the

basements of Sykes if you want to improve your prose.)

2. Submit all formal documents word-processed, double-spaced, in 12-point

type.3. Conform to a standard academic reference and citation style. In the graduate

program, we prefer American Psychological Association (APA) style. Thelibrary has quick reference guides, as do many websites.

4. Use standard print fonts (Arial, Times Roman, Helvetica).

5. Number each page of your document in the upper right-hand corner.

6. Ensure your name, course number, and e-mail address appears on every thedocument. (Even if you e-mail the assignment to me, once I have opened an

attachment and saved it the course file, I cant put the e-mail address and the

assignment together.)

COMPLETING ASSIGNMENTS: Submit assignments by the beginning of class

on the due date.

Reflections on the readings

Demonstrate how you are engaging the readings and apply the styletechniques from Yahoo and Eckhouse (Ch. 8-12) as we discuss them.

Due: Weekly

Value: 5% for 8 weeks

Analyzing Web Communication

Apply the Yahoo checklist on p. 108 to a website to analyze its

accessibility and effectiveness.Due: Feb. 7

Value: 15%

Proofline

Follow the proofline of an argument (Ch. 4) put forth in a documentary,

recommendation or proposal that may be related to your chosen client or

policy.

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Due: Feb. 21

Value: 15%

Audio/Video Script and Illustrated Podcast

Argue your side of a policy case.Due: April 11

Value: 30%

Students with disabilities: If you are a student with a verified disability and you require

accommodations, please provide me with the memorandum from Student Disability Services.

If you have questions or need such verification, contact: Sandy Rogelberg, MA, LPC, NCCPhone: 704-337-2508

Email: [email protected]

Proposed Schedule:Please read the assigned chapters and articles (use the librarys online resources to find the

journal articles), prepare a 1- to 2-page response to the readings for class, complete assignedexercises, post assigned materials to Moodle wikis and participate in synchronous activities as

assigned.

Jan 24 Rhetorical considerations:

Film:Hero

Discussion: What doesHero have to do with strategic rhetoric?Homework:

1. Choose a political client, non-profit or policy to champion.

2. Complete readings, reflections and exercises.

28 Last day to drop

31 Rhetorical and style considerations: Online class.Reading: Eckhouse Ch. 1, Yahoo! Ch. 1-6

Reflection: Respond toHero according to concepts inEckhouse Ch. 1 and post

to wiki by 6 p.m.Exercises: Complete these Yahoo Style Guide Exercises before class:

1. Analyze an audience p. 24

2. Chart your voice characteristics p. 43

3. Is your site accessible p. 113.After reading contributions to Wiki, join online synchronous chat 7-8 p.m. to

discuss them (7 to 7:30 p.m.) and the exercises (7:30 8 p.m.):

Homework:

1. Analyze online materials promoting your chosen client or policy according tothe Yahoo.

2. Find out more about Yahoo! and Google analytics and contribute to next

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weeks analytics wiki.

Feb. 7 Audience considerations: Online.

Reading: Eckhouse Ch. 2-3, Yahoo Ch. 7, 8, 9.

Due: Web analyses.After reading contributions to Wikis and web analyses, join online synchronous

chat7-8 p.m. regarding audience.

Homework:

1. Respond to readings.

14 Argument: On-campus class and discussion.

Reading: Eckhouse Ch. 4, 5, 6

Bernhardt, Stephen A. (Feb. 1986). Seeing the text. College composition

and communication 37:1, 66-78.

Birdsell & Goarke (1996 Summer). Toward a theory of visual argument,

Argumentation and advocacy 33, 1-10.Film:An inconvenient truth

21 Online Argumentation and Resources: Online.

Reading: Eckhouse Ch. 7, Yahoo 16, 17, 18, 19Shauf, Michele (March 2001). The problem of electronic argument: A

Humanistss perspective, Computers and composition, 33-37.

Analyze websites for and against policy according toprooflines.

Evaluate according to SEO and legal considerations.Start a wordlist that you think they might need.After reading contributions to Wikis and web analyses, join online synchronous

chat7-8 p.m.Chat: How do these considerations influence the argument(s)?

28 Topic development and research: Online.

Reading: Lanham (1994). The implications of electronic information for the

sociology of knowledge.Leonardo 27:2, 155-163.Stroupe, C. (2000, May). Visualizing English: Recognizing the hybrid literacy of

visual and verbal authorship on the web. College English 62:5, p. 607-632.

And as assigned.After reading contributions to Wikis and web analyses, join online synchronous

chat7-8 p.m.

Mar. 7 Macintosh workshop: On campus.

Reading: As assigned.

11 Last day to withdraw

14 No class. Spring Break.

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21 Production. Professor available on campus.

28 Production. Professor available online.

Apr. 4 Production. Professor available on campus.

11 Presentations, discussion on campus

18 Presentations, discussion on campus.

25 Presentations, discussion if needed.

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Crafting the Message Syllabus

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