Assignment 3: Tech-to-Pop Translation     Draft: 11.10 | Due: 11.17

[Description]: Your boss wants to draw new talent, investors, young minds, and, generally, engage the public with the work of your field through a popular presentation of your research. Specifically, she wants you to address a gap in general knowledge, a misconception, or some other problem your field has. She asks you to analyze what other companies in your area are doing with popular translation and public engagement. Your job is to present a report of 3 different types of popular translations of a similar technical concept (try your hardest to find at least 1 example actually about your topic or a similar topic). The rhetorical translation moves you analyze (whether it be in Radiolab, TedTalks, RSAanimate videos, Neil Degrasse Tyson’s Cosmos, famous scientist’s tweets, social media, comicbook translations, museum exhibits, or something else you know about) should be specific instances (include quotes, screencaptures, and pictures) and substantially different (there’s no reason to present your boss with 3 of the exact same tactics). You’ll start by describing the concept you are addressing in an easy to understand way and end by proposing some kind of popular production based on your research. In writing your proposal-report you’ll want to consider a few things: [General Requirements]: • 3-4 single-spaced pages. Not including images. • Should be in the style of a proposal report: considers the proposal requirements from Anderson:

483-506. • Your introduction should both describe what you are doing—writing a proposal report about a

specific process and why you are doing it—what problem are you addressing in your field (A misconception? A lack of people researching something? Etc.)

• Include analyses of three different types of popular translations. • Quote and provide images of your 3 sources—quotations need to follow 2009 MLA. • Include 3 images formatted according to our common errors worksheet and referenced in the text. • End with a specific proposal of something you think your company should do, based on your

analyses of your three examples (describe what you’re taking and avoiding from your 3 examples). There should be some kind of feasibility analysis of this proposal. (Should they create a podcast? What should it look like? An experiment that could travel to schools? What should the presentation look like? Etc.)

[Note]: This assignment is purposely open and could be stretched in a variety of different directions. If you want to actually create a solution rather than analyzing three popular examples, that’s a possibility. If you want to describe and attempt to solve some kind of real user-centered design problem (like the pill bottle example we’ve looked at) that’s also a possibility. Before you stretch the assignment, however, please get an approval slip from me. [Example Problems]: A lack of women in the field of engineering; a misunderstanding about the dangers of fracking (or a fear of the wrong parts of fracking); a lack of knowledge of what to do in a tornado; a lack of interest/knowledge of young people in your major.

Specific Requirements: General Outline (See: Anderson 483-506)

I. Introduction: What is your problem? Whom are you writing to? • Exigence:  Should  introduce  the  purpose/objective  of  your  report.  Why  are  you  writing?  What  problem  

is  your  popular  translation  analysis  and  proposal  attempting  to  solve?    • Audience:  Should  introduce  the  specific  audience  you  are  attempting  to  create  your  popular  

translations  for  (5th  grade  science  students;  home  owners  in  flood  plains;  etc.).  Ideally,  this  audience  analysis  will  take  the  form  of  a  user  persona  as  looked  at  in  class.  

• Intro:  Should  briefly  intro  the  three  specific  sources  you’ve  chosen.  Don’t  analyze  them,  yet,  just  tell  your  reader  what  they  are.  

II. 3 Analyses: What are your examples? What are they doing? Why are they doing it? • Should  include  some  reasoning  behind  you’ve  chosen  each  source.  Why  choose  this  example  and  not  

another  one?  How  is  each  source  suitable  for  your  audience  and  problem?  • Describes  the  rhetorical  moves  of  the  source  with  specific  examples—What  is  this  popular  translation?  

What  does  it  do?  How  does  it  do  it?  And  why  does  it  do  it?  How  will  it  specifically  serve  your  audience?  Basically,  describe  why  this  source  is  designed  in  the  way  it  is?  Similar  to  our  radio  lab  analysis.  

• Each  source  should  have  some  kind  of  image  or  infographic—three  images  not  two.  • Should  include  pros  and  cons  of  each  source.  • Should  include  several  points  of  comparison  between  the  sources.  How  are  they  similar  and  different?  

III. Proposal/Conclusion: What should we do? • Summarizes  the  takeaways  from  your  analysis  section.  From  your  pros  and  cons,  what  have  you  

learned  to  avoid  and  what  have  you  learned  works  well  from  your  analysis.  • Applies  what  you’ve  learned  from  your  analysis  section  to  solve  the  problem  from  your  introduction.  • Generates  a  specific  proposal  of  some  kind  of  popular  translation  (an  activity,  movie,  workbook,  

presentation)  that  applies  the  techniques  you’ve  learned  from  the  analysis  section.  • Calculates  the  feasibility  of  your  final  proposal—why  is  this  the  best  option  according  feasibility  

measures  like  time,  capital,  manpower,  etc.  

Assignment 3: Tech-to-Pop Translation

____Translation Analyses (35 points) • Presents pros, cons, and specific examples of three different popular translations. • Clearly presents knowledge of rhetorical/tech writing practices and ethos, pathos, and logos as related to user-centeredness.

• Presents not only what companies are doing but discusses why you think they are using those translation tactics.

____Audience Analysis (15 points)

• In your introduction your niche market/audience/consumer is discussed in some detail: are you trying to recruit children, adults, college students? How will your proposed content change depending on audience?

• Throughout your report you take into consideration how each social media tactic might positively or negatively affect that audience (you might quote examples if specific audiences are participating/responding to the campaigns you are analyzing).

____Introduction (10 points)

• You briefly introduce what your report is and what its purposes/objectives are in a way that makes sense in a business setting and takes into consideration the multiple audiences that might read your report.

• Make sure these sections are substantive, they should not be empty gestures or redundant. ____Proposal (20 points)

• The main purpose of this proposal report is to propose something. So, in your conclusion—over a couple paragraphs—you should describe what you think your boss should do. Draw upon the pros and cons of your analyzed samples as well as your knowledge of your specific problem and specific audience to imagine, in some detail, what a good solution/pop translation would look like for your concept and why it is user-centered, feasible, and well conceived.

• Considers the costs (time, money, manpower) of each tactic: try to propose low cost versions of the professional translations you encounter.

____Document Design (10 points)

• The document should be browseable with clear sections, bullets, numberings, etc. • The document’s design should be uniform and not too busy—use the same size text and font for each section. If you include bullets in one section, include them in another. Don’t go overboard with different fonts, sizes, colors, etc.

• Document should be visually interesting—include some kind of flair. Think about some kind of color, your use of white space, and including images, etc.

____Writing Quality (10 points)

• Should follow the genre standards of the proposal report. • Writing is concise, not redundant, and clear. • Writing doesn’t contain spelling or grammatical errors. • Writing is specific: contains specific examples and nothing is included that isn’t necessary.

______Total (100 points)