Project 3: Visual Representations of Argument

And Experimental Revision

CONTEXT
In the previous two projects, weve focused on generating writing, and with the discourse
community papers, weve talked about how research changes the process.. In the third project,
we will focus on revising what was deemed as complete and see how our ideas change when
we revise our previous work into a visual text.
WRITING SCENARIO
You will return to your discourse community research or your literacy narrative and revise your
work into a visual composition. Think about how elements of rhetorical situation such as
audience and purpose (e.g. to inform, to dispel misconceptions, to recruit, to call for action, etc.)
change or remain the same as you radically revise. Think about what kind of message your old
text send and what your new text will send. Also, think about if your revision requires you to
conduct new research.
DELIVERABLES
Design Plan (500 words)
Develop a plan for your visual argument that you can use as a guide for completing the project
and that shows me your preparatory work. Clearly state your intended audience and what you
know and assume about them, describe your purpose and strategies for fulfilling that purpose,
lay out a plan for producing the final product. You should also frame your plan in terms of how
your work is evolving. With such thorough revising, what are your strategies to revise?
Visual Argument
Produce a visual composition that draws on your argument and research from one of the
previous projects that also displays a revision process. This composition should take the form a
digital PDF. Otherwise, you have a great deal of leeway for what your composition will look
like, as long as it incorporates design principles (e.g. CRAP, color theory, typography, white
space, etc.). You may find that the visual argument makes more of an explicit argument than
your paper did, though the shape of that argument is up to you.
Explication (900-1000 words)

Write an essay explaining the thought that went into revising your writing into a visual
argument and the ways you navigated the process (design and writing). You might include, for
example:

How you translated textual claims into visual claims

How you drew on class readings and activities to approach the assignment
How you attempted to implement your design plan and what changed along the way
How you managed resources, including time and technology, to carry out your work
How the project changed (or reaffirmed) your subject matter and possibly your
understanding of it.

You are not limited to these items and do not need to cover them in this order; I am more
interested to see that you understand the nuances of writing, persuasion, revision, and design
than to see that youve checked items off a list. You do not have space to cover everything, so
choose the most important points. As with the design plan, I am your audience for this essay.
GOALS
This project aims to (1) consider what it means to globally revise, and revise ambitiously, (2)
prompt our thinking on the ways that content is adapted for different rhetorical situations and
media, (2) allow us to write for an audience larger than our classroom, and (3) give us practice
with visual design and an unfamiliar genre.