FINAL PAPER FOR THE DISCIPLINE
This page is an overview of the documents due by the end of the term.
Purpose: Practice pulling rhetorical principles as well as technical areas of writing into a disciplinary paper on a topic of your choice. Use jargon, methods that are common in your discipline. If you aren't sure what those disciplinary expectations are, ask your advisor or a professor in your field. I am your audience which means I am dependent on your paragraph structure, your amount of detail, examples, and concise word-choice. I suggest choosing a topic that you want to learn more about in your discipline. You will make an argument on behalf of your topic. If nanotechnology interests you then why should researchers bother with a new technology when we have other sound and proven technologies to continue working with? If you believe literature is important then how would you argue for more reading and writing when we can wait for the film on NetFlix? Do you find Shakespeare interesting? Is there really 1 Shakespeare? Is he a she? If Diabetes 2 is important to know about, how do you make your case when In-N-Out starts grilling their onions? Your final paper is not a report but an argument on the topic's relevance and importance.
Please consider asking the following questions:
- What evidence is needed to support your topic?
- Which images (not text) would be difficult to argue against?
- Which credibility would help your argument?
- What kind of argument (to inform, to persuade, etc.) best suits your data?
- When might your researched material be an example of our course material?
Here are a few examples of student work in past classes:
| Bucky Balls—Relevance and Potential |
A.I.D.S. and College Students—Everyone is at Risk |
| Poetry—Relevance and Societal Need |
Creatine and College Students—Not a Problem for the Body |
| Autism and Societal Acceptance |
Children's Literature—Beyond Cute, Social Implications |
| Green Building—Benefits outweigh Costs |
Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome—Possible Recovery and Ability to Adjust |
| Occupational Therapy and Muscular Dystrophy |
Computers meet Biology—Frankenstein Lives |
| Classical Music Isn't Dead—Cultural Influences on Contemporary Society |
Fine Arts and Stroke Victims—How the Arts Contribute to Continuous Therapy |
| African-Americans in Film—U.S. History as Entertainment |
Space Travel Independently—Avoid N.A.S.A. and Federal Gov't. |
Once you have your topic, start the research. Here are the details and specifics expected from the final paper.
FINAL PROJECT FOR AN OUTSIDE AUDIENCE
The project is based on your paper's data. I suggest having your paper's research complete before beginning your ideas for the project. Purpose: Presenting your topic to an audience outside of your discipline. Choose an outside audience. Do not choose "The General Public" or "My Classmates". These two audiences are too large. Be more specific as your project will become more clear as you clarify your audience. Here are examples of what students worked on in past classes:
| Regrigerator Magnet with Reminders of Sweet and Salty Healthy Snacks |
Wrist Band with Folic Acid Reminder for Pregnant Women |
| Pamphlet with diagrams of muscles and activities for exercise for children |
Bookmark with Statistics on Reading's Influence and a List of Reocmmended Good Books |
| Webpage Resource for K-6 teachers on Environmental Responsibility |
Pamphlet for Parents on Pepsi's Healthy Products |
| Children's Song—Acoustic Guitar on Living Green |
Fry Bread with Soy Flour Cooked in Canola |
| Dog Collar with 4 Reminders for Healthy Dogs |
4 Menus for Children to Cook Healthy |
FINAL PRESENTATION OF PROJECT TO THE CLASS
Purpose: Present your project to your chosen audience (the class will be your audience). Use Keynote or Powerpoint (bring laptops if you wish). You will create a thing, a handout, a flyer, a book, a magnet, a bumper sticker, a recipe or two, whatever suits your topic and your chosen audience. Most projects are suited for a Keynote or Powerpoint slide presentation. A few are suited for posterboards. You will choose.
You will also write up a 1-2 page description of the project and how it connects to your chosen audience. Make sure you state the problem you are addressing. Here is a bit more on the project.
For this class I want you to practice presenting yourself as you might at an interview. Wear clothes you normally wouldn't wear to class. Pay attention to your physical appearance with a goal of "appearing" professional. If you might wear a tie but you don't own a tie, consider our second-hand store Savers over by the mall. Borrow jackets, blouses, hair pieces (for women). Borrow dress shirts, jackets, slacks (for men). Consider all those times you were distracted when a professor stood in front of the class lecturing about something with a stain on his shirt, or a nervous tap of the pen on the lecturn. We all need practice.
ABSENCES
I cannot stress how important it is to attend class during our final presentations. You will be marked down 10 points for each absence during our final presentations-period. Please attend and be courteous and professional during your classmate's presentations.
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