Today’s Plan:
- Ordering Your Project 2 Text
- Brainstorming the Discussion Section
- Reviewing Reports
Ordering Your Project 2 Text
As we prepare for Project 2, I’d emphasize how the syllabus calls on you to buy one of these three books:
- Grant Writing: Karsh and Fox, The Only Grant Writing Book You Will Ever Need (Recommended)
- Document Design: Golumbiski and Hagen, White Space is Not Your Enemy (Recommended)
- Campbell, How to Build and Mobilize a Social Media Community for Your Nonprofit in 90 Days(Recommended)
I met with the Loveland Community Kitchen folks last Thursday and discussed potential projects. They are very interested in a grant writing project that would secure funds for more eco-friendly utensils (moving from plastic to bamboo). They would love students to redesign their existing website (using a new Wix template). They would love students to develop various instagram content campaigns, including interviews with staff and (potentially) with clients (developing a Google Form to solicit feedback and stories and then transforming those into insta stories/posts).
Brainstorming the Discussion Section
Here’s how I described the discussion section last week:
- Discussion of Data: Does the writer highlight significant or unexpected elements of the data? Does the writer put the data in conversation with previous research (Brumberger and Lauer)? Does the writer make specific recommendations based on the data?
Here I would emphasize that the target audience for this report is high school seniors interested in majoring in English. On the one hand we want to convince them that majoring in English (or minoring in Writing) will prepare them for the job market.
But, at a more micro level, you are in a position to offer them concrete advice on how to maximize that preparation. The discussion section should offer specific recommendations for how to develop/document the tools, competencies, and characteristics that appear most often in your report.
It might be helpful to identify which of those things they will get from coursework, and which courses provide which things. ALSO, we should identify what other things might not appear in coursework, and how students might develop/document those things through extra-curricular activities. So let’s take 15-20 minutes and do that.
Reviewing Reports
We need a few papers and a rubric.
For Next Class
Draft the Discussion section, conclusion, and introduction. Bring a paper copy of your report to Wednesday’s class.
In Wednesday’s class, we will go over a few final expectations to help guide revision and do a peer review.
