ENG 231 6.R: Catharsis Resources

Posted on February 17, 2022 by insignificantwrangler@gmail.com

Today’s Plan:

  • Brainstorming Some Walking Dead Paper Angles
  • Revisiting the Schedule
  • Tragedy / Catharsis Resources
  • Homework

Brainstorming Some Walking Dead Paper Angles

First, let’s clear up what catharsis might mean, especially the idea that catharsis is a kind of pleasure. We all get that catharsis for Aristotle means that we watch something painful and then (sort of) feel good about it. But why do we feel good about it? How do we flush out the particulars? This is where things get tricky. Let me introduce two/ interpretations–I roll with the second more than the first.

Okay, the first is that we recognize in the protagonist something that plagues ourselves, one of our foibles, weaknesses, flaws. Hence we pity them. Or we see that they are the victims of the bad circumstances and we pity them. And, at the same time, because we identify with them, we fear that we could succumb to the same fate, make the same bad decisions.

But the play resolves itself, through the play we learn to overcome those bad things, to fix our flaw, to be better. And thus, we are purged, cleansed, of our pity and fear. The pleasure here is tied to the pleasure of learning, of becoming better.

I don’t really buy that model. Rather, I think we reconcile, accept, those flaws. Perhaps we learn the importance of overcoming our flaws, perhaps we are better at avoiding them. But I think catharsis more as a coming to terms with our frailties, learning to live with them, coming to recognize humanity as something over than divine, ideal, or perfect. Pleasure here is more timid, subdued. It is a kind of peace that eschews from a contentment with our/selves.

Question(s) to throw at Walking Dead:

  • Is this game a tragedy (by Aristotelian standards)?
  • Did you have a cathartic experience?
  • How/does the interactive nature of the game augment/diminish its potential as a tragedy capable of producing catharsis?
  • Can you close read one or two key moments in the game to illustrate your answers to the questions above?
  • Let’s talk about your relationship to Lee. Is it sympathetic or empathetic? [What is the distinction between the two?]
  • Let’s talk about whether the anxiety a question-based game produces resonates with “pity” and “fear”

Revisiting the Schedule

  • Tuesday, Feb 1st: Meakin et al
  • Thursday, February 3rd: Discuss Meakin. Build worklist of terms/ideas/heuristics. Identify games. Team assignment: research a term other than catharsis and share with the class. Aristotle’s Poetics Start. Homework: Read Curran. .
  • Tuesday, February 8th: Read/Lecture: Aristotle’s Poetics (20min), Discuss Curran / focus on Catharsis (30min). Lecture #2: intro to memesis, with discussion of Aristotle and Player Complicity (as “action,” hamaritia, perhaps riff on Meakin and “epiphany,” plot, continuity, rupturing complicity. Homework: Play game and journal #1.
  • Thursday, February 10th: Discuss Catharsis (again). Empty time for catch up? Reviewing Project 1 papers? Homework, Read Maetas, 2001, An Preliminary Poetics for Interactive Drama and Games. Play your game and journal #2.
  • Tuesday, February 15th: Discuss Mateas, hammer out working heuristic. Homework: Play game and journal #3.
  • Thursday, February 17th: Read Potzsch and Waszkiewicz (in addition to the Meakin, an example of what your paper might look like). Homework: Play your game a lot #4 #5.
  • Tuesday, February 22nd: Read more Potzsch, revist Meakin. Homework: Play your game #6. Write Your Paper.
  • Thursday, February 24th: Game talk presentations. Homework: Write Your Paper.
  • Tuesday, March 1st: Game talk presentations. Homework: Write Your Paper.
  • Thursday, March 3rd: Papers due at midnight.

So, I have not asked you to read anymore secondary material for your paper–we didn’t read the Mateas or the Potzsch.

I also don’t feel anyone will be ready to present on their paper next Thursday. So here’s the plan. Our February 24th session is cancelled. We will sign up for in-class research presentations next Tuesday, and you will give those presentations on March 1st and March 3rd. I’ll have some presentation expectations to share with you next Tuesday, but generally prepare for talking for 3-4 minutes, giving a quick outline of what you looked for in your game, and focusing our attention on one scene for a close reading (the kind of which we brainstormed on Tuesday). Papers will be due the Friday before spring break.

Catharsis Resources

Here’s what I have:

The catharsis portion of your paper needs to reference the Aristotle, the Curran, the Meakin et al, and at least on other source (doesn’t have to be academic) on catharsis and/or another related term from our heuristic.

Homework

Read Pötzsch and Waszkiewicz, Life Is Bleak (in Particular for Women Who Exert Power and Try to Change the World): The Poetics and Politics of Life Is Strange.

I’m offering this as a model for your paper. I will ask you to invest a bit more energy in defining catharsis, but otherwise they offer a great outline for thinking about these papers:

  • Intro
  • Definition of Catharsis>/li>
  • Reading the Play as a Tragedy (breaking it into acts, summarizing how each act “works” in terms of the tragic action)
  • Arguing for something cool/different/unexpected

Given how long we have for these papers, I am thinking that they should check in (gods help me) around 3000-4000 words (6-8 double spaced). I anticipate some of you will write considerably more than that.

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ENG 301 6.R: Grant Writing Crash Course

Posted on February 17, 2022 by insignificantwrangler@gmail.com

Today’s Plan:

  • Parts of a Grant
  • General Strategies
  • Grant Research / Tools
  • Revising a Grant Application for Concision and Readability

Parts of a Grant

Let’s take a look at the Community Resource Center’s Common Grant Application. While there:

  • User’s Guide
  • Tips
  • Length of a Narrative: 4 pages, single-spaced

Grant writing 101: A Few Introductory Tips

  • Invention/Organization: Always be sure to read an RFP / application form extremely carefully and provide exactly [only] what the app / prompt is asking for
  • Invention/Diction: Always scan an organizations website and promotional materials for language and terms
  • Research: It is easier to find funds for “new” projects than for “general operating costs”
  • Style: Your prose must be concise, yet detailed and engaging. Every word or sentence has to count (because)
  • Organization/Style: Your reader is under no obligation to read your entire proposal. They will likely skim. We have to do everything we can to make the most important part of our application the most prominent and accessible

Grant Writing Research Tools/Process:

Homework

Revise the program section of our sample grant.

Find and take a photo of an “ugly” or “ineffective” flyer.

Also, here’s the calendar for the next few weeks:

  • Tuesday, Week 7: Grant Writing Crash Course. Homework: Revising the Project section of a grant application.
  • Thursday, Week 7: Design Crash Course. Homework: Redesigning a bad flyer. Read Fadde and Sullivan.
  • Tuesday, Week 8: Discuss Fadde and Sullivan. Designing Information crash course.
  • Thursday, Week 8: Social Media Crash Course. Homework: Designing social media materials. Work on Major Project. Begin drafting Presentation script.
  • Tuesday, Week 9: Designing Professional Presentations crash course. Homework: Complete Team Presentations.
  • Thursday, Week 9: Team Presentations [October 20th]
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ENG 231 6.T: Checking In on Project 2

Posted on February 15, 2022 by insignificantwrangler@gmail.com

Today’s Plan:

  • Project 1: Revise and Resubmit
  • Project 2: Some Preliminary Paper Expectations
  • Thursday: Class in Ross 2261 Computer Lab

Project 1: Revise and Resubmit

I realized after last class that I didn’t specify that everyone is invited to revise and resubmit their Project One paper for a higher grade. Generally, my feedback should help guide your revisions, and you are welcome to pop into office hours to clarify what I’m looking for. Project One Revisions will be due March 1st.

Project 2: Checking In / Preliminary Paper Expectations

Let me review:

  • Thus far you should have played your game for X hours
  • Thus far you should have used our heuristic as a way of thinking and writing about your game

I skimmed through the gaming journals and found a wide range of progress. Word counts: 40, 350, 495, 500, 800, 910, 1100, 1115, 2600. Of course, quantity and quality, and what have you. I didn’t score the journals. I will on Thursday. Have 1000 words.

Curran on Catharsis

Shorter response:
So I see catharsis as the transition of emotions from pity or fear to something else like relief or contentment.

Longer response:
From the closing, I understand that Curran is promoting the idea that catharsis involves creating in the audience pity and fear, followed by (not getting rid of it) ‘compensating for’ said emotions by offering relief in the form of the understanding that comes with the unachievable-in-real-life birds eye view of a tragic story. Curran poses the question “what is the other emotion that compensates for the pain” and doesn’t exactly answer it. It seems he’s saying the answer is catharsis itself, but we can’t have the word in the definition of the word now can we.

Me: I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the Greek, it reads something like catharsis works by generating catharsis, which serves to temper catharsis.

To be honest I’m not fully convinced by Curran’s conclusion. He seems to be arguing the important factor of tragedy is the fact that it presents us with something to pity+/fear in a context where we can see the whole picture–and that that in itself is the catharsis. I think I agree that in most cases at least, tragedy creates the initial emotions that need to be remedied( though that idea sends me down a slippery slope of seeing tragedy as a weird privileged vomitorium-type thing. We just create unpleasant emotions to have them purged/’compensated for’? That feels real weird.).

But I’m not convinced the “point” is the relief from seeing the whole story of a tragedy. I understand there is something there, where seeing a story fully complete gives us a sort of relief we can’t get from life. There’s something about seeing the whole tragic picture that is doing something important. But is that thing it’s doing arguably educating? Something Curran already discounted?

Me:
I write this sharing your skepticism. I think there might be some relief in seeing the whole along the lines of the comfort we get for thinking there’s justice in the universe, and/or proposing that there is some underlying sense to our pain. Curran is emphasizing the “continuity of plot,” especially because it can offer us hope. Perhaps, unlike the tragic character, we can recognize the moment(s) of opportunity to escape our fatal flaw. Perhaps we find solace in the incredible, the artificial, series of coincidences that lead to the fall (although this feels more likely in comedy, the unpredictable rise).

I’ll say that I don’t think the purpose of tragedy is to release fear or pity. That’s too narrow. Both in the sense that I don’t think tragic exploration limits itself to what we fear and who we pity (for suffering what seems injust or caprice whims of fate).

Catharsis reaches out to us and reminds us, rekindles, relights, what is already there. Our fear of death. Our fear of loss. Our struggle to find meaning in our lives. Our desire for a soulmate. The pain of rejection or betrayal. Catharsis is a term for the resonance between what we see on the stage, the screen, the page, and our own troubles. This isn’t to say we can’t have a powerful sympathetic response to a narrative to which we have no lived correlate–I find Eli Weisel’s Night to be incredibly powerful despite the fact that I have not experienced genocide. Night is doing powerful work, I would simply insist that it is not cathartic work, because there is no resonance for me. This does not mean it is not “pedagogic” instructive–it certainly aims to teach us how (not) to live. But there is no movement, connection to my life (and, without falling into the “universal” rabbit hole, etc. etc).

So, if I had to lay down a fundamental first principle for catharsis, it would be that there must be a fundamental identification between the action of the tragedy and the audience/reader/player.

Last of Us and a Tragic Hermeneutic Method

Reaction to the opening scene of Last of Us.

Google Doc Last of Us notes

Methodology for a close reading:
Oscillation between concrete detail/event and its meaning/purpose.

First, the “action” of the tragedy happens at the very end of the game. Everything that comes before it builds our empathy for the main character.

Second, I think the opening scene is particularly powerful and cathartic. Joel struggles to escape the initial outbreak with his daughter, only for her to be killed?

What emotions does this scene work to generate?

You won’t know until the end of the tragedy whether those emotions fit into a continuous whole, what part they play in the dramatic work. Does that make sense?

Methodology for a close reading:
Oscillation between concrete detail/event and its meaning/purpose.

Homework

Thursday’s class is in the Ross 2261 computer lab.
Continue to play your game and write (you should have a minimum of 1200 words in your gaming journal).

Be sure to submit a gaming journal to campus (Google Doc preferred, but I’ll look at a Word Doc too).

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ENG 301 6.T: Corder

Posted on February 15, 2022 by insignificantwrangler@gmail.com

Today’s Plan:

  • Corder Questions
  • Corder Lecture
  • Closing Thought
  • Homework:

Corder Questions

Group One: [sections 1-3]: What does Corder mean by the idea that we make narratives? Why do said narratives complicate traditional notions of argument and rhetoric?
Group Two: [sections 4-6]: How can we describe Rogerian method? Why is Corder skeptical that such a method can be useful to rhetoric?
Group Three: [section 6-7]: Looking at section 7, would your frame Corder as an optimist or pessimist? What do “we” have to learn (and who are the “we” of this section’s final paragraphs)?
Group Four: [Section 8]:What do we make of section 8? Why is this story here? What does it exemplify or reinforce?
Group Five: [Section 9]: What does it mean to be “perpetually opening and closing” (29)? How can such a position help us be better? How does it tie to the other advice offered in this section?

Corder Questions #2

What challenge does Corder issue that problematizes all rhetoric, but especially positivistic rhetoric? // Why is Corder opposed to framing Rogers as a model for *all* argument? (His critique of Maxine Hairston, which involves one of the greatest “shade” sentences in the history of academia)
What dimensions does Corder add to argument that are often ignored?
What is the meaning(s) of the anecdote Corder uses later in the essay? Why include it? What claim/idea does it support?
Why does Corder use the word “love”? In what way is Corder’s approach to rhetoric like “love”? [That’s a really interesting terministic choice. I have a few ideas that I’ll share with you in class, but I am interested in how you interpret his decision. Note that I think this is *by far* the hardest question]

Homework

I’d like you to spend about 45 minutes reading your optional text. Those text choices were:

  • Grant Writing: Karsh and Fox, The Only Grant Writing Book You Will Ever Need (Recommended) (Focus on Funder’s Roundtables)
  • Document Design: Golumbiski and Hagen, White Space is Not Your Enemy (Recommended) (Focus on Design Sins and Works Every Time Layout)
  • Campbell, How to Build and Mobilize a Social Media Community for Your Nonprofit in 90 Days(Recommended)

We’ll start project 2 (a week and a half late!) on Thursday. Normally, I would put you into mini-teams focused on the different deliverables we’re to produce for our community partners; this semester, because we are behind, I am going to do a non-profit …

Schedule:

  • Thursday, in-class we will do a grant writing crash course. For homework, you will revise a portion of a grant application.
  • Tuesday, in-class we will review Golumbiski and Hagen’s Design Sins. For homework, you will review the Works Every Time layout approach and identify a flyer that requires a redesign.
  • Thursday, we will work in the computer lab to redesign a flyer. For homework, you will read Fadde and Sullivan.
  • Tuesday, we will collaborate to write an email based on the scenario in the Fadde and Sullivan
  • Thursday, we will discuss social media, practice writing a tweet, and design an instagram post. I should have all of the reports returned by then, so your homework will be to revise Project 1
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ENG 231 5.R: Procedural Feedback, Tragedy Gaming Journals

Posted on February 10, 2022 by insignificantwrangler@gmail.com

Today’s Plan:

  • Procedural Feedback
  • Tragedy Gaming Journals
  • Homework

Procedural Feedback

I’ve got a document that I want to share.

Also, we’ve got another “quiz” (not a quiz) in Canvas.

Tragedy Gaming Journals

I’ve done some work to distill our intellectual meanderings on tragedy into a (hopefully) more useful heuristic. Let’s take a look.

Homework

From my email:

Your homework in preparation for Thursday is to start playing your game for this project and to write a journal entry. Your journal entry should be focusing on the ideas we covered in class last week, and so I’d like you to try and craft a paragraph or two that makes a connection between Curran’s explication of catharsis and your game. Hence why I’m writing you now–so you have a bit of time to play your game for at least 45-60 minutes and then write about it for 15-30 minutes (which, hey, is the *exact* amount of time that Tuesday’s class would take). If you are selecting a longer game, then you should probably double the play time (and count that as additional homework for Thursday).

Now it is time to knock out another major chunk of your game. Your homework this weekend is to play for at least 2 hours [so, our running total is 3 hours thus far]. Then spend 30 minutes writing.

Your writing should take one of the questions/terms from the heuristic and apply it to your play thus far. Perhaps you have identified a kind of repetition. Perhaps you can see how the game is attempting to manipulate your emotions. Perhaps you are already afraid/concerned for what the game might make you do. Perhaps you have no emotional attachment to the protagonist (the game has failed to forge identification, and/or/thus failed to produce complicity).

This is the tricky part of the project–since I cannot predict how you will respond to your game. I cannot predict if you will have some kind of epiphany, some moment of inspiration or insight. A spark. A flash. Thought can be a cunning foe and/or a cruel ally.

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ENG 651 Week 5: Introduction to Grant Writing

Posted on February 8, 2022 by insignificantwrangler@gmail.com

Today’s Plan:

  • Grant Writing 101: A Few Introductory Tips
  • Review Time (Groups / Communication)
  • Potential Targets Report
  • Mini-Exercise #1: What Can I Learn About My Organization?
  • Mini-Exercise #2: Using the CRC Database to Identify Potential Funders
  • Exercise #3 (Time Permitting): Revising a Grant Application
  • Homework

Grant writing 101: A Few Introductory Tips

  • It is easier to find funds for “new” projects than for “general operating costs”
  • Always be sure to read an RFP / application form extremely carefully and provide exactly what the app / prompt is asking for
  • Always scan an organizations website and promotional materials for language and terms
  • Your prose must be concise, yet detailed and engaging. Every word or sentence has to count (because)
  • Your reader is under no obligation to read your entire proposal. They will likely skim. We have to do everything we can to make the most important part of our application the most prominent and accessible

Review Time

Poudre River Trail Corridor, Inc. (Team Amy)
Current status: Bob has emailed us back materials for review. Amy needs to email Bob and set up a meeting (cc me and I will attend the meeting if necessary, but I don’t think I need to be there).

CWA (Cycling Without Age) meeting was unfortunately cancelled, no update yet on a possible reschedule. Bob has given us three documents to review regarding the CWA grant project, including a 21 page Business Plan (including detailed budgetary information) and a WCF application draft (probably a bit too long? I do not know who/what WCF is and can’t find a RFP).

I have uploaded the materials to our Google Drive folder.

Here is there (rather messy) website.

Amy’s to-do for this week:

  • Read and mine the provided documents for the Organizational assignment (Mini-Exercise 1 and the homework below)
  • Contact Bob to arrange a meeting and discuss the grant application.

Amy’s other project: Although my undergraduates put together a grant target report for the organization last semester, I’d like you to go through the motions and familiarize yourself with the Foundation Center database. Rather than share their final report with you, I’m going to share their preliminary list. That should cut down on your workload. You’ll be responsible for using the database to research all the orgs list and, while you are there, identifying a few other candidates. Then, move beyond the list to procure grant application forms for 3 target organizations. Do some preliminary research into their application process; standard checklist:

  • Do they accept “unsolicited applications?” If no, then throw that one out. They are no use to us. (Note Foundation Directory tutorial video below on this
  • Do they require an LOI?
  • Do we have a contact information for a Program Officer* we can contact to make sure we are a good fit?
  • Take a look at their application–how/does it differ from the CCGA? What else do we need to know?

Immigrant Refugee Center of Northern Colorado (Team Erika)
Erika emailed Lisa to arrange a meeting; she has not yet emailed back. Lisa might be waiting for me to respond to her availability on February 14th (her meeting ends at 7:00). Let us discuss.

IRC Website

Erika’s To-Do List for the week:

  • I think your first task should be to do a thorough research project on available funding streams. When I talked to Lisa in January, she was interested in grants that dealt with professional development and opportunities for immigrants including, if I remember correctly, job training but also leadership and management opportunities as well.

You’ll eventually need to fill out the CCGA pre-draft material (mini-exercise #1 below), but let’s wait until we get some grant writing materials from Lisa.

Center for Applied Contemplative Studies (Team Cole and Emily)
Status Update: we have a preliminary meeting with Michael on Thursday at 3:30 via Teams, so we have to do some stuff to prepare for that meeting.

They have a website.

Michael provided us with a long, detailed (and probably expensive) Hanover research report detailing potential funders (link is below, we’ll look at it in a bit). I skimmed it and noticed the majority of organizations were Colorado centered, private foundations (I don’t remember seeing a .gov grant in there). Good! If you took 301, then you should probably recognize the report format–while they use a fancy designed template, the contents are just a flushed out version of what I ask you to do in 301.

Michael’s email:

I’ve attached to this email the results of a 2019 Hanover Research grant prospecting report concerning prospective funding sources for our Center. If you review pages 7-11, you’ll see two foundations whose grant programs focus on mindfulness and meditation. We would like to receive funding to support mindfulness teacher certification for 2-5 UNC faculty/staff members (determined through a competitive application process) to support the development of Center programming and outreach.

Cole and Emily–fast turn around here–but give the report a read before our meeting, focus attention on the two funders he highlights here. *Find the application portal for those funders* and, before the meeting, take a look at what we need to make first contact and to complete the application (some portals will require you make an account to see the application–if so, then do that).

In that meeting we have to identify if Michael already has budgetary information for the teacher certification program (see Bob’s Business Plan for what we will eventually need–not all 21 pages, but descriptions, time lines, and most importantly, a budget).

Cole and Emily’s To-Do List for the Week:

  • Attend Meeting
  • TBD

Lifestories (Team Jacob and Austin)
Status Update: Gwen Schooley, the org’s resident grant writer, and I have been in contact. Gwen’s email requested that we revise their CCGA (Colorado Common Grant Application), although I am not exactly sure what that revision will entail. [Let’s go look at Gwen’s email].

Here’s the email I sent Gwen today (y’all should be CC’d into it):

I’m cc’ing Austin and Jacob into our message thread. Before they begin working on the CCGA revisions we discussed in our previous emails, I’m going to ask them to put together a Potential Funders report, one that uses the CRC America and Foundation Center Database to research private organizations (mostly Colorado based) that we believe would make a good match for Lifestories.

I know we discussed some of this back in December, but I can’t find my notes right now. If I remember correctly, then you would be interested in grants that help cover general operating costs.

In addition to that, I was wondering if there an existing training program that could be expanded? Similarly, is there an annual retreat program that could be expanded? As I think we talked about, it can be easier sometimes to locate funding for a new program, or to expand an existing program, than it can be to find funding that supports general operating costs (although it certainly isn’t impossible and I think we are up for a challenge).

We will identify a few organizations in the 2-5k range and a few in the 10-25k range so that we can adapt to what you need/prefer.

So, you have the same initial assignment as Erika–you will have to produce a Potential Targets report from scratch. And, as with Erika, I don’t think you have to worry about familiarizing yourself with the organization *until* Gwen passes along some of her materials (so much of that initial work should be in there).

Jacob and Austin’s To Do list for the week:

  • Work on the Potential Funders Report

Potential Targets Report Status

  • PRTC, Amy: I’ll hand over undergrad list, Amy will use the database to do advanced research and then mine founders websites/portals for application information. NEEDS TO USE FOUNDATION CENTER DATABASE.
  • IRC, Erika: We need a detailed report from the ground up. I’ll give you two weeks to do this. NEEDS TO USE FOUNDATION CENTER DATABASE.
  • LifeStories, Jacob and Austin: I’d like a detailed report from the ground up. NEEDS TO USE FOUNDATION CENTER DATABASE.
  • CFASC, Emily and Cole: They already have a Potential Target Report. You do not need to write one. So WTF do you do for the next two weeks? Tentative Answer: we will know more after Thursday’s meeting.

Let’s take a look at the typical undergraduate report, this one was composed for the Holocaust Memorial Organization of Greeley and Northern Colorado.

Let’s compare that to the professionally developed Hanover Research report for CFASC that Michael Kimball shared with us. (Look at the “First Steps”). What the HMOG report above is missing (Google Slides, fine grain Foundation Center data).

What I would like you to do is to write one of these reports. Generally I give the undergrads 3 weeks (working in a team of 3-5) to complete these. I’m going to give you two weeks. Hooray graduate school!

Grant Writing Research Tools/Process:

Mini-Exercise #1: Getting to Know Your Community Partner

I’ve put together a template for you to copy and populate.

Mini-Exercise #2: Let’s Start Researching Some Funders

Let’s use the CRC Database. Make a spreadsheet in Google. We can use one of my old target sheets as a template.

Mini-Exercise #3

Let’s examine (and revise) part of a grant application.

When you are sharing your Google Docs with your teammates (or, um, even if you don’t have teammates), please share it with me:

insignificantwrangler@gmail.com

Homework

Reading: Karsh and Fox Grant Writing Book. These chapters deals with the early planning and research stages of a grant project. Kairos!

  • Lesson #3, Lesson #4 (skim for what we need to know), Lesson #5, and Funders Roundtable #1

Writing: Spend 90 minutes working on the If we are going to develop grant applications for our organizations, then we are going to have to do our homework and figure out:

  • what we already know
  • what we can find out from their website (and any materials they have already provided)
  • what we need to ask from them direclty

I think every team has a different amount of source information that they can work through. I’ve put together a Google Doc through which teams can

Due Tuesday, February 22nd: Grant Writing Target Report.

  • Template

Austin and Jacob have a more advanced assignment, since we already have a

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ENG 301 5.T: Methodology, Discussion

Posted on February 8, 2022 by insignificantwrangler@gmail.com

Today’s Plan:

  • Reviewing Methodology Sections
  • Developing Our Discussion Section
  • Assignment Sheet and/for Writing Center
  • Report Due Date / Jim Corder Reading

Reviewing Methodology Sections

One update. My original methodology blog post indicates that I identified 375 jobs for coding. However, the folder of jobs I provided the class contained only 249 jobs. Additionally, checking the spreadsheet, only 217 of those 249 jobs were reviewed by our team of researchers.

Discussion section workspace.

Let’s review the criteria for the methodology section I included in our class notes:

  • First, how did I collect the job ads (I described this process in a blog post, condense my Brumberger and Lauer discussion)?
  • Second, how did you select your 20 jobs from the job corpus?
  • Third, from where did we draw our coding scheme? [Note: In reviewing this, I realized we missed a major question, so here’s another one:]
  • 3.5, how can we concisely explain coding to a non-social scientist?
  • Fourth, what did we do to ensure that our data was reliable?

The overall goal of a methodology section: Could I recreate this work based on this section?

Discussion Section

Now that we’ve got our data finalized and (hopefully) looking pretty sweet, it is time to generate some thoughts about it. Here’s what you can do in your discussion section:

  • How does it compare to previous research (i.e., Brumberger and Lauer?). Put your top codes in direct comparison with theirs. Any surprising differences? Or does our research corroborate theirs?
  • Anything jump out at you? Anything you are pretty sure will surprise our audience(s) (particularly high school seniors / incoming first-years but also faculty?) What do you see that they probably don’t expect?
  • Let’s crowd source some “action points” for our audience. Since we know what the top skills are, we can try and think of courses/opportunities at UNCo that are particularly good at transferring those skills.

    • I’ve got something with which we can work.

I have created a workspace.

Report Assignment Sheet / Writing Center

Remember that you can earn extra credit on your final grade by bringing your report to the Writing Center. I’ve written up Thursday’s class notes into a more formal assignment sheet that you can bring to your consultation. The WC can help you regardless of where you are in the process! If you need help with organization, developing discussion points, working through the methodology (checking to see if someone from outside the class understands your description of our process), formatting graphs and figures, working on style, whatever–they can help.

Final Due Date

The final due date for this paper is Saturday, February 12th, at midnight.

Thursday we will meet in Ross 1240 to review introductions and then have time to work on your reports.

In preparation for next Monday’s class, I’ll ask you to read Jim Corder’s “Argument as Emergence, Rhetoric as Love” (files section) and complete the Canvas discussion post.

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ENG 301 4.R: Finalizing Data, Creating Graphs

Posted on February 3, 2022 by insignificantwrangler@gmail.com

Today’s Plan:

  • New Major is Approved! Available starting in Fall of 2022
  • Finalizing Data
  • Generating Graphs
  • Describing Visual Data
  • Homework

New Major is Approved!

You can now major in Writing, Editing, and Publishing.

You can minor in Writing, too.

If you are an English Major, then you can complete your MA in our 4+1 program.

Finalizing Our Data Part One: A Final Review

Let’s go look at our spreadsheet. For the first 15 minutes of class, I’d like you to review codes–check for accuracy.

Let’s divide up the codes by rows so we get coverage all over the sheet.

Jobs:

  • 0-40:Daggett, Garverick
  • 41-80: Heppenstall, Kerr, Mason
  • 81-120: Finken, Hoop, McIntire,
  • 121-160: Flanagan, Kamm, Melendez
  • 161-200: Freidenson, Kirk & Kirk,
  • 201-249: Duran, Santos, Ruck, Miniter

Finalizing Our Data Part Two: Arithmetic

Let me share another spreadsheet, the Spring 2022 Final Codes Total Sheet.

Coding scheme.

Visualizing Our Data: Let’s Make Some Graphs

Today we are going to work with the data we produced in the last class to generate, label, and modify some graphs in Google Sheets. Learning outcomes:

  • Inputting Data to the Template
  • Generating a Graph
  • Editing the Graph’s Axis/Labels/Title
  • Modifying the Graph’s Appearance
  • Inserting the Graph in a Google Doc

Inputting Data to the Template
Now you have to decide on which jobs your report will focus. You could write your report about all of the jobs. You could focus on Writing and Editing jobs. You could focus on Social Media and Marketing Jobs. Or Social Media, Marketing, and Design. Etc. Etc. My only requirement is that you report on more than one column of jobs.

In order to make it easier to generate graphs in Google Sheets, you are going to make a copy of this template and populate it with numbers. This will require you to do a bit more math.

Unless significant (something you want to highlight in your discussion), delete any columns that contain a zero or a really low number.

Generating a Graph
Here is a link to Google’s documentation on creating a graph in Google Sheets. Insert > Chart. Easy Peasie.

Editing the Graph’s Axis/Labels/Title
This is also covered in the documentation. Let’s change the title first to Figure 1. Tools and Technologies

Editing the Graph’s Appearance
Fonts
Label angle?
Neat trick: series > data labels

Inserting a Graph in a Google Doc

Two ways:

  • Right corner of graph: Three dots. Copy. Then paste in your document [benefit: graph is linked, if you change the spreadsheet, it will auto-update the graph]
  • Convert the graph into an image [benefit: easier to email to technophobes]

Describing Visual Data

Some generic Google search advice.

Homework

Remember that your homework for this weekend is to draft your methods section. If you want to get ahead, you should also write up the rest of your data section. We’ll brainstorm the Discussion section in Tuesday’s class, and talk about Introductions on Thursday.

One other challenge: these are not academic papers. They need to be formatted like a business paper, white paper, green paper, formal report, recommendation report, etc etc etc. The ABO book has a few useful examples. My thing(s):

  • Title Page
  • NO Abstract
  • Table of Contents
  • ToC means Page Numbers
  • Headings
  • Visuals need Figure labels and titles
  • A bit of color never hurt anyone–or did it?
  • I hate Times New Roman font and never want to see it again in my life
  • 11pt sounds about write for body copy
  • If you indent a paragraph, then I’ll think less of you (look closely at the formatting examples)

I think I’ve given you more hints about formatting here than I typically give.

Job Ad Report Expectations

Our first major paper this semester is the Job Ad Report. Generally this report is 6-8 pages, single-spaced (including title page, table of contents, and potential appendix). It does not need a formal reference list.

Rhetorical situation: we have been hired by the UNCo Department of English to write a report that can be delivered to high school seniors, and their parents, discussing the current job market for English majors. The report will also be distributed to University Administrators and used to leverage funding for the Department. The report will be shared with faculty in the Department ahead of a round of curricular revisions.

So we have multiple audiences for this report:

  • Client: English Department
  • Primary Audience: High School Seniors
  • Secondary Audiences: Parents (who may or may not be skeptical that English is a viable career field), Administrators (who may or may not be skeptical of investing more resources in English, particularly money on technology-driven classes/computer labs), Faculty (who may or may not still see the mission of English tied to the traditional Liberal Arts education)

Specs:

  • Length: Generally this report is 6-8 pages singled-spaced (this includes a title page, a table of content, and properly sized charts/graphs)
  • Front Loaded Introduction: Does the intro summarize all significant findings and include specific, actionable recommendations?
  • Methodology: The methodology section needs to do a few things. First, how did I collect the job ads (I described this process in a blog post, condense my Brumberger and Lauer discussion)? Second, how did you select your 20 jobs from the job corpus? Third, from where did we draw our coding scheme? Fourth, what did we do to ensure that our data was reliable? Could I recreate this work based on this section?
  • Presentation of Data: Does the section contain a table or graph of data?
    Can you understand the table or graph, or is there some mystery meat?
    Does the writer make clear what the table or graph says? (Is there summary of visuals?)
  • 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?
  • Style and Grammar [commas, run-ons, fragments, tense shifts, agreement errors, etc]
    Does the paper reflect our work on style (Williams and Bizup, Characters and Actions)?
  • Does this paper reflect expectations for business formatting? (Check the ABO book)
    • Title Page
    • Page Numbers (should not include the title page)
    • Also, this is a professional report, not an academic paper. We are not using APA or MLA format for citing sources. Instead, we will rely on AP style–which uses in-line citation.
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ENG 231 4.R: Meakin et al on Hellbalde / Aristotle’s Poetics

Posted on February 3, 2022 by insignificantwrangler@gmail.com

Today’s Plan:

  • Writing Major / Minor
  • Developing a Handbook of Poetic Terms
  • Reading Aristotle’s Poetics

New Major is Approved!

You can now major in Writing, Editing, and Publishing.

You can minor in Writing, too.

Developing a Handbook of Poetic Terms

I have created a collaborative workplace.

Reading Aristotle’s Poetics

I’ve put together a doc for this, too.

Homework

Read the Curran. Discussion post on Canvas.

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ENG 651 Week 4: Community Partnerships / Community Partners

Posted on February 2, 2022 by insignificantwrangler@gmail.com

Today’s Plan:

  • Building a Reflective Framework
  • Week Four Write Ups
  • Meeting Our Community Partners (So Far)
  • Time to Buy a Book
  • Let’s Review the Review Essay
  • For Next Week’s Class

Towards Building a Reflective Framework

Before I read the thing I wrote–which of the two pieces this week did you find more useful? Engaging? Why?

I wrote a thing.

Let’s Meet Our Community Partners

The expectation is that between next week and spring break you will log somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 hours working with a community partner on a project.

Let’s look at the developing list of projects.

Time to Buy a Book

Let’s harken back to the syllabus:

I would also recommend purchasing one of the following books, depending on what kind of specialized work you would like to do during the Community Engagement project:

Let’s Review the Review Essay

First, I am extending the deadline until next Monday. I’ve got two other sets of papers to read Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. If I won’t be able to grade your papers until Monday at the earliest, then I might as well give you more time.

Length: 2500-3500 words. Your review should synthesize/compare at least 6 articles. One thing I mentioned in the original project description was that your essay should be arranged topically. What does that mean?

What *not* to do.

Let’s talk about my Kalman article.

I’ve written about the R&R for that article here.

For Next Week’s Class

First, make sure you buy your copy of (presumably) the Karsh and Fox Grant Writing book (unsure about Cole and Jacob).

Second, complete your review essay.

There is no other required reading for next week. My tentative plan for next week involves: a 10 minute writing warm up centered around your review essay with a follow up discussion, then shifting into grant writing: examining the standard application document and revising an old grant application together in class.

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