Category: Writing

Do you think that changes in technology, and availability of data, have made greater changes to qualitative or to quantitative research methods and outcomes? How might you illustrate this? Give examples.
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5447013_1_Untitled-document–9-.docx

In the composition of their TED Talk, students must use a variety of mediums including short video clips (Maximum 30 seconds), Keynote, PowerPoint, Prezi, iMovie or other appropriate tools. Students may present this by either: a) Recording their voice over the top of their presentation OR b) Recording themselves NEXT TO their presentation (i.e. have the presentation on a screen beside the speaker etc.)
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Essay 1: Credibility Analysis of a Conspiracy (Theory)-Related Visual Text
Deadline
: Saturday, June 6, 2020, by MIDNIGHT.
Word Count
: 750 words minimum, not including the Works Cited page
First, you’ll choose a visual text to analyze. Your visual text should be discussing a conspiracy or a conspiracy theory in some way.Googling any of the conspiracy/conspiracy theories on the Course Topics handout in Monday 6/1’s foldershould bring up Youtube videos exploring those topics that would be good for your presentation’s analysis—though you don’t have to get your visual texts from Youtube. (But if you’re confused about a visual text is, they are videos like the content on Youtube or shows on Netflix.) You will focus on a visual text, or part of a visual text,
that is no longer than twenty minutes
. You can take a clip from a visual text that is longer than 20 minutes, as long as you clearly identify where it’s from and provide other necessary context.
The clip from the BBC JFK conspiracy theory documentaryhere that we’re working with in our class assignments for is an example of a type of visual text you might choose for this assignment. (You may NOT write about this example visual text for this essay.)
Overall Assignment Outline
An outline for this assignment is:
-introduction (providing
context info
for what the text is, identifying the
argument
it’s making about which conspiracy theory, and concluding with a
thesis
about how credible that argument is)
-summary of the visual text’s content
-at least two body paragraphs (adhering to the MEAL plan)
-conclusion
*Note that this essay requires a total of five paragraphs to meet the assignment’s requirements.
You will
summarize
the content of your visual text, identifying the text’s
purpose/argument
, and come up with a
thesis
listing reasons a visual text’s message/argument is or is not credible. Note that the visual text might be making an argument that actually is
not
true, but could be doing so in a way that would convince viewers that it was true, even if it wasn’t–in this case the visual text would be
convincing
, but would be
credible
. For the purposes of this course we’re focusing on whether a text is
credible
rather than convincing, since for your research papers you’re going to want sources that are credible—credible sources make a stronger argument than sources that are convincing but not actually credible. A credible source presents information that is reliable, that the person reading/viewing the text can, for the most part, trust is true.
You will have
at least two body paragraphs
(the summary paragraph does not count as a body paragraph) supporting your thesis and analyzing the effectiveness of a particular rhetorical strategy and/or piece of evidence the visual text is using/presenting.
You will
include a screen shot
(minimum one, maximum two) from your visual text to help serve as evidence in one of your body paragraphs, and will also
include an outside source
that either corroborates/supports or refutes evidence that the visual text presents as part of the Analysis of whether we should trust what the visual text is telling us.
The first paragraph, your introduction, should include
context information
that provides general information about the text (it is a clip from; it’s clip from a BBC documentary that first aired in 2014). The introduction should identify the what conspiracy (theory) the visual text is discussing and the argument that it is making about that conspiracy (theory)—i.e., that the conspiracy really happened or not, or somewhere in between. The second paragraph should be your
summary
, explaining what’s happening in the visual text to an audience that may not be familiar with it in as much relevant detail as possible (in other words, your reader shouldn’t have to Google your visual text to understand what it is or what you’re saying about it). Then, after your two body paragraphs analyzing how strong/weak the visual text’s evidence is for the argument you identified in the introduction and/or analyzing a strategy the visual text is using to support its argument, you will have a
conclusion
recapping your general discussion.
NOTE
: Do not use “I” or “me” or “my” in your essay. Instead of saying “I think this text is credible because…” just say “This text is credible because…” Remember that this essay is not about your personal opinion. It is an argument that can be made using evidence from the visual text itself, and you can describe what this evidence is without saying “I.”
Your paper will be in MLA format:
You’ll want to consult this MLA Formatchecklist to make sure you’ve done everything.
You will include a new page entitled “Works Cited”:
Gives the formal citation for your article in MLA (Works Cited) format. You can find the general guidelines of and models for MLA citations by consulting: the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). The Works Cited citations do NOT count as part of the paper’s word count. This paper will include at least two sources in the Works Cited—the main visual text you are analyzing and at least one outside source you’re referring to to help support your argument.
No one method yields the right answer or the perfect essay – rather, you need to find a method that works for you and helps you better understand or interpret your particular visual text. If you’re stuck, some helpful discussion tips can be found in the checklisthere.
I encourage you to look for patterns or trends in your own observations and writing about the text. Those patterns or trends that you notice can end up being the focus of an analytical presentation or essay.
Imagine your audience as UH students who are so used to visual texts that they have stopped noticing how those texts affect them. Pretend your essay is appearing in a UH database designed to create a more aware and informed citizenry.
Your presentation will be graded on the following criteria, weighted equally:
Organization
• thesis presents a claim or interpretive statement (not a “true fact”) about a visual text and how it persuades its audience, who its audience is, why it was made, etc.
• each body paragraph has a topic sentence that both supports the thesis and expresses the main idea of the paragraph (M in MEAL)
• each body paragraph has a sentence at the end reinforcing the paragraph’s connection to the thesis or transitioning to the next paragraph’s points (L in MEAL)
Evidence
• each main point is supported with evidence (E in MEAL) from the text itself (e.g., description, specific details, references to moments or parts) or an outside source (quoted or paraphrased)
• all sources used are cited by name in the text of the paragraphs (whether quoted or paraphrased), including Wikipedia and all visual texts
• uses a combination of paraphrase and quotation when integrating other sources
Analysis
• evidence is not just presented but also explained in analysis (A in MEAL) answering the questions: How does the evidence illustrate your point? Why do you have the interpretations you do? What might the evidence mean? What else might it mean?
• the writer’s original thinking is shown in the paragraph: how has your thinking and writing led you to make the claims you are making?
• the writer “makes the implicit explicit” by articulating what is unspoken or unstated in the visual text but implied or suggested
Revision (from outline to body paragraph)
• the MEAL points have become more specific and refined than they were in the outline
• irrelevant or lengthy passages have been cut down or deleted
• the paragraphs have been proofread or edited for sentence-level errors
A
Succeeds in all elements of the assignment, excels in at least one element, contains clear
and elegant prose
B
Succeeds in most or all elements of the assignment, contains mostly clear prose
C
Attempts to accomplish all elements of the assignment, contains mostly sensible prose
(though some effort might be required to decipher meaning)
D
Fails in one or more elements of the assignment, contains nonsensical prose
F
Fails in all elements of the assignment (including possibly length), contains large sections of nonsensical prose
Attachments:
5446462_1_essay-1-rubric.docx

You are a consultant hired to review the instructional staff at the local community college. You have collected data from learner surveys regarding the instructors’ performances. You have also collected data on the ratio of grades given by each instructor. You have gathered both quantitative and qualitative data. Click here to see the data that you collected. Write a paper (in APA manuscript format) in which you do the following: ? Review the data, and identify the types of data as quantitative or qualitative. ? Describe what the data indicate, and include the following: ? Descriptive statistics of quantitative data ? Trends identified in the analysis of qualitative data ? Make recommendations for change based on the data analysis. ? Make recommendations for additional data collection to have a clearer picture of the instructional staff.
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5446379_1_Untitled-document–8-.docx

You are currently working as an instructional designer in the training organization of a large widget manufacturing company. Recently, the number of defects in completed widgets has gone up resulting in the need to scrap 6% of the widgets coming off the assembly line. The line manager for the assembly operation is claiming that the training organization is not providing adequate training for the widget operators and that this is the cause of the problem. The company president has asked you to provide the necessary documentation to prove that the training was effective and appropriate by the end of the month. Prepare an evaluation plan for measuring the success of the Widget training.
You will write an evaluation plan showing ways to collect data to meet the 4 levels of Kirkpatrick’s model of evaluation. Your plan should discuss the Kirkpatrick model and why each level is important. Be sure to discuss it in terms of transfer of learning. Identify at least 2 means of gathering subjective and objective data, for each level. Out of the 8 evaluation tools you described in your plan, create at least 2 tools you would actually use to gather the data described. Add the created tools to the end of the evaluation plan as an appendix and submit as all one product.
Attachments:
5446377_1_Untitled-document–7-.docx