In 6th grade, my teacher made me the leader to represent a group project model on air pollution to the

science fair.

The model showcased the industrial cause of air pollution. The oral presentation explained the term air
pollution, all its causes, consequences and the solutions for it.

Teacher appointed four students for the project. As I was leading the project, I gave two students the
role of building the model. The other student and I prepared the presentation.

At first, no teammate quite understood what concept we were trying to exhibit. Our project was solely
based on the industrial sources of air pollution. So I had to list all of the possible causes of air pollution
to make them understand the difference between all the other causes and the industrial causes of the
air pollution.

When they all comprehended the concept, all of them had different ideas and opinions on how to build
the model. We were allowed to show only one consequence of the air pollution. We could either choose
depletion of ozone layer due to industrial gases or breathing problems due to harmful fumes in the
breathing air. I chose ozone layer depletion as it was the hot topic at that time but no one agreed with
my decision.

Somehow, when all of us agreed on one idea, one of my teammates kept clashing with us. She was
denying our decision just because she was irritated by the fact that the teacher didn’t make her the
leader of the project. So I reported her behavior to the teacher and then she realized her mistake.

Information Challenge-

In ERICA’S CASE, She had to write the report keeping in mind that the audience is going to be technical
and no-technical both.

In my case, I had to list all the scenarios to make my audience i.e. my teammates understand the
assignment. My way of comprehending things was different from them so I figure out a way to make
them grasp it as well.

In both cases, information was interpreted according to the audience’s mind.

Persuasion Challenge-

Erica persuaded her boss to let her include the variation of data due to the faulty equipment in the
report.

I convinced my team members to choose a consequence of air pollution that was one of the most
discussed environmental problems at that time in the news.

In both cases, people disagreed on certain points.

Ethics Challenge-
If Erica admitted the malfunction of equipment it may jeopardize her employer’s firm’s continuing
contract. Here company’s interest conflicts with audience’s interest.

In my team, one participant’s behavior was not fair and clashed with others.

Conflict of interests was present here too.

Global context Challenge-

Erica’s audience will be beyond her group, the government officials will use her report to come to a
decision. If the Alice earth purchases the Company, the audience will become global.

My project’ audience was also beyond my team as school officials rated our model and heard our
presentation. My audience was not globally present.

Long before I had my own laptop, I used to share a computer with my family. Laptops were very
expensive at that time. Most of the times, my brother would download virus infected games that would
corrupt my important files. In fact, sharing was a huge problem. Now that I have my personal laptop, I
do not have to fear my stuff being damaged. This technological change has been very helpful to me.

My mother had a flip phone before smart phones were popular. Those were quite good too in that time.
The difference I see is many more applications and features are available in today’s phones. Most
importantly, the touch screen is very convenient. The small hardware keyboards were difficult to use.
Overall, this technological change has had a very positive impact on everyone’s lives.

My parents stored my childhood pictures in a computer which does not even work anymore. Many of
my pictures were lost because of that computer. From that incident, I never stored pictures on a hard
drive or a computer. Every month I upload my pictures on my Google drive. Cloud drives have been
really helpful in terms of storage. You can never lose your stuff and can access them from anywhere in
the world just by logging into the drive. This change has also benefitted people a lot.

The topic I searched was Artificial Intelligence. After the results appeared, I clicked on the first website
appearing in the results. The document was blog post from a professional organization.

The article used no technical word, so it is clear that it assumed that the audience is non-technical. The
assumption is correct because no expert or even with semi-technical background would search the given
topic as they are already knowledgeable in this field. The blog explained each and every detail about AI
in very simple words.

If the audience were highly technical, they would search for the advancements in AI. The topic searched
by semi-technical audience would be a particular term in AI.

In this case, primary audience would be the ones that are searching for this topic. The primary audience
is non-technical. The secondary audience could be the ones reviewing or checking for mistakes in the
blog post. The question asked by secondary audience can be “What is the state of research on the given
topic?” The writer does not have to tailor the document to address the different audiences as the main
purpose of the blog is for primary audience.

In 11th grade, my teacher introduced the whole class to organic chemistry. It was very different from the
chemistry subject we were used to. The chemical formulas were very complex and not easy to
remember. Firstly the teacher tried explaining us through textbooks but students including me could not
grasp the concept. Then she took us to the chemistry lab for a demonstration of the compounds. It still
took us a while to understand but slowly we took it quite well.

Now If I were to explain the concepts to a classmate who missed the lecture I would choose my friend.
As I am familiar with my friend’s level of understanding it would be easy for me to make him understand
the topic. In this case, audience profile would come very handy. Knowing about the audience helps us
choosing the right words for communicating.

The primary audiences for that document are the people visiting the website in search of the topic they
want to read or know about. The secondary audience is the one reviewing that blog post. The reviews
they leave under the blog in comments can affect primary audiences’ trust on the document. The
author’s relationship with the primary audience is just like that of a teacher as the former is explaining a
topic that is new to the audience. The audience is learning something they didn’t know about. Someone
could be using the document to collect information about the topic (i.e. Artificial intelligence) as they
want to start a new career in it. The audience surely does not have any prior knowledge about the
subject because the blog post uses simple words that would only interest a beginner.

The author made the document easy to read and understand as he/she targeted the doc to an audience
with no technical knowledge. Author understood that the audience requires basic definitions and easy
explanation so he/she included that.

The document originated because of the demand of the general public that wanted to know about
artificial intelligence. There aren’t many articles present on the internet that explain the topic well to a
non-technical reader. The author selected a step by step way of explaining stuff that would help the
audience understand the topic better.

Exploratory Writing 3.1: Practicing Brainstorming and

Creating a Cluster Diagram
If submitted, your response can be viewed by your instructor.

Imagine that you work as a technical marketing assistant for a small

manufacturer of healthy cereals and other grain-based food products that
has only recently launched. Your boss has given you an assignment to
write a brief memo report for her exploring the genetically modified food
debate and the benefits and drawbacks of obtaining non-GMO project
verification for the company’s products. Explore the topic online, and then
brainstorm a list of anything you can think of that might be relevant to put
into your report. Then explore the topic in more depth and create a
cluster diagram connecting the main topic and sub-topics that might go
into your report.
 Definition- What is genetically modified food?
 Limitations- Cancer, allergenicity, Antibacterial resistance
 Advantages- More nutritious food, Tastier food, Disease and drought-resistant plants

 Assessments for safety of GM foods- toxicity, allergenicity,

 Non-GMO project verification for the company’s products.
 Benefits-Consumer demand, Industry demand(
1. Retail - sales increases of 5% or more
2. Private Label- assurance that a brand is meeting 21st century marketplace demands
3. Ingredient Suppliers -help build the non-GMO supply chain, now at 25,000+ non-GMO
verified ingredients.
4. Co-packers- help their clients and the non-GMO marketplace as a whole.),
Trust and transparency
 Drawbacks
1. Outlook of a scam
2. A lot of steps involved for verification
 Traceability
 Segregation
 Risk Assessment
 Testing of high-risk inputs
 Quality Control Management
Exploratory Writing 3.2: Choosing the Content and Outlining
a Short Report
If submitted, your response can be viewed by your instructor.
Having done some online research about the genetically modified foods debate, brainstormed a
list of subtopics, and created a cluster diagram to determine the content of your memo report to
your boss in Exploratory Writing 3.1, plan the content and organization of the report. Use your
brainstorming list and your cluster diagram to choose what information you need to include in
the report. (Remember that your boss wants a quick discussion of the genetically modified foods
debate as well as information about the benefits and drawbacks of obtaining non-GMO project
verification.) Then decide how you are going to organize the material into blocks of information
by creating an outline with a sentence next to each item indicating what you will include in each
paragraph. Since the report will be brief and in the form of a memo, aim for just three or four
paragraphs: An introductory paragraph, a body paragraph or two, and a concluding paragraph.
First paragraph-

Heading - What is debate regarding the GM foods,

Subheading- Arguments in favor of GM foods

Subheading- Arguments against GM foods

Second Paragraph-

Heading – The Non-GMO Project Product Verification Program

Subheading- benefits of the verification

Subheading- Drawbacks of the verification

Third Paragraph-

Conclusion- Whether our company should acquire the status of no-GMO

products or not?

Third Paragraph-
Exploratory Writing 3.3: Writing a Brief Memo Report
If submitted, your response can be viewed by your instructor.

Now that you have an annotated outline to work from, draft the memo to
your boss about the genetically modified foods debate and the benefits
and drawbacks of obtaining non-GMO project verification. Remember that
your memo is limited to three to four paragraphs. When you have
completed your report, use your word processor’s spelling and grammar
checkers to spot any errors, but also read through the entire report to
look for errors on your own. Look for any areas that are unclear or wordy
and think of ways to improve your writing overall. Do one final proofread
of the report to ensure that you are satisfied with the result and that your
boss will be too.

Food Product Manufacturers Inter-Office

MEMORENDUM

To: My Boss Date: September 20,

2021

From: Jashanpreet Singh

Technical Marketing Assistant

What is debate regarding the GM foods?

Proponents of GMOs state the foods are designed to make better, stronger crops. That can mean a
growing population has a more secure food source for the future.
Opponents say it opens the population up to unknown consequences, both physical and ethical.
While others believe they’re doing more harm than good.
Advantages of GM foods
 More nutritious food- Genetic modification can increase the nutritional value of foods. For
example, rice high in beta carotene, also called golden rice, was developed to help prevent
blindness in regions where local diets are chronically deficient in vitamin A.
  Tastier food- Genetic modification may be used simply to enhance the flavor and appearance of
foods, such as the non- browning apple.
 Disease and drought-resistant plants that require fewer environmental resources (such as water
and fertilizer) and less use of pesticides.

Disadvantages of GM foods

 Allergenicity- This is because GM foods contain foreign genes, so some people worry that they
harbor genes from foods that may prompt an allergic reaction.
 Toxicity- Because cancers are caused by DNA mutations, some people fear that eating foods with added
genes may affect your DNA.
 Antibacterial resistance- Here is concern that genetic modification, which can boost a crop’s
resistance to disease or make it more tolerant to herbicides, could affect the ability of people to
defend against illness.

The Non-GMO Project Product Verification Program

Compliance with the  Non-GMO Project Standard  requires an understanding of the technical
requirements involved in the verification process. Food Chain ID’s industry leadership and in-depth
experience in every category of product and ingredient compliance optimizes Non-GMO Project
verification.

Benefits of the verification

 Consumer demand- Today’s consumers want to know what’s in their food and they are speaking
with their purchase decisions.
 Industry demand- Companies at all stages of the supply chain — from farmer to ingredient
supplier to manufacturer to packer — are seeking non-GMO verification for their products. As
more companies engage with the Non-GMO Project Standard, long-term sourcing becomes
easier and more accessible for all.
Drawbacks of the verification
 Inadequate Information- Some critics say the Project may be using a business model that is
based on fear and lack of information.
 A lot of steps involved for verification
1. The Non-GMO Project Standard requires genetics-based testing at critical control points to
be performed by an approved ISO-17025 accredited lab to ensure that Action Thresholds
are not exceeded.
2. Ongoing testing is required for all major GMO risk ingredients
3. When ingredients are least processed and consolidated in the largest amounts, for example,
during initial processing. From there, traceability and segregation ensure that the tested
ingredient maintains its non-GMO status.
4. Alfalfa, canola, corn (except popcorn), cotton, papaya, soy, sugar beets, zucchini and yellow
summer squash — and any derivatives of these crops — carry risk of being genetically
engineered because engineered varieties are in large-scale commercial production.
5. Animal products are considered high-risk ingredients primarily because of GMOs in the
animal feed. If the animal feed contains high-risk ingredients such as corn or soy, testing is
required to show that those ingredients meet the Non-GMO Project Standard.
CONCLUSION
Non-GMO Project is a mission-driven nonprofit organization offering a third-party non-GMO verification
program to the standard consumers expect . Brands that have achieved verified status on their products
benefit from the overall promotional efforts of the Project. In addition, Non-GMO project’s marketing
and Communications team will be available to review our marketing materials, help develop our non-
GMO messaging, and further leverage our verification. Additional marketing programming is available to
showcase our non-GMO commitment throughout the year, and their marketing team facilitates those
opportunities.

Exploratory Writing 2.1: Analyzing a Communication

Situation
If submitted, your response can be viewed by your instructor.
Engage in a brief (less than two minutes) verbal conversation in which you ask a classmate (or
she or he asks you) to give an opinion about a current controversial topic in the news and you
respond. Use your smartphone to record the conversation. When you have completed the
conversation transcribe it and then analyze it from several angles. First write a paragraph
discussing the conversation in terms of the communication model in this module. What was the
primary message of each speaker, what were the content and relational messages, and how well
did you each encode and decode your messages? Next, write a paragraph describing the
psychological factors affecting the conversation. How did roles, needs, self-concept, knowledge,
attitudes, and emotions play a role? Finally, write a paragraph recounting the environmental
factors affecting the conversation. How did the physical and social environment play a role? Was
there also a cultural context? If so, what was it?
I had a conversation on the farmer’s protest going on in India for the past one year. He asked me for
how long do you think the protest will go on? In this case, I was the sender of the message and he was
receiver of the message. Our conversation occurred on the phone, so we used verbal channel and some
no-verbal channels too. As we were on the phone, the conversation depended on the verbal channel. I
used words to convey my opinion which constituted the content message. My degree of certainty and
concern for his question were non-verbal relational messages. Encoding my message was easy as I knew
what exactly he wanted to know and his prior knowledge about the protest. He decoded my message
efficiently because he knew about the protest and even responded with a relational message.

My role was to answer the question with appropriate facts and evidences. His role was to attentively
listen to my answer and then respond in accordance to what he feels is right. Self-concept didn’t affect
our conversation as it was just a discussion. We both had knowledge about the topic which made the
conversation interesting. We were very serious in the discussion of the protest which definitely was
depicted in our tone of voice. Emotions were present in our conversation as the protest is going on in
our home country but it didn’t block effective communication as we both had same emotions regarding
the topic.

As far as the physical environment is concerned, there was no noise in the backgrounds so the
conversation went smoothly. Sharing same culture really helped with our conversation. We used
slangs in Punjabi that made us connect more with each other’s intended message.