Project Plan

Part 1: Rhetorical Knowledge: The Writer’s Situation and Rhetoric

1. Audience: Who is your specific audience within the context of your local community or
workplace? What do they know about this topic already? Why do they care? Why should they
care? What do you need to explain to them? What details do you know about your audience that
you can incorporate into your project? (For example, if you are writing to a specific person, you
can use that person’s name. If you are writing to a school, you can discuss specific features of
that school. You can mention you work at store #297 on the corner of Sun Ave. and Devil St.)

Remember, although your teacher and classmates are the initial audience for your analysis, they
are not your target audience. Find an appropriate, specific target audience that is within the
context of your local community or workplace to tailor your writing to.

For example, your analysis of wages for restaurant workers in Tempe could be addressed to
members of the City Council who are in a position to change the wage. Or, depending on your
purpose, the analysis might be addressed to a group of low-wage workers in the city. The
general public, all Starbucks partners globally, or all national customers of a particular
establishment are not specific enough audiences.

The specific audience that I’m choosing to target is Chris Ward, the city council member
for district 3 in San Diego. I’m choosing Chris specifically because the protected bikeways
will be placed in downtown San Diego, which is where his district is. He knows about the
plan of implementing the protected bikeways throughout downtown and supports the idea.

2. Purpose: What is your purpose in writing this document to your audience? What do you hope
to accomplish? What is the new information you will give your audience?  

Remember, an analysis is often an opportunity to help your readers understand a familiar topic in
a new way. Whatever your topic, you will need to consider why you want them to gain this
understanding.

The purpose in writing my document to Chris is to make him aware of the affect that the
protected bikeways will have on the downtown area. My goal is to bring light to the
challenges that will arise for business owners, customers and San Diegans who reside in the
area. I will inform Chris of the issues with parking that are arising with the bikeways
taking up 420 parking spots in the downtown area and the affect that will have on local
businesses in the area. I will also let him know the confusion that the new bikeway sections
are causing on the already busy downtown streets.

3. Voice and Tone: What kind of voice and tone would your audience expect from you? How
will your audience know you are directing this document towards them and not a different
group? List at least three examples of how you will address, target, or speak directly to your
audience.

I will use a formal tone when writing to Chris because I want to come across in a professional
way and convey my message in the same way so he can understand where I am coming from.
By using a formal tone, he will know that I am directing my project towards him. I will also
acknowledge that he is the City Council member in the downtown area, so he knows exactly
why I am coming to him rather than another member of the board. Before I start talking
about my problem I will mention to Chris that many San Diegans in the downtown area,
myself included look up to him and the positive impact that he has made on the city; I will
use this as an opener to convey my message to him. I will also refer back to Chris and the
possible issues that he may experience with the bikeways, such as finding parking spots when
exploring downtown. I will also address Chris in the beginning of my formal letter so that he
knows it to him.

4. Ethos, Pathos, Logos: At this point in the project, it is helpful to begin thinking about how
you will use the rhetorical appeals ethos, pathos, logos in your piece. What ideas do you have so
far in using the rhetorical appeals with your chosen audience? How will you establish your ethos
in your document? Which appeals do you think your audience would respond to most strongly?

Watch this tutorial to remind yourself of the rhetorical appeals:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oUfOh_CgHQ

I will establish ethos in my writing by letting Chris know that I did my research on the
protected bikeways from creditable sources and my research is derived from facts rather
than opinions. I think that Chris would respond most strongly to ethos, with him knowing
that I researched a trustworthy source. Logos is the other persuasive appeal that Chris
would respond to strongly, showing graphs and other data to back my research will help
me substantiate my message.

Part 2:  Medium and Genre

5. Genre Features: What genre or form of text have you selected for your problem analysis?
Why is this genre an effective choice for your target audience?

I choose a formal emailed memo for my genre; I think this will be the most effective way to
get my message across.

Complete a search for writing examples using the genre you selected for your project. You can
peruse the eBook or simply conduct a Google search for what these documents look like.

a. List the visual characteristics of the genre, i.e. call outs, formal headings, multi-colored
fonts/backgrounds, etc.
 b. How will you tailor these elements to your audience? For example, if you are writing a
newsletter to your ENG 102 group at ASU, you might use ASU colors of maroon and
gold.

I will use a formal heading and layout for my emailed memo because I want it to be
professional, but I will have a faded background image of the downtown San Diego
skyline of all the hotels reflecting off of the water. I choose to add to faded photo to
give it more of a visual characteristic. I will also include charts with information of
the population changes and use a different font style to call attention to that element
of my memo.

c. How will these visual elements support and enhance the points you’re making in your
written analysis?
The background image will enhance the entire letter, it will make it more exciting to
look at and draw my audience (Chris) in. I will use images of graphs with different
styled front to draw his attention to the graph with important data.

d. What trends in organization do you see in these examples? How will you organize your
piece to align your piece with your chosen genre?

I see a set format for a formal letter, including the date of the letter, who the letter is
addressed to and who it’s from and also a formal greeting to address who the letter
is for.

6. Multi-Modal Elements: Include at least three multi-modal elements that you plan on using in
your rough draft. You can embed images, links, and audio/video clips into your .doc file. If you
will be collecting images, be sure that you review the guidelines for image use here. Include
properly formatted APA citations for any content you find.

Remember to tailor your multi-modal elements to your genre, medium, and technology. An e-
mailed memo can contain different links while a printed newsletter cannot. For each element (at
least 3), explain how that element will enhance your meaning for your audience.

I plan on using the background photo of the downtown skyline for the backdrop of my
memo. I will also have a map of the proposed bikeways to show where the parking will be
affected on the busy streets. I will also include a video clip of downtown residents talking
about their concerns of the bikeways.

Part 3:  Problem Analysis

Now that you have narrowed and analyzed your audience, think about how you need to present
your problem to your audience. Remember to include enough information to remind your
instructor of your chosen topic.

7.  Focused Problem:  When you consider a problem, you need to be able to breakdown your
problem into its identifying parts. Your purpose is to explain this problem in a new and
 informative way to your specific audience so that they gain an in-depth understanding of the
individual parts/aspects that make up the whole problem.

What is your focused, local problem? List 3-4 component parts that make up this problem. What
is the relationship among these parts? How do they contribute to the problem as a whole?

My focused local problem is the City of San Diego is implementing protected bikeways
throughout the downtown area. This problem will create the challenge finding areas for
parking downtown because street parking will be replaced with the bikeways. With
decreased parking spots in front of downtown businesses they will lose business. The
bikeways are also causing confusion for residents while they are trying to navigate the
downtown streets. There is also an issue with drivers still parking their cars in the
protected bikeways creating a dangerous situation for bikers using the bikeways.

8.  A clearly stated thesis:  Create a thesis statement to help you organize your analysis. Ask
yourself: What is the main idea I am trying to communicate to my target audience? Your thesis
should convey this main idea (problem with its identifying parts) and preview your analysis in
one succinct, audience-based sentence. Don’t tell your audience what they should do. Make
them aware of the problem and its component parts that you are analyzing.

Thesis: Protected bikeways being implemented in downtown San Diego are negatively
affecting the available parking, local businesses and residents navigating the streets.

9. What questions do you have for your instructor? What new information do you need to
successfully complete your rough draft?
Will having a photo as the background of my memo take away from the professional message
that I am trying to convey to my audience?

WPA Outcomes and Habits of Mind

The following are possible WPA Outcomes bullet points and Habits of Mind that connect with
this assignment. As you develop your document, consider how you might use the following,
perhaps even making some notes that could help develop your Mid-Course Reflection
assignment due later in the term.

Possible WPA Outcomes:

Rhetorical Knowledge

 Gain experience reading and composing in several genres to understand how genre conventions
shape and are shaped by readers’ and writers’ practices and purposes
 Understand and use a variety of technologies to address a range of audiences
 Match the capacities of different environments (e.g., print and electronic) to varying rhetorical
situations
 
Critical Thinking, Reading, and Composing
 Read a diverse range of texts, attending especially to relationships between assertion and
evidence, to patterns of organization, to the interplay between verbal and nonverbal elements,
and to how these features function for different audiences and situations

Processes

 Use composing processes and tools as a means to discover and reconsider ideas
 Develop flexible strategies for reading, drafting, reviewing, collaborating, revising, rewriting,
rereading, and editing
 Adapt composing processes for a variety of technologies and modalities
 Knowledge of Conventions

 Gain experience negotiating variations in genre conventions

 Learn common formats and/or design features for different kinds of texts

Possible Habits of Mind:

Curiosity, Openness, Creativity, Flexibility