Essay #3: Composition in Two Genres

Assignment Description

For this assignment, you will move from researching and analyzing your topic, as you did in the Research Essay, to creating a composition that uses two different genres to communicate to a targeted audience about that same topic. You will use your previous research to inform your creative strategy and help you make the rhetorical choices necessary to create an effective composition. These two genres are up to you to decide upon, based on your analysis of the rhetorical situation and the way in which you respond to it.

In this assignment, you will strategically target a specific audience(s), then develop key messages to communicate to that audience–based on knowledge of your topic gained from developing the research essay– and finally create two genres designed to communicates those messages to your audience(s). You will also write a rationale to communicate the connections between genres and your strategies for choosing them, and you write a reflection that will consider the effect of these choices on your audience.

This assignment requires you to engage your critical thinking, rhetorical awareness, and reflection capabilities in order to most effectively communicate with your specified audience. Your strategy will determine the choices you make in communicating to your audience, how you present the research, and what you create to convey your message. The composition will include:

  • Two genres of communication created for your audience(s)
  • A rationale for each genre (500 – 750 words) that orients your reader to the purpose of your work and its significance to your audience
  • A reflection (250 – 500 words) that outlines the process from audience strategy to final composition, exploring the rhetorical choices—genre, stance, and rhetorical situation—you made in creating this project

Potential Genres

You may use any genres you feel are appropriate to your audience. The strategy you develop will guide you in choosing the genres you want to create. Communicating effectively to your audience by choosing genres best suited to conveying your message will determine the potential effect of your composition. The genres that you choose must be approved by your instructors.

Sample Essays

Short Writing Assignments

Just as you did for the research essay, for this composition project you will engage in a series of short writing assignments designed to help you focus your thinking about audience, message, and outcome before you begin the composition.

  • ESSAY #3 POTENTIAL GENRES PROPOSAL: For this assignment, you will explore various genres that might be appropriate to your project, and write a proposal outlining the ones you’re thinking about using in your composition. This proposal is designed to help you explore several possible genres and then narrow in on a strategy for the two specific genres (besides the rationale and reflection) you will ultimately use in your project. You should also consider your audience strategy as you write this.
  • ESSAY #3 AUDIENCE STRATEGY: The audience strategy is the blueprint or foundation of your composition, so it is critical to develop a strategy with the end effect in mind. Planning in advance about how you will communicate your ideas to an audience will ensure its success; poor planning will result in a less-than-effective final project. For this assignment, you will write a short informal essay identifying your intended audience(s) for Essay #3. Your response should address several questions including (but not limited to):
    • Who is your intended audience(s)? What are the primary characteristics of that audience?
    • What do you want your audience to understand, feel, and/or do in response to your composition(s)?
    • What genre(s) would make your ideas more accessible and attractive to your audience?
    • What rhetorical strategies will you use to engage your audience? Will you draw on pathos (appealing to emotions), logos (appealing to logic or reason) and/or ethos (your own ethics/credibility)? How so?  

Submission

Upload digital copies of your final draft of all assignment materials via Blackboard.

Evaluation Rubric 

CONTENT – 30%

  • Does your composition follow the conventions of your chosen genre? Does it take on the general shape and contours of that genre?
  • Does your composition illustrate an original argument informed by research from your inquiry-based essay?

RATIONALE – 25%

  • Does your rationale demonstrate an understanding of the key rhetorical terms?
  • Have you proofread your work for grammar and mechanical errors?

EFFECTIVENESS – 20%

  • Does your composition present material that is captivating for your intended audience?
  • Does your composition convincingly evoke imagination, create a feeling, tell a story, or visually illustrate an idea to your intended audience?

PRESENTATION – 15%

  • Is your composition visually pleasing? Is it attractive and neat in design and layout?
  • Are the ideas/images presented interesting, vivid, and relevant to the topic?

CREATIVITY – 10%

  • Is your composition thoughtful and uniquely presented? Are the idea/images presented fresh and original?
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

This entry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license.

Skip to toolbar