Project 3 Genre Portfolio: Transforming a Text Two Ways
To complete your Project 3 genre portfolio assignment, you will choose three genres: one that will serve as the “source” genre, and two other genres into which the source text can plausibly transform. You will thus have to rewrite a text of your choosing from the source genre two divergent ways, in two alternate genres. The specific requirements of the choice of genres are as follows:
Your source genre should be written for an expert audience.
Your first transformation should be a textual transformation for an uninformed public audience.
Your second transformation should be multimodal (includes more than one of the following: linguistic, visual, aural, spatial, gestural).
Finally, you will write a reflective essay in which you explain the writing moves you made in transforming the text in two different ways. This reflective essay will essentially be a justification for the choices you make in completing this assignment, and should reflect choices made on a larger level of scale (such as about genre, audience, and modality), and on smaller levels of scale (such as about word choice, tone, grammar, rhetorical distance, and so on).
Requirements
As explained above, Project 3 has four parts and you will submit separate documents for each part:
Part 1: Source Document and Rhetorical Context: Writing Task 3-13. You should not change your text from the one you selected in this writing task without speaking with your teacher/instructor first.
Part 2: Transformation 1 (Expert to Non-expert)
Part 3: Transformation 2 (Modality)
Part 4: Reflective Essay
Each part is described in depth below.
Part 1: Source Document and Rhetorical Context
Your source document with a paragraph of 100–200 words that describes and outlines the rhetorical context (or situation) of this source. Please double space.
The explanation should answer the following questions:
What is the genre of the document?
What audience is this document composed for (particularly expert or non-expert)? How do you know that?
What is the purpose of this document and how do you know that?
Part 2: Transformation 1 (Expert/Non-expert)
A textual transformation of your source document into a different genre for a non-expert audience. This transformation should be at least 250 words long.
The formatting can match that of your targeted genre.
Part 3: Transformation 2 (Modality)
A transformation of your source document into another (or other) modes.
For instance, if your source document included only text, consider how you can transform it into another genre that includes multiple modes. You might transform an entirely textual document into an infographic (using linguistic and visual modes), podcast (using linguistic and aural modes), a video (using aural, gestural, and visual modes), or something else.
The formatting can match that of your targeted genre.
Part 4: Reflective Essay
An 800+ word double-spaced companion essay that explains your source document and how you transformed it in two ways: for another audience (non-expert) and into a multimodal genre.
Your essay should include a description of the choices you made on larger level of scale (such as about genre, audience, and modality), and on smaller levels of scale (such as about word choice, tone, grammar, rhetorical distance, and so on). That is, what did you focus on in your transformations and why? What needed to change between your source document and these other genres, modes, and audiences?
Grading
This assignment is worth 200 points, or 20 percent of your overall grade. Part 1 will be given credit as a daily assignment grade (Writing Task 3-3). Parts 2 and 3 are worth 75 points each and Part 4 is worth 100 points.
Evaluation Rubric
Part 1: Source Document and Rhetorical Context (20 points)
Source document (5 points): attached.
Description of Text (15 points): Includes a 100–200-words description of the text and its rhetorical context (or situation), including the genre, audience, and purpose.
Part 2: Textual Non-Expert Transformation (65 points)
Genre (20 points): Rhetorical choices (textual moves, content, and language) are effective for the chosen genre.
Formality and Language/Audience (20 points): Has been written in a manner that is accessible for the chosen, non-expert audience. Uses accessible language and sentence structures.
Content (15): Meaningful adaptation that connects with and builds on/adds to the content of the original.
Part 3: Multimodal Non-Expert Transformation (60 points)
Genre (20 points): Rhetorical choices (design, moves, content, and language) are effective for the chosen genre.
Formality and Language/Audience (20 points): Has been written in a manner that is accessible for the chosen, non-expert audience. Uses accessible language and sentence structures.
Content (15): Meaningful adaptation that connects with and builds on/adds to the content of the original.
Part 4: Reflective Essay (80 points)
Introduction/Conclusion (15 points): An introduction that introduces the original text, its genre and its audience. It should then introduce your transformations for Part 2 and 3, identifying the genres and the audience or audiences for them. A conclusion that reflects briefly on the differences between the original piece and transformations and what you learned through the process.
Transformation Decisions (25 points): The body paragraphs clearly identify and discuss the decisions you made as you transformed from the original text into the two adaptations.
Details and Source Use (30 points): The discussion on transformation is grounded in specific details, including quotes and details such as color, font, and image choices. The development is sufficient to meet word count expectations.
