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Spring 2015 – Georgia Institute of Technology – Writing and Communication Program

English Composition 1102Section K3: meets Tues. and Thurs. 8:05-9:25 am in Skiles 317Section N3: meets Tues. and Thurs. 12:05-1:25 pm in Clough 123Section D2: meets Tues. and Thurs. 1:35-2:55 pm in Clough 127

Syllabus last revised January 3rd, 2015

---Puzzles, Games, Mysteries---

Instructor: Dr. Jonathan KotchianMy office: Skiles 321My office hours: Tuesdays 7:30-8:00 am, 9:30-11:00 am, and 3:00-4:00 pm, and by appointmentMy e-mail address: jonathan.kotchian@lmc.gatech.edu

Vital websites associated with this course (use your GT login): Our course blog, including calendar, is at http://blogs.iac.gatech.edu/kotchian1102puzz2015. (If

you cannot access that site after January 6 th, please e-mail Dr. Kotchian.) Our T-Square site is accessible via https://t-square.gatech.edu under ENGL-1102-D2,K3,N3. You can find our class wiki at http://wikis.iac.gatech.edu/Puzzling2015. The Writing and Communication Program Common Policies page for English 1101 and 1102 is at

http://b.gatech.edu/1vCZmpl.

Course Overview---------------------------------------------------------------This is a course in multimodal composition. “Multimodal” means that we’ll study and employ several kinds of communication. Use the acronym below to remember the five modes, which are often “woven” together.

Written----------Oral----------Visual----------Electronic----------Nonverbal“Composition” means that in order to get better at communicating, we’ll create new texts and new knowledge. We’ll learn by doing, drawing on the texts of others to create our own interesting and useful rhetorical projects.

The shared theme that will focus our class is puzzles, games, and mysteries. You may have heard the communication maxim “simpler is better.” Often, that’s very good advice. But the subject matter of this class -- texts that challenge us to figure out their puzzles – will show us how communication sometimes depends on difficult and complex processes of investigation and interpretation. Those who play intellectually difficult games, solve challenging puzzles, or untangle fiendish mysteries don’t just passively receive information from authors; they engage with these texts more actively. We’ll study this kind of investigative engagement by experiencing it, analyzing it, and even creating it.

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As we consider a variety of artifacts – among them films, short stories, computer games, and logic and math puzzles, including works by Jorge Luis Borges, Michael Frayn, Martin Gardner, China Miéville, and Emily Short – we’ll explore the connections between rhetoric (that is, argument and persuasion) and the special kinds of investigation (e.g., playing, guessing, observing, deducing, re-framing, solving, and winning) provoked by such “puzzling” texts. What does it mean to communicate through a puzzle or game? How can a mystery have an argument? To what extent do readers/viewers/players determine the uses and meanings of these texts? We’ll move from enjoying these artifacts to authoring such texts on our own. Major projects will include shooting a mystery film and developing contest puzzles, and our work will culminate in the production of of several team-authored interactive fiction computer games (no prior coding experience required).

This course is not a lecture. It’s closer to a workshop or a laboratory. Our work will be new, challenging, experimental, rigorous, and often cooperative. I expect spirited participation in that work from each of you.

What can we expect to learn?---------------------------------------------------------------English 1102 is designed to develop and improve your written, oral, visual, electronic, and nonverbal communication and composition. Using the learning outcomes established by the University System Board of Regents and the Council of Writing Program Administrators, Georgia Tech’s Writing and Communication Program has set certain desired learning outcomes for ENGL 1102; you can see these (under “Learning Outcomes”) on the Common Policies page, along with several other program-wide documents and policies. All of our work will move us toward these learning goals.

I chose the particular theme of this course (puzzles, games, and mysteries) because I think paying attention to investigative textual engagement gives us an advantage as we work toward our learning outcomes. By setting up unusual relationships between authors and readers/viewers/players, the texts we’ll study and those we’ll create can highlight the nitty-gritty processes of communication, allowing us to isolate, better analyze, and learn from those processes. Too, we’ll acquire useful lenses and vocabulary for thinking about culture more broadly, at a time when “gamification” is constantly changing how we interact with our world. What is revealed when we look at every text as a game, puzzle, or mystery?

What materials are required?--------------------------------------------------------------There are four required books you must acquire for this course:

Jorge Luis Borges, Collected Fictions, trans. Hurley, Penguin Books, 1999 (978-0140286809) Michael Frayn, Copenhagen, any edition (such as 978-0385720793) China Miéville, Embassytown, any edition (such as 978-0345524508) WOVENText , the Writing and Communication Program’s e-book (978-0312665562)

You can buy the above texts at the campus bookstore or elsewhere. You’ll need the above print version of the Borges book, but you can get either print or digital copies of Copenhagen and Embassytown.

I’ll put Howard Davies’ film version of Copenhagen on reserve at the library and will screen it for you.

I’ll provide you with free access to a variety of shorter texts in electronic format; see the “Texts” page on the course blog. These texts may include:

Literature: Agatha Christie, “The Witness for the Prosecution” Arthur Conan Doyle, selections from the Sherlock Holmes stories Jonathan Swift, selected riddle-poems

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J. R. R. Tolkien, selection from The Hobbit Selections from the Anglo-Saxon riddles of the Exeter Book Selections from The Onion

Texts on composition and rhetoric: Ian Bogost, selection from “Persuasive Games” Mary Hamilton, “My Blogging Principles” Joseph Harris, selections from Rewriting Robert Lanham, “Internet-Age Writing Syllabus and Course Overview” George Orwell, “Politics and the English Language” Keith Johnstone, selections from Impro Kristin Linklater, selections from Freeing the Natural Voice Constantin Stanislavski, selections from An Actor Prepares

Interactive fiction games and commentary: Adam Cadre, 9:05 Jason Devlin, Vespers Jeremy Freese, Violet Nick Montfort, selections from Twisty Little Passages Andrew Plotkin, The Dreamhold and Shade Porpentine, Howling Dogs Zoe Quinn, Patrick Lindsey, and Isaac Schankler, Depression Quest Emily Short, Counterfeit Monkey and Galatea Dan Waber, A Kiss Matt Wigdahl, Aotearoa

Beyond the expenses for the required books, you should anticipate modest (no more than $20) printing and fabrication expenses related to class projects.

Unless I tell you differently, please bring your laptop or tablet computer (a phone doesn’t count) to every class.

What graded work will we do?-------------------------------------------------------------Projects. During the course, you will create a range of multimodal artifacts: written, oral, visual, digital, and nonverbal. For each project, you will receive a detailed assignment sheet that includes assessment criteria and the steps and tasks you’ll need to complete. Brief descriptions of the projects are below.

Project 1: “Digital Commonplacing and the Blog Essay.” 10% of course grade. Major artifacts:

-a WordPress blog including commonplace quotations, analyses, and an authorial note-an exploratory essay in blog format

Project 2: “The Mysteries of Media and Performance.” 15% of grade. Major artifacts:

-a team video performance of a mystery story you create -a team-authored movie poster advertising your video-a team-authored directors’ statement about your video

Project 3: “Building Puzzle Knowledge Collaboratively.” 20% of grade. Major artifacts:

-a collaboratively built research wiki on puzzles and related topics

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-a contest puzzle suitable for members of the Tech community-an audio/video explanation of your puzzle and its solution

Project 4: “Interactive Fiction Games and Authorship in the Digital Age.” 25% of grade. Major artifacts:

-a team-authored interactive fiction computer game, written in Inform 7-a team-authored box cover image advertising your game-a team-authored artists’ statement about your game

Participation. Some of your required work, both individual and collaborative, will be completed in class or for homework, and will count as part of your participation grade, which will be 15% of your course grade. (Attendance is a separate course requirement and does not count as part of your participation grade.)

This is a class about composition and communication, so your participation is essential. Get involved. Volunteer. Question. Probe. Share relevant ideas and observations. Refer to relevant articles, books, and Web sites. Offer your own experiences. Make connections between what we’re discussing in this class and what you hear elsewhere (in other classes, on websites, on social media, in news media, in conversations, etc.). Active, productive participation is not only worth 15% of your grade, but it will also make the class more interesting and enjoyable.

Reading, viewing, and playing assignments must be completed by the beginning of class on the due date. (The calendar of assignments is kept on our class blog.) Class discussions and activities will be based on or extended from this work, so always come to class having written down at least a few questions and comments about the texts we’re studying. The success and value of our discussions depend on your preparation and engagement.

In addition to the Class Notes assignment mentioned below, these things count for your participation grade: Contributing orally to class discussions In-class group activities Brief informal presentations Peer review: providing feedback, in a variety of forms, on your classmates’ work Class blog posts and comments (see the requirements for these under “How To Post” on

the blog). Class wiki additions and edits Brief homework tasks Professionalism (don’t be late, no looking at your phone in class, etc.) Announced or unannounced quizzes (one-third of your total participation grade)

About quizzes: Quizzes are likely to be unannounced. Quizzes are likely to be given at or near the very beginning of class; this is one

reason to show up on time every day! Anything you were assigned to read, view, listen to, play, etc. for that day’s class is

fair game for a quiz question. When answering the quiz question (which will usually be a very simple but specific

one), remember that you are trying to convince me that you have done the reading (or playing, etc.), so you should be as specific as possible, noting details that would be missed by someone who only skimmed the reading.

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About Class Notes: To enable students to find out easily what they missed if they are absent from class (or simply to help you review a previous class’s work), I’ve made a “Students’ Class Notes” page on the wiki. Each student is responsible for one day of official class notes (see the calendar), and may also contribute unofficially. Please see the wiki for guidelines on writing and submitting these notes. Contributions to the class notes project count toward your class participation grade.

Portfolio. Please see the “Reflective Portfolio” section on the Common Policies page. Your portfolio will count for 15% of the course grade. We’ll work on this assignment periodically throughout the semester.

What tools will we use?----------------------------------------------------------------------In addition to T-Square, we will use (at least) the following digital tools to complete work for this course:

Gargoyle (for playing IF). Click the link at the bottom of the page, and install the appropriate version.

Google Docs/Drive. Sign up for a Google account (unless you already have one you want to use).

Inform 7 (for writing IF). Click the “Download” tab, and install the appropriate version. MediaWiki . You’ll learn how to edit our class wiki using this documentation. Twine (for writing IF). You needn’t download it; just use the most recent version online. WordPress . The class blog uses WordPress, and it’s a good choice for your own blog.

These tools are all free to users. I’ll walk you through the basics of each one. However, learning how to use these tools effectively is *your* responsibility. If you have questions not covered in class, then you will need to meet with me or a peer outside of class to discuss them, or use the class blog to get help. You can also consult any of the other IT resources available on campus.

The tools described above are those that you will definitely be required to use. In addition to these tools, you will almost certainly need to make use of others, as appropriate, to complete assigned work. In the event I don't specify a particular tool for a particular project, deciding which tool or tools to use, and acquiring proficiency with it/them, will be your responsibility.

If you ever have questions about what tools you should use for a particular project or how to use them, you can make an appointment to discuss them with me, and you can also get help from a number of IT resources on campus.

Note: Technology use in the classroom should be related to what we are doing in class. No phones. (If you must stay available via phone for emergency purposes – for example, if a relative’s health is failing, and they might need to call you for a ride to the hospital – you can let me know of these circumstances ahead of time.) Do not engage with social media, text, or e-mail unless I specifically request that you do so as part of our in-class work.

Course Policies------------------------------------------------------------------As your instructor, I will abide by my own policies, treat all students fairly and with respect, create a classroom environment conducive to exploratory learning and the creation of new knowledge, and be available during reasonable hours outside of class to answer student questions related to course projects and material.

As students in this class, I expect you to take the class seriously, to comply with my policies, to complete assigned readings/viewings/playings and project work in a timely and professional manner, to create a

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classroom environment conducive to exploratory learning and the creation of new knowledge, and to work as hard and as sincerely as you can.

Georgia Tech’s Writing and Communication Program has common, program-wide policies regarding these areas:

• General Education Outcomes• Learning Outcomes• Evaluation Equivalencies• Evaluation Rubric• Course Completion• Attendance• Participation in Class• Non-Discrimination• Communication Center• Accommodations• Academic Misconduct• Syllabus Modifications• Dead Week• Reflective Portfolio

You can access these common Writing and Communication Program policies here. You are required to acknowledge that you have read, have understood, and intend to comply with these policies.

Academic honesty----------------------------------------------------------------------------Please see the Common Policies page under “Academic Misconduct.”

Your projects should be appropriately documented as well as mechanically and grammatically correct. When you quote or paraphrase, please use APA internal, parenthetical citations (author, date, page) as well as an end-of-document references list, unless an assignment gives you different instructions. See Chapter 43 in WOVENText for APA guidelines and follow them to the letter. Visuals and sounds as well as written texts must be properly cited. Not providing appropriate citations is a kind of plagiarism. Academics and professionals must be scrupulously careful about their citations.

Students who plagiarize will be dealt with according to the GT Academic Honor Code. Except for group projects, students must complete all work for this class on their own, with

collaboration limited to peer review feedback as specified in the project description. You must always provide scrupulously correct attribution whenever you incorporate the ideas, words,

or images (or sounds, etc.) of another in your own work. All work turned in for credit in this class must be work that you have done specifically for this class.

Do not “recycle” old work, or even new work completed for another class. If you would like to build upon previous work or work that you are doing in another class in an assignment for our 1102 class, clear it with me first.

You must adhere to Georgia Tech’s honor code for all work related to this class.

Make sure you are thoroughly familiar with the Program policy (see link above) as well as the policies linked to from that page!

Accommodation of students with disabilities-------------------------------------------Please see the Common Policies page under “Accommodations.”

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Attendance-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Writing and Communication Program has a Program-wide attendance policy that you can find on the Common Policies page under “Attendance.” Read it carefully; if you miss too many classes, you may fail this course automatically!

Schedule jobs, study groups, team meetings, and other important commitments at times when this class doesn’t meet. Schedule job interviews so they do not conflict with this class.

If you miss a scheduled presentation or activity, you will receive a grade of 0 (that’s “zero”) for that presentation or activity. In fact, if you miss any assignment, large or small, you receive a “0” for the grade. If you miss any quiz or exam, you will receive a grade of 0 for it.

As a professional courtesy, please send me an e-mail message at jonathan.kotchian@lmc.gatech.edu if illness, an unexpected personal emergency, or business obligations prevent you from attending class or a team meeting (just as you would if you were going to miss work). Providing a reason is a professional courtesy, not an excuse. Regardless of the reason for your absence, you are responsible for information presented in classes you miss. Please also see Georgia Tech’s Institute-wide statement about attendance: http://www.catalog.gatech.edu/rules/4b.php

Changes to the syllabus or calendar-------------------------------------------------------

If/when changes are necessary, I will make them in consultation with the class and in ample advance of any affected due dates. You can always find an updated version of the calendar here.

Please see the Common Policies page under “Syllabus Modifications.”

Dead Week--------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------Please see the section marked “Dead Week” on the Common Policies page.

Discrimination and harassment------------------------------------------------------------The Writing and Communication Program has a Program-wide policy that you can find on the Common Policies page under “Non-Discrimination.”

Participation-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Writing and Communication Program has a Program-wide participation policy that you can find on the Common Polices page under “Participation in Class.” Active participation and engagement in class are required. Students who have not done the reading and/or who do not actively participate during the class period may be penalized for lack of participation. In this class, participation counts as 15% of your grade.

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Appointments and e-mail-------------------------------------------------------------------I encourage you to have an individual or group conference with me for any reason. My office hours are noted above, and you can always talk to me in class or e-mail me to set up an appointment at another time. You should schedule at least one appointment with me, but feel free to make more. I especially encourage you to come and see me if you are having any sort of problem or frustration with the class. I prefer to use e-mail as a scheduling and notification tool. My e-mail address is jonathan.kotchian@lmc.gatech.edu.

Please begin the subject line of an e-mail message to anyone in the class, including me, with ENGL 1102 Section # (your section), followed by the specific topic.

If you have a substantive (long) question about the material that we are covering or your work, please schedule a meeting with me, or just stop by during office hours.

If you miss class, check with your classmates and the “Class Notes” project to find out what you missed.

If an emergency arises that prevents you from attending a scheduled appointment, please contact me by e-mail as soon as you can, just as you would if an emergency caused you to miss a class.

I make every effort to answer e-mail within 24 hours, except on weekends, when email may not get a response until Monday morning.

I don’t critique project drafts over e-mail; instead, meet with me about your project.

Grading------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All grading is holistic. You will receive instructor feedback from me on at least one intermediate stage (“rough draft”) of

each major project. While this intermediate feedback will be geared mostly toward constructing the final artifact(s), it will also include an evaluative component (a grade).

To achieve a satisfactory grade on a project, you must complete the entire project. Incomplete projects will receive an unsatisfactory grade.

This means students must complete every stage of a project in order to receive a satisfactory (C or better) grade on that project.

Failure to complete any stage (draft, peer review, post-write reflection, etc.) of a project will result in an incomplete project and an unsatisfactory grade (D or F) on that assignment. Failure to complete any component of the course, including projects, assignments, and stages of projects or assignments, may result in failure of the course, as determined by the instructor of the course in consultation with the Director and Associate Director of the Writing and Communication Program.

I will use a grading rubric for each project, deriving these from our master rubric (available on the Common Policies page under “Evaluation Rubric,” and on the penultimate page of this syllabus). Although your semester grade will conform to the Georgia Tech system (no plusses or minuses; just letter grades), I will give more precise number grades on some individual assignments, such as the major projects.

Please see the “Evaluation Equivalencies” table on the Common Policies page for an explanation of how letter grades translate to number grades and level of performance.

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Late and missing work-----------------------------------------------------------------------Avoid late assignments. My default policy is that you get a zero if you miss a deadline.

However, you may receive an extension, solely at my discretion, for good cause if you (1) contact me in advance (not the night before an assignment is due) by means of an e-mail in which you explain the reason for the delay; and (2) propose in the e-mail a reasonable new deadline (less than one week after the original deadline), which you then keep. Never assume you have an extension until you receive an e-mail from me confirming it. The e-mail in which you propose an alternative date functions (if I grant the extension, which I will do only via e-mail) as a contract. Failure to keep the new deadline breaks the contract, and I won't accept your assignment unless you can document extraordinary circumstances (e.g., you’re hospitalized). Class presentations or activities are excluded from this option; they are always due on the assigned date. Emergencies will be dealt with on an individual basis.

Absent exceptional circumstances, failure to complete daily work or a project stage by the date it is due will result in the student losing the full point value assigned to such work.

Late is still better than never when it comes to project stages and the like, however, because failure to complete the work associated with a particular stage or draft altogether would result in an unsatisfactory grade on the overall project.

Similarly, since each project builds from previous projects and failure to complete any one project may lead to an unsatisfactory grade for the course, turning a final draft in late is better than not turning it in at all.

Any assignment that is not submitted will be recorded as a 0 (“zero”) and averaged with the rest of your grades. This can damage your course average severely.

Except for absences officially exempted by the Institute or exceptional situations, I do not allow students to make up missed quizzes, presentations, or in-class assignments.

Question forum---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To answer questions that come up outside of class and office hours, I have created an “I have a

question” category on our class blog. Before e-mailing me with any general questions about an assignment, i.e., any questions that are not

specifically related to your particular topic, please check to see if your question has been answered on the blog. If it has not, post it there, making sure to file your post under the "I have a question" category.

I will answer such questions via the blog, and students who contribute helpful questions (and/or useful answers, too!) will receive credit towards class participation.

Where can I get help?-------------------------------------------------------------------------You have a number of resources (besides me) available to you if you need help. For questions about research or multimedia tools, the professional library staff members are a wonderful source of information. Tech has a subscription to Lynda.com, where you can find excellent tutorials for an astounding variety of software applications. Your peers might help answer questions about what we covered in class, readings, and projects. If you need background information about a text, you can often find it in the library or by searching on the web. For technical help with our interactive fiction project, there are coding resources and post categories on the class blog.

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The Communication Center is located in Clough Commons, Suite 447. Please see the Common Policies page under “Communication Center” for more information. It is an excellent resource if you need help with a project.

Finally, you can get help from me, your instructor, by making an appointment to see me or just stopping by during office hours.

What do I do when technology fails?------------------------------------------------------Specific requirements for assignments will be discussed in class. All assignments (unless I tell you otherwise) must be computer generated (no handwritten or typewritten documents). Keep a copy of all assignments you pass in. Most assignments will be handed in digitally, but for certain projects a print (or other physical) version will be necessary. MS Word or a near equivalent is a good choice for word processing, but you’ll need to be careful when transferring a Word document to an online format.

Maintain a cumulative file (hard copy as well as computer file) that includes all your assignments (multiple drafts and final version). This file serves as a base for you to judge your improvement during the semester and to select samples for your portfolio. Keep all your drafts! You will need them for our portfolio project.

Keep your drafts on your hard drive with a backup DVD. Prepare for electronic disasters by always having backups. Number the drafts as you revise your drafts (e.g., task.1, task.2, and so on). Do not delete assignment files after you submit the assignment. Keep your course files as demonstrable evidence that you are a skillful communicator, but if—against my advice—you decide to delete your course files, please keep them at least until you have received your final, official grade for the course.

Course Calendar----------------------------------------------------------------Please see the calendar page on the course blog.

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PLEASE READ, SIGN, AND RETURN THESE STATEMENTS TO DR. KOTCHIAN.

I affirm that I have read the entire syllabus and policy sheet for ENGL 1102 and understand the information and the responsibilities specified.

____________________________________________print full name____________________________________________legible signature____________________________________________date

DIRECTIONS: Read carefully and check all that apply.

I give my instructor, Jonathan Kotchian, permission to use copies of the work I do for this course, ENGL 1102, as examples in presentations and in print and electronic publications.

I do not want my work used as examples in any situations.

If you give permission for your work to be used, please indicate how you want to be acknowledged: Please acknowledge me by name. Please use my work, but do not acknowledge me by name.

The following information enables me to contact you if your work is used.

_________________________________________________________________________print full name

_________________________________________________________________________legible signature

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________print permanent address

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________print campus address

_________________________________________________________________________phone email address

_________________________________________________________________________date

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Scale Basic Beginning Developing Competent Mature Exemplary

Rhetorical AwarenessResponse to situation, including purpose, audience, register, and context

Overlooks two or more aspects of the situation or assignment, and thus does not fulfill the task

Overlooks at least one aspect of the situation or assignment and thus compromises effectiveness

Attempts to respond to all aspects of the situation or assignment, but the attempt is incomplete

Addresses the situation or assignment in a complete but perfunctory or predictable way

Addresses the situation completely, with unexpected insight

Addresses the situation in a sophisticated manner that could advance professional discourse on the topic

StanceArgument, significance and implications (“so what” factor)

Involves an unspecified or confusing argument; significance is not evident

Makes an overly general argument; significance is difficult to discern, or not appropriate to the rhetorical situation

Makes a simplistic or implicit argument, or multiple arguments that have no clear connection to one another; gestures towards significance, but does not fully develop it

Makes an explicit and straightforward argument that does not oversimplify the problem or question; explores at least one implication of the argument in depth

Makes a complex, unified argument that clearly articulates a position or stance; explores multiple implications of the argument

Offers an inventive, expert-like argument that clearly articulates a sophisticated position/stance; explores multiple implications of the argument in a compelling manner

Development of IdeasEvidence, analysis, and substance

Claims requiring support are not backed by necessary evidence; lacks analysis of major pieces of evidence; content is not substantive

Evidence and/or analysis is weak or contradictory; does not account for important evidence that could support or disprove the argument

Evidence provides minimal but necessary support to each point; attempted analysis is not sufficient to prove the argument

Evidence and analysis are substantive; they support the argument and related claims, but are mostly predictable

Evidence fully supports and proves the argument and all related claims; evidence is always paired with compelling analysis

Evidence and analysis are precise, nuanced, fully developed, and work together to enhance the argument,

OrganizationStructure and coherence, including elements such as introductions and conclusions as well as logical connections between points

Lacks unity in constituent parts; fails to create coherence among constituent parts; contains major argumentative holes or fallacies

Uses insufficient unifying statements; uses few effective connections; some logical moves necessary to prove the argument are absent

Uses some effective unifying claims, but a few are unclear; inconsistently makes connections between points and the argument; employs simplistic organization

States unifying claims with supporting points that relate clearly to the overall argument and employs an effective but mechanical scheme

Asserts and sustains a claim that develops logically and progressively; adapts typical organizational schemes for the context; achieves substantive coherence

Artifact is organized to achieve maximum coherence and momentum; connections are sophisticated and complex when required

ConventionsExpectations for grammar, mechanics, style, citation

Involves errors that risk making the overall message distorted or incomprehensible

Involves a major pattern of errors

Involves some distracting errors

Meets expectations, with minor errors

Meets expectationsin a virtually flawless manner

Exceeds expectations and manipulates conventions to advance the argument

Design for MediumFeatures that use affordances of the genre to enhance factors such as usability and comprehensibility

Lacks features necessary or significant for the genre; uses features that conflict with or ignore the argument

Omits some important features; distracting inconsistencies in features; uses features that don’t support argument

Uses features that support the argument, but some match imprecisely with content; involves minor omissions or inconsistencies

Supports the argument with features that are generally suited to genre and content

Promotes engagement and supports the argument with features that efficiently use affordances

Persuades with careful, seamless integration of features and content and with innovative use of affordances

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The images in the syllabus header on p. 1 were cropped from the below sites on January 2nd, 2015.From left to right:

Amada4’s image of jigsaw pieces:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puzzle

Infocom’s box art for Zork I:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zork

Grete Stern’s 1951 photo of Jorge Luis Borges:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Luis_Borges

Twine logo:http://twinery.org/

Endofskull’s photo of a magnifying glass:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnifying_glass

Michael J’s crossword:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossword

Cyril Thomas’s photo of a deerstalker hat:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deerstalker