Subtitled: Teaching rhetorical awareness through design analysis. These are notes for a presentation I delivered to faculty as a member of the Digital Composition Committee for the writing program at CU Boulder.
Citation preview
1. Amy Goodloe August 21, 2013
2. What do the following examples have to do with teaching
writing?
3. They show that good interface design, like good writing,
requires rhetorical awareness
4. Encouraging students to see the value of rhetorical
awareness in their writing can be difficult Especially given that
very little in their 20+ years of writing for school has required
it
5. STUDENT BELIEFS ABOUT WRITING Purpose: learning Audiences:
obligated to read Design considerations: following the handbook
format is sufficient Writing is "student- centered" REALITIES OF
WRITING BEYOND SCHOOL Purpose: communication Audiences: need to be
enticed to read and believe Design plays a significant role in
audience response Writing is reader- centered
6. Connect rhetorical awareness to familiar reading situations:
digital interfaces "Interface" - any space where users interact
with technology, typically for the purpose of reading and writing
Both writers and designers need to know how to: anticipate the
needs and expectations of end users (or readers) design interfaces
(or messages) that will meet these needs
7. Good writing, like good interface design, is: usable: easy
to comprehend persuasive: influences attitudes or behaviors
Examples: Document design Blog posts Web sites Physical and
software interfaces
8. Gather sample resumes and show each to students for 10
seconds Ask them to record: what they remember about the candidate
their impressions of the candidate Ask them to study the samples
more closely To identify traits that make some more usable and
persuasive than others
9. no document design = can't remember anything rhetorically
clueless document design = remembered the wrong things due to
misplaced emphasis rhetorically aware document design = remembered
the right things had a more positive impression of writer
10. Strategic use of formatting elements headers and
sub-headers to reflect hierarchical importance font size and weight
as well as font type bulleted lists to emphasize key qualifications
balanced overall layout (not too dense or sparse) General
observation: if you could've prepared this on a typewriter, you're
doing something wrong!
11. Gather sample blog posts and show each for 20 seconds Ask
students to record: How likely they would be to choose that post to
read and respond to Their impressions of the person who wrote the
post After closer study, ask them to identify: The traits that make
some posts more usable and persuasive than others
12. Prefer to read posts that are "usable" and "persuasive
Engaging subject lines, short and focused paragraphs, helpful
formatting, good use of web conventions Steer clear of poorly
designed messages Appear harder to comprehend Convey impression of
disorganized writer Revelation for some: what they prefer to read
is not how they typically write
13. Gather sample web sites and show each to students for 20
seconds Ask them to record: Which sites theyd most likely gravitate
towards Their impressions of the sites credibility After closer
study, ask them to identify: The traits that make some sites more
usable and persuasive than others
14. Not a sample web site but a sample teaching tool From:
xkcd.com
15. From: theoatmeal.com
16. More likely to choose and to trust sites that meet
principles of usability and persuasiveness Similar to Dave
Underwoods principle of good visual design: Made you look Made you
stay Made you believe
17. Familiar designs are more inviting and user-friendly
because they meet audience expectations regarding: Layout
Navigation Text formatting Conventions Good design also reflects
typical reading habits
19. Typical Blog Sidebars What rhetorical purpose do these
serve?
20. What should you put in the space opposite the golden
triangle? TypicalWeb Reading Habits
21. Menus and menu items are in familiar spots top menu most
common "home" button on left easy access to about, contact, and
search external links are on sidebar, not top Menu items reflect
logical site structure interests of target audience
22. TypicalTop Navigation Menus
23. Students start to understand the importance of following
conventions (and the consequences of not doing so) the rhetorical
power of logical organization Students see writing as "creating a
user experience Peer review becomes a process of "user testing For
usability and persuasiveness
24. Principle: Rhetorical awareness extends beyond web sites
to: The design of spaces and objects Software interfaces Activity:
Ask students to analyze examples how they function as messages with
writers and audiences how they illustrate concepts of usability and
persuasiveness
25. Handles are for pulling right? From baddesigns.com
26. What reading problem does this design address?
27. So do I upload by creating?
28. These activities use concepts from interface design to help
students meet the learning goals common to our discipline:
rhetorical knowledge critical thinking genre conventions digital
literacy End result: Students see "rhetorical awareness" as a
concept useful well beyond the classroom
29. Be sure to practice what you preach: follow the principles
of good design in all your course materials!
30. References and resources, along with a copy of this
presentation, to a post on: http://digitalwriting101.net/teaching
See also: Rhetoric of Presentations
http://digitalwriting101.net/content/tips-rhetorically-
effective-presentations/