Class Photos!

What a great semester!

2pm Class

3:30pm Class

Semester Final Reflection Essay

In class on Thursday (12-11) you will write a short essay response to the following questions. Although we will work on these in class, you do not need to post your essay to your blog until the Friday of exam week (12-19).

Please frame your answer in complete thoughts and paragraphs (not as a bullet-point list). Feedback is essential to helping me shape this course in the future, so I appreciate your honest responses to these questions.

Please answer every question in detail:

The Project

• What was your biggest struggle during this project?
• What aspect of the documentary makes you most proud?
• What aspect of the documentary would you have changed?
• What aspects of the project were you personally responsible for? Please be specific as possible.
• We can all agree that group is frustrating. What did you do to try to promote a healthy group atmosphere? What more do you wish you had done to help the group?  Do you feel like you contributed a fair amount to the overall project?

The Class

• This course is designed to help you hone your critical thinking skills. Did any of our readings or films cause you to think about your world differently? Did the project cause you to think about the campus community differently?
• Another goal of this course is to challenge you with new technologies and communication techniques. How did your public speaking ability change this semester? Did you enjoy learning about how different styles of communication function, or would you have preferred writing 4 essays?
• My goal as an instructor is to help draw out the abilities you already possess, and focus them into new applications. Was my style helpful? Would you have preferred more lectures? More discussion? More homework?
• What can I do in the future to make this class better?
• If you could change one thing about this course, what would it be?

First Cuts Day 2

The Main Event

Hockey

Study Abroad

Bodybuilders (Callie, Savannah, Randi)

Bodybuilders (Chase, Jon, Alex)

First Cuts Day 1

Tattoos

Chili

Dodgeball

Keeneland

4PAWS

Eventing

First Cut Presentation Time

Thursday
Tattoos
Chili
Dodgeball

Keeneland
4Paws
Eventing

Tuesday
Hockey
The Main Event
Study Abroad

Bodybuilders (Callie)
Bodybuilders (Chase)

First Cuts and Documentary Guidelines

Each Film Must have:

• A title (not "WRD 111 Documentary" but an actual title)
• 5 minutes of footage
• End credits (each group member's name and primary responsibilities)
• Citations (interview subjects; any footage, sounds, or images you took from somewhere else). Use the Purdue OWL as a guide for citing sources.

Each First Cut Presentation must:

• Feature a full-length, finished documentary video. This is not a "rough draft"
• Feature a brief spoken element from each group member (how you divide this task is up to you)
• Cover most or all of the questions below in the span of three minutes, and include a Question and Answer segment. Each group will paired with another group who will ask questions.

Questions to consider for your First Cuts presentation:

• What is the thesis and focus of your documentary? 
• What is the scope (why did you choose to focus on certain elements and ignore others? How did you decide what to cut and what to keep?)
• Who is the audience for your documentary? What do you want your audience to leave with intellectually and emotionally?
• What rhetorical choices we talked about in class did you incorporate in your film?
• What areas do you feel work best?
• What areas do you feel need improvement?
• What types of feedback would like? In other words, on which sections or elements of your documentary should we focus feedback?
• What were some elements or shots you wanted to get but couldn't? This will help us to not suggest shots that you've already considered.
• If you had an extra six months to work on this project, what would you have done differently? This is a fun question to talk about, because it lets us see the ideas you had that never made it to the documentary because of time constraints.

This is not an exhaustive list, nor is it a strict guideline; rather, use these questions to give you an idea of what your First Cuts presentation should cover.

You will also be assessed on your presentation skills. Taking into account the feedback you received from me on your Shark Tank Proposal, think about how to improve your:

• Tone, volume, and projection
• Eye contact, posture, and hand placement
• Pacing, spacing, usage of the room, and movement

Group Meeting Schedule

Tuesday
2:00 Hockey Team
2:20 Chili Cook-Off
2:40 Study Abroad

3:15 Service Dogs
3:35 Bodybuilders (Randi)

Thursday
2:00 The Main Event
2:20 Dodgeball
2:40 Tattoos

3:15 Keeneland
3:35 Eventing
3:55 Bodybuilders (Jon)

Remaining Schedule

As our semester comes to an end, I thought it might be helpful to outline how our remaining class periods will play out. At this point, we are done with any lecture-style class periods, and will spend class time working, meeting, or presenting.

November 6:
Schedule Group meetings. Group work time. Filming Day.

GROUPS SHOULD HAVE SOME FILMING DONE

November 11:
Group Meetings, part one. Each group needs to bring as much footage as possible for us to watch during class.

November 13:
Group Meetings, part two.

GROUPS SHOULD HAVE ALL FILMING DONE

November 18:
Editing Week. Any groups who wish to work at the Media Depot (or at home) must post a group work photo from that day. This is for attendance purposes.

November 20:
Editing Week. Any groups who wish to work at the Media Depot (or at home) must post a group work photo from that day.

GROUPS SHOULD HAVE FINISHED EDITING

November 25:
NO CLASS, Thanksgiving holiday break.

December 2:
Group presentation guidelines, presented by Eleanor. Schedule First Cuts presentation times.

GROUPS SHOULD HAVE PRESENTATIONS SCRIPTED AND OUTLINED

December 4:
First Cuts presentation, day one.

December 9:
First Cuts presentation, day two.

December 11:
Food party day! We will have some snacks and you will complete evaluation forms for this class. Please bring your laptop/tablet/device so you can complete all evaluations in class.

Finals Week:
NO CLASS. Final Cuts of your group's documentary, as well as your personal reflection essay, will be due by December 19 at noon. Anything submitted later than this will earn a zero.

Homework for 11-6

For Thursday, beyond continuing to work on your films, please read the chapter "Using Evidence" from our course textbook: The Town Branch Writer. Chapter 10 begins on page 310. There is no blog post associated with this assignment, simply read and think about the evidence (interviews) you're collecting, and how you might use it.

Interviewing Basics

As you begin filming, here are some tips and techniques for conducting successful interviews.

Class Canceled

Class is canceled today (October 30). Your storyboards are still due on your blog by this afternoon. Your only homework for this weekend is to begin filming. Have a safe weekend!

Filming and Editing Tips

Here are three tips to think about as you begin filming.

What's in a Storyboard?

A storyboard is a way for your group to outline and visualize your entire project before you begin filming. The outline will help you construct and follow the narrative of your story and think about which scenes you need and where they will go.

The storyboard, however, contains more than just an overview of your story arc-- it contains specifics about shots and transitions as well.

Student Documentaries

Puppies for a Purpose

Paintball Team

Mathews Garden

Homework for 10-16: Born Into Coal

For the weekend, please watch and respond to the documentary short Born Into Coal. In particular, pay attention to the narrative style. Is this Human Interest? Standard Narrative? A mix of both?

Pay attention to specific shots. I would like you to break down AT LEAST one shot in detail. You can/should screen capture this shot (so we can see what you're talking about) and embed it in your post. Explain why you chose this shot, what made it stand out to you, and how it works in the larger context of the film. Is this a shot you could re-create?

What is Documentary?

Documentary is a subset of the non-fiction film genre. There is no one documentary film style, which means that it's not possible to talk about what documentaries "look like." It is also not possible to talk about how long a documentary is supposed to be, how in-depth the research needs to be, nor what narrative style frames the film.

MAJOR PROJECT 2: Research Memo

Research Memo

Your next major project is the Research Memo. As this project is simply a compilation of information and planning, you will only receive a credit/no credit score. Each group needs to submit each entry only once.

Homework for 10-14

For Tuesday, I'd like you to write a 350-500 word blog post in which you consider Visual Rhetoric. Visual Rhetoric is simply the application of our rhetorical model onto visual spaces. The follow websites construct an argument, using visuals, about the death penalty.

Avoiding the actual issues (your beliefs on the morality of the death penalty), discuss the rhetorical choices each author made. Do you find one presentation more or less compelling? What other presentations may have been possible? How does each author's aim/goal affect how he presents the images and text? Are there any other elements besides the photographs that contribute to the visual presentation (think text, color, layout)?

No Seconds
The Last Meal Project

Understanding Film Terms

Below are some key terms and explanations (with examples) of key film concepts and terms. 

Groups

For Thursday, I'd like to put you all into groups for the rest of the semester. I will continue to update this post as people email me, but here are the groups so far:

The Main Event
Mike Eilerman
Taylor Hamilton
Caroline Alexander
Shannon Stauffer

Dodgeball
Jared Smith
Justin
Brian

The Great Chili Cook-off
Sidney Forester
Beth Harper
Sabrina Walker
Lina Miscia

Study Abroad
Anna Montero
Monique Thomas-Whitehurst
Rana Ghazala
Emma Njuguna

Tattoos
Alex Hamilton
Shelby Napier
Elizabeth Brooks
Sam Heiser

Ice Hockey
Zack Flynn
James Holt
Mason Lubay
Seth Adams

4 Paws 4 Ability
Lynsey Bates
Betsy Evans
Alyssa Hiser
Gabriella Passidomo
Reacheal

Horse Eventing
Kaelyn Chick
Ben Lu
Shelby Vaccariello
Najwa Abu-Taha

Bodybuilders
Randi
Savannah
Callie
Justin

Jon
Chase
Alex
Leon

Keenland
Jimmy
Oakley
Megan
Noah
Daniel

If you do not yet have a group, you have two options:
1. Before class, you need to email me and tell me which group you're interested in joining
2. Come on class on Thursday and get put into a random group

Speech Reflection

For Thursday, please compose a 250 word response to your Shark Tank proposal. Try to assess yourself honestly-- what did you do well? What do you need to work on? What is something that you were unaware of as you presented? Was your presentation what you expected? Did you perform better or worse than you anticipated? Similarly, you can respond to my comments. Avoid discussing grades so much as my comments at the bottom of the rubric. How can you improve on the issues I raised? What do you want to do differently next time?

Thursday, October 2 Speeches

Below, please find the speeches from today's class.

Homework for Tuesday, October 7

On Tuesday, we will be heading to the Media Depot for a quick tour of the facilities. For Tuesday, please read Chapter 3 of our course textbook, The Town Branch Writer. Chapter 3 starts on page 71. There is no blog post required for this reading, simply read the chapter.

Tuesday, September 30 Speeches

Anna

James

Emma

Brian

Jared

Shannon

Sabrina

Monique

Mike

Callie

Gabrielle

Daniel

Leon

Alex

Rise of the NBA Nerd

For Thursday, please read Wesley Morris' essay The Rise of the NBA Nerd and write a 350+ word blog response.

In your response, please elaborate on what you believe is Morris' central argument. I would also like you to think about Visual Rhetoric. We understand the principles of rhetoric as they apply to writing, but what about when they apply to images? Is what we wear an argument? Can it be political? How?

Russell Westbrook (courtesy of Getty Images)

Thursday, September 25 Shark Tank

Shark Tank pitches from September 25.

Tuesday, September 23 Shark Tank

Below, please find all the videos from the Shark Tank speeches given on Tuesday.

Shark Tank Speech Times

Tuesday, September 23
2:00 Caroline
2:10 Mike
2:20 Sam
2:30 Shelby
2:40 Taylor
2:50 Justin
3:00 Seth
3:10 Alex

3:30 Jimmy
3:40 Betsy
3:50 Randi
4:00 Savannah
4:10 Oakley
4:20 Reacheal
4:30 Kaelyn
4:40 Najwa

Thursday, September 25
2:00 Lina
2:10 Elizabeth
2:20 Zach
2:30 Rana
2:40 Sidney
2:50 Mason
3:00 Beth

3:30 Megan
3:40 Alyssa
3:50 Shelby
4:00 Chase
4:10 Jon
4:20 Ben
4:30 Noah
4:40 Aaliyah

Tuesday, September 30
2:00 Anna
2:10 James
2:20 Emma
2:30 Brian
2:40 Jared
2:50 Shannon
3:00 Sabrina
3:10 Monique

3:30 Callie
3:40 Gabrielle
3:50 Daniel
4:00 Leon
4:10 Alex
4:20 Lynsey
4:30 Justin

Speech Prep

Soon, you will be presenting your "Shark Tank" proposals for your projects. As you prepare, here is some important information to keep in mind:

Length
I expect your presentation to last around three minutes. It is important that you do not go over time, as we will struggle to fit these into one week.

Q&A
Following your presentation, a pre-determined group of four students will ask you a question regarding your presentation or its viability. I will allow (and even encourage) the audience to use a positive statement/critique approach; however, the students tasked with asking questions cannot just offer a positive statement.

Grading and Assessment
You will be graded on both your presentation and your audience participation. That means that you need to come prepared not only for your speech but also for your role as feedback provider.

In regards to your proposal, we have agreed on the following grading criteria:

Proposal
25% Logos: Information, facts, and research. Your background knowledge of the subject. What is your plan for the project? What will this documentary look like at the end? Whom have you contacted?
10% Relevance link: Why would college students care about this project? What makes your subject interesting or unique? How is the angle you're taking with this project novel? In short, who cares?
10% Pathos: What makes this project important? Why are you passionate about this project? Convince us that you're driven to make this project work.
5% Ethos: What are your skills related to this project? Do you have any experience with interviewing? Video editing? Filming? Narrating? Writing Scripts? Doing research? Convince us that your project will succeed because you have the necessary skills. 

Body Language     
20% Preparation: Your speech presents evidence that you have practiced and prepared. Working on pacing and cadence, pauses and transitions. Think about how you will present yourself-- do you need to dress up? (yes, you do) Are you around three minutes? Have you anticipated the questions you will receive? Remember that you don't always need the answers for the Q&A session, merely the knowledge of how you would go about finding the answer.
10% Speed/Tone/Volume: Related to preparation, but this score focuses just on the oral element of your presentation. Project your voice, avoid monotone, and control your pace.
10% Eye Contact: Make sure you're not fixating on one person (especially not me!). Scan the room, look out at us, and avoid the walls, windows, and floor. Don't forget to blink!
10% Movement and Fluidity: Use your nervous energy to move your body around the room. Avoid pacing, as that distracts the viewer, but do not simply stand still with your arms folded. Stay active in the front of the room.

Meeting Times

These are the times you will be meeting with me this week:

Thursday (9-11):
In 1206 POT
12:00 Lina
12:05 Anna
12:10 Rana
12:20 Betsy
12:30 Alyssa
12:40 Aaliyah
12:50 Oakley
1:00 Noah
1:10 Chase

In our classroom (B-03 POT)
2:00 Shannon
2:10 Mike
2:20 Alex
2:30 Zach
2:40 Elizabeth
2:50 Sidney
3:00 Justin
3:30 Najwa
3:40 Callie
3:50 Gabrielle
4:00 Megan
4:10 Daniel
4:20 Justin
4:30 Savannah
4:40 Lynsey

Tuesday (9-16):
In 1206 POT
12:00 Beth
12:10 Shelby
12:15 Mason
12:20 Brian
12:30 Seth
12:50 Shelby
1:00 Jimmy
1:10 Monique
1:20 Jared

In our classroom (B-03 POT)
2:00 Caroline
2:10 Sam
2:20 Emma
2:30 Sabrina
2:40 James
2:50 Taylor
3:30 Kaelyn
3:40 Reacheal
3:50 Randi
4:00 Alex
4:10 Ben
4:20 Jon
4:30 Leon

Homework for 9-9: TED Talks

Over the weekend, I'd like you all to continue thinking about your Shark Tank Proposals. What topics are you interested in? Can you narrow your interests down to two or three finalists?

Beyond the topic, I'd also like you think about speech itself. In order to understand what makes a good speech, I'd like you to find examples of good and bad speech.

For homework, your goal is to browse the TED website for examples of good and bad speeches. Don't just focus on "good" and "bad" as they relate to interest-level or content, but on how the speaker presents his or her ideas.

In a 500-word blog post, please link the videos (embed if you can) and provide an analysis of the success and failures of the speakers. What made this speech great? Where did the speaker fall short? How might each speaker improve in the future?

Shark Tank Proposals

In a few weeks, you'll be pitching your own version of a Shark Tank Proposal. As we watch this video, pay close attention to the format of the presentation as well as the presentation itself.

As you watch for format, I'd like you to notice how the time is split. Less than half of the overall time is spent on the presentation. This means that, like the people in the above video, you'll need to focus on keeping your message short and sweet while still giving your audience the relevant information and a strong argument. The other half of the time is spent doing a Q&A session. This means that, aside from your speech, you'll need to anticipate and have answers for potential questions from myself and your classmates. That doesn't always mean that you have the answer, but it does mean that you should have considered potential problems and have an idea for how you might address these issues.

As you watch the presentation itself, I'd like you to think about body language and content. Frequently, we over-prepare for content, without much consideration of body language. As you watch, think about not only how the presenters structure their pitch, but how their body language (both good and bad) plays a role in their presentation.

Ultimately, a successful project is defined by the author's ability to understand what is needed and where his or her strengths are. Focus on what your weaknesses might be-- how can you improve or work around them? Where are your strengths? How can you emphasize them?

NAKED CELEBRITY LEAKS! Homework for Thursday, September 4

For Thursday, please read this article and respond with a 250-400 word blog post.

As this is your first blog post, I'd like to offer suggestions for how to respond to our readings.

1. Read the material slowly and carefully. The last thing you want to do is make an argument about the article that illustrates that you did not fully understand (or finish) the essay. 
2. Take time after reading to think about your blog post before you begin typing. Your blogs should not be stream-of-consciousness journals about your feelings-- they should be tightly-constructed essays with a few main points.
3. Your blogs should perform two main functions: first, they should offer a summary of the central argument the author is making; second, they should offer your response to some element of the article (it can be the central argument, but it does not have to be).
4. For the central argument, you should focus on deconstructing the entire essay into a sentence. What point is the author trying to make? What tells you this is his or her main argument? Can you pull a quote that illustrates this main point? This section need only be brief and to-the-point.
5. The personal reaction section should be much longer than the summary section. How did you respond to the author's argument? To his or her writing style? Did the use of media play any part for you? Here, avoid simple inarticulate statements such as "I didn't like it" or "it was boring." Imagine that the article was not assignment for your entertain, but for you to learn something about your world or about argumentative writing. Respond with those ideals in mind.
6. Finally, think about how you might use media in your response. Blogs are great because you can embed pictures and video or link to other articles or websites. Do not treat your blog like a piece of paper-- embrace and utilize it to its full potential.

Feet Wet Speeches

For class today, you will be giving one-minute speeches.

"Feet Wet" speeches are designed to be low-stakes and fun way to get over anxieties related to giving a speech in front of the class. You will choose your topic, and I will give you all one minute to prepare a speech to the class. Then, you will come to the front and deliver your speech. Easy!

In order to find fun and low-stakes topics (and to keep it fresh and random for me), we will be using the Would You Rather? question set.

Remember, these speeches are supposed to stress-free and there is no right answer. Focus on having a strong introduction, two or three main points, a strong conclusion, and filling up one minute.

Homework for Tuesday, September 2

For Tuesday, please create your own blogger account, and paste the link to your blog in the comments section of this post.

Your blog link will be something like joesblog.blogspot.com
It will NOT be something like https://www.blogger.com/a;lskdjfalkjfal;sdl;kasdl;kf

In your first post, please introduce yourself and give the answer to our class icebreaker question from today (what song or album would you use to describe your 2014? Why?)

Finally, please make sure that you have an avatar picture for your blog. For now, I'm going to ask that the picture be of you and you alone. This helps me put faces to names very quickly, so looking at your car or a group of your friends is not as helpful.

Have a great weekend!

WRD 110 Fall 2014 Syllabus

WRD 110 Fall 2014

Composition and Communication

Instructor: Owen Horton

Office Location: 1206 POT

Office Hours: 12:30-2:00pm TR

Email: owen.horton@uky.edu

Semester                                              Time                                        Location

Fall 2014                                             TR 2-3:15pm                           POT 0B3

Fall 2014                                             TR 3:30-4:45pm                      POT 0B3