WRIT 501 Final Exam Protocol

The final exam for WRIT 501 will take place on Friday, December 11, from 6:30-9:00 pm in 203 Owens. (Please note the changed room.) This exam counts as 10% of your final grade. University policy does not allow for changed exam times based on student travel or work schedules. So you’ll all need to be there.

The exam will consist of 7-10-minute oral presentations from each of you about your portfolio: specifically, demonstrating the kind(s) of work you have done and the things you have learned about rhetoric and new media based on the reading, writing, and experimenting you have done this semester. You should think of this as a kind of “gallery talk” in which you display and discuss your work. (Expect to get a few questions as part of your time allotment.)

Owens 203 is a “SMART” classroom with a large display screen and a podium to hide behind, while the rest of us can sit relatively comfortably at tables to watch your presentations (without the distractions of keyboards to be clicking on). There is sound capability as well. So you can either take us through the portfolio click by click, or show us web pages, or use a PowerPoint—the choice of medium is up to you. Just make sure you rehearse it so that it can be given in 10 minutes.

I will be grading this presentation, but I am also inviting several faculty members who have expressed interest in the subject of rhetoric, new media, and the class to see you show off. (I don’t know how many of them, if any, will attend, but I wanted you to know so that you can prepare to present to an audience.)

Based on the stated goals for the class, this exam will be the final determinant if you can display the following characteristics:

3.1 understand that composing is a practice that covers a wide range of processes, functions, purposes, rhetorical situations and strategies, and categories of discourse;

3.2 display a broad view of what constitutes texts, including both print and non-print media, and demonstrate an understanding that technological advancements can change both what is considered text and how text is prepared;

3.3 recognize such characteristics of good writing as substantial and relevant content, organization, clarity, appropriateness of tone, and correctness in mechanics and usage;

3.4 demonstrate a basic understanding of the processes appropriate to composing in a variety of forms and for a variety of audiences and purposes;

4.2 be able to analyze critically and interpret written and non-written texts in terms of historical period, national origin, content, cultural context, tone, implied meaning, humor, structure, style, language, themes, form and mode, and rhetorical strategies;

4.3 understand various means of presenting their analyses and interpretations, in both written and oral forms.

5.4 use technology to communicate effectively with audiences (using such vehicles as web pages, e-mail, and/or discussion lists); and

5.5 use technology to deliver information (using such vehicles as presentations, page design, and/or desktop publishing) in a rhetorically effective manner

Here is the rubric I will be using to grade your exam performance.