Below appears the text of the assignment sheet for the Collaborative Project Planning Document (IP PlanDoc), adapted for online presentation. This version is to be considered authoritative, superseding any previously published information regarding the IP PlanDoc. Note that while the IP PlanDoc itself is a daily assignment, it directly impacts both the IP and EAR, and so leads to a significant portion of the total course grade; students are advised to treat it seriously.
The IP and EAR are two components of a large collaborative project. Because so much time and so large a portion of the course grade is bound up in them, students will benefit from beginning work on the project early and returning to it often. The IP PlanDoc is meant to facilitate that early beginning, giving students an opportunity to think about and direct the initial stages of the project and allowing the instructor to work to best facilitate student success in it.
The IP PlanDoc should take the form of a standard memorandum, no more than one page in length. The required subject line is "ENGL 3323 Collaborative Project Planning Document." Its content should consist of two sets of sentences with following bullet points:
The first should offer a brief (two to three sentences) general statement of professional/academic research interests. Following the sentences should be two to three bullet points, each indicating a potential specific project that corresponds to the general interests. Identified in each should be a problem to solve/a question to answer and a client for whom to solve/answer it.
The second should offer a brief general statement of the kinds of qualities desired of group mates. Following the sentences should be two to three bullet points, each indicating a student in the class with whom the individual Document author would be willing to collaborate, as well as a brief explanation of why.
Responses will be used to assign student groups. Determination will be made first based upon similarities of expressed projects, then by similarities of expressed group preferences. Those students whose projects and group selections do not facilitate easy grouping will not be penalized in their grades on the IP PlanDoc for that reason, but they will be assigned to groups effectively at random.
A copy of the grading rubric that will be appended to the IP PlanDoc when it is returned to the student appears here. Scoring of the IP PlanDoc will be determined according to the following criteria:
Format (3 points)
Does the memorandum display appropriate type-face, interlinear and inter-paragraph spacing, and captioning and transmittal information as indicated in the course textbook and class discussion? Does it conform to the length and distribution requirements expressed above? Is it submitted in one of the requested file formats?
Content (5 points)
Does the memorandum contain the requested information, as noted above? Is that content sufficient to address the needs of the reader (i.e., determining the nature and scope of the collaborative project and its appropriateness as an endeavor for students in the class, as well as facilitating student grouping)? Is the required subject line in place?
Mechanics (2 points)
Does the memorandum adhere to the conventions of academic American English expressed in the course textbook and discussed during class time? Does it observe diction, register, and tone reasonably appropriate to professional discourse, such as can be reasonably expected of students in an upper-division English class?
The IP PlanDoc is to be submitted as a .doc, .docx, or .rtf file via D2L dropbox before the beginning of class time on 2 February 2015. It is a 10-point daily assignment. As usual, any outside information must be accounted for appropriately, and failure to do so will prompt investigations for plagiarism.
Note that the IP PlanDoc is an individual assignment. Each student is expected to submit a unique document. Students are allowed to coordinate their efforts and align their project goals prior to their individual work drafting individual IP PlanDocs, however.
More information is forthcoming. Check back for updates.