Artifact 1

Goals and Learning Outcomes

Rhetoric: Create purposeful, audience-directed artifacts that present well-organized, well-supported, well-designed arguments using appropriate conventions of written, oral, visual, and/or nonverbal communication

Critical Thinking: Systematically analyze and question information in a manner that identifies and evaluates problems, processes, values, assumptions, and arguments 

WOVEN

Written communication: You must write a compelling narrative illustrating the concept of belonging or authenticity.

Or

Visual communication: You must compose a compelling visual narrative (comic) illustrating the concept of belonging or authenticity.

Prompt

You will compose a memoir demonstrating the idea of belonging or authenticity without using the words belonging, belong, belongs, belonged, etc. or authenticity, authentic, etc.

Argument or Purpose

You're composing a short memoir that indirectly defines the idea of "belonging" but without using the word belonging or its derivatives belong, belongs, belonged, etc. in the entirety of your essay. You will define this by speaking to an event, moment, situation, or narrative in your life that emblematizes a time, place, event, or experience in which you felt like you did or did not belong. 

Audience

Imagine your audience to be other students at Georgia Tech, faculty members, and book editors and book publishers. They’re interested in your humanity and life experiences. Knowing the prompt, they expect a creative response to defining the idea of belonging and are not interested in a bland recounting of experiences and events without some sense of emotionalism or artistry present in the work. 

Defining Features

(1) Written memoirs

• These memoirs should be approximately 1,500-2,000 words.

• These memoirs can not use the words belonging, belong, belongs, belonged, authentic, or authenticity.

• Do not write like you're trying to be admitted to Georgia Tech.

• Use concrete examples. Often students will vaguely gesture toward a moment but not delve into detail. So, use imagery, setting, characterization, etc. Pause to give us the senses of place and characters to help us 'get into' the moment with you. (Use all five senses!) 

(2) Comic memoirs

• These memoirs should be approximately 7-10 8/5"x11"pages.

• These memoirs can not use the words belonging, belong, belongs, belonged, authentic, or authenticity.

• Do not write like you're trying to be admitted to Georgia Tech.

• Use concrete examples. Often students will vaguely gesture toward a moment but not delve into detail.

• These illustrated memoirs should follow standard comic or manga formatting with panels, gutters, splashes, speech bubbles, etc. 

• Many students have not created comics before. I have uploaded the first chapter of Scott McCloud's Making Comics to Canvas. However, the GATech libraries could probably get you a copy of the full work if you need it. You will need to sign in and request it, since it is in off-site storage, and may take a business day or two to arrive. You could also request a copy from another USG library. 

• No images may be generated by AI. If it is done that will constitute an immediate 0 to be awarded to the artifact unit.

(3) Some combination

• Feel free to experiment with merging a comic and written form-perhaps images, paintings, etc. incorporated within the memoir. Let's talk individually about the parameters for a work like this one. 

Work must be made for this project and not just recycled material from or for other classes or courses or seminars.

AI may not be used at any point in writing or composing this project. Should it be used, that will constitute a violation of the honors policy and be grounds for disciplinary action including being awarded a 0 for this entire unit (25% of your final grade in the course).

Process

Memoir Presentation

Your group will compose a short presentation and guide group discussion on an assigned memoir on Tuesday, September 5. These will be done in class, and require you to have read the assigned memoir. You will need to present on a few things, but will be composed and presented in-class to help you with off-the-cuff presentation skills and to familiarize you with other memoirs. 

Brainstorming Sessions

We will have in-class workshops where you and your group mates may discuss the ideas of belonging and authenticity you may use in your introductions. These will often be guided reflections, sharing your work with one another, and guided reflections on your processes, collaboration 'check-ins,' etc. 

Peer Review

On Tuesday, September 12, your memoir is due for peer review in "Artifact 1 Peer Review" in the Assignment Page. These will be due by the beginning of class on that day. This will give you ample time to edit before the final due date.

Submission

The final, completed, polished memoir must be submitted via "Artifact 1 Final" assignment in Canvas by the beginning of class on Thursday, September 14. The document must be submitted as copy-pasted text in the textbox or as a pdf or doc or docx file. No links to outside sites like Google Drives or Canva sites will be accepted.

Reflection

On Thursday, September 14, we will also reflect on your final work in Artifact 1.  “Reflecting” in this case means that you’ll respond in writing to a set of prompts or questions that ask you to consider how and why you made the choices you made in completing the assignment. You’ll then save that reflection and return to it later in the semester as you prepare your final portfolio.

Why is reflection important? Because when you take a step back to critically review the ways you approached a problem and implemented a solution, you learn how to apply those critical thinking, communication, and project management skills to other subjects and areas of your life.

Dates to Remember

All due dates imply that the work submitted be submitted by the beginning of class that day.

Memoir Presentation in class on Tuesday, September 5.

Memoir due for peer review by Tuesday, September 12.

Final Memoir due by Thursday, September 14.

Reflection in class on Thursday, September 14.

Grading

This unit accounts for 20% of your final grade in this class. Of that grade:

10% is tied to out-of-class Journal Assignments

10% is tied to Class Participation

• This includes typical In Class Activities and adhering to Tardiness, Attendance, and Computer and Phone and Headphone Usage policies, and the participation in the Memoir Presentation

30% is tied to Content submitted to Peer Review (10%) and Participating in Peer Review (20%).

50% is tied to the Final Memoir

Rubric

Please consult the rubric here along with some caveats and project-specific clarifications below:

1. Unity

Focus on a moment or experience of belonging or not belonging.

2. Evidence / Development

Poor evidence would be a general discussion of an experience of belonging with little details, emotion, dialogue, setting, imagery, etc. and/or rambling and incoherent discussion. Good evidence is a precise recounting of an event or events. And, that event or those events is thematically supportive of that experience of belonging or not belonging. 

3. Presentation and Design

The work must be readable or discernable, following standard grammar rules or expectations appropriate for a general audience. Slang and interjections of non-English are allowed and welcomed when they contribute to the overall work. Use paragraph breaks, too. Good presentation and design means that you DO NOT EVER use authenticity or belonging and their derivative words like authentic, belongs, belong, etc. It is submitted on time. 

4. Coherence

Uses words and sentences, rhythm and phrasing, variations and transitions, concreteness and specificity, images and proximity, color and design, etc. to reveal and emphasize the relationship between the indirectly treated ideas of belonging or not-belonging. 

5. Audience Awareness

Demonstrates a sense that the composer knows what s/he’s doing and is addressing real people. Reflects a respect for values that influence ethos (e.g., common ground, trustworthiness, careful research). Does not assume the audience knows exactly what they are talking about in terms of history, context, experience, knowledge, data, or information.

6. Distinction

If you meet all of the competency standards, achieve coherence and exhibit audience awareness, and, in addition, demonstrate a mastery of one or more features of superior WOVEN multimodality, you are composing distinctively and you will earn a grade of “A.” (90-100) Your work stands out because of one or more of the following characteristics: complexity, originality, seamless coherence, extraordinary control, sophistication in thought, recognizable voice, compelling purpose, effective design, imagination, insight, thoroughness, and/or depth.