ENG/IMS 224C:

Digital Writing & Rhetoric

Instructor Information
Caitlin Martin
marti144@miamioh.edu
Howe Center for Writing Excellence, King Library
Office Hours: By appointment, but email me if available times
do not work!

Class Meetings
Mondays & Wednesdays 11:40am-1:00pm in 209 Upham Hall
Semester Schedule

Access & Accommodations

I’m committed to maximizing your learning potential by creating a safe and accessible
learning environment. If you need support or are concerned about any part of the
course, please talk to me! If there is any way I can adapt the course to better meet your
needs as a learner, please let me know. If you have a documented disability, please
share that information with me so I can provide any accommodations that have been
determined by you and the Miller Center for Student Disability Services.

Cultivating a Classroom Community

You should always seek to be kind, generous, and helpful to your colleagues in this
class—and in general. This doesn’t mean that we all have to agree about difficult
issues; it means that we should treat each other like human beings—with respect and
civility—as we’re discussing important problems and perspectives. Language that is
oppressive will not be tolerated.
Course Overview
We communicate daily not only with words, but also (or perhaps even more frequently)
with alphabetic texts, visuals, sounds, and document design. Digital rhetoric examines
the intersection of words, images, sound, design, and circulation in producing
multimodal compositions that make up digital and online content. ENG/IMS 224 is an
opportunity to explore various issues relevant to digital writing and rhetoric, including:
● What is circulation and how does it impact online success?
● What does effective content look like by context?
● What are the affordances of digital media for political activism?
● What is multimodality and how does it impact our understanding of digital media?
● How does a rhetorical awareness of genre and context inform digital creation?
● How can we think about users and user experience as we create?
● What effects do platforms and algorithms have on users’ experiences and
efforts?

Outcomes
Readings, activities, and assignments in this course have been designed to help you
meet outcomes for professional writing majors at Miami University. After completing this
course, you will learn to:
● Develop metacognitive strategies that will help you understand what you know
and draw on that knowledge in both academic (school) and professional (work)
contexts
● Employ circulation strategies that are successful by context, utilizing what you
know about the dynamism of platforms and algorithms
● Design effective content and develop content strategy appropriate for specific
audiences and contexts
● Engage and explore the affordances of digital media for political activism
● Incorporate and value users as key considerations of the digital content design
process
● Understand what multimodality means in the context of digital media
● Explore how platforms and algorithms affect online success

Learning-Centered Grading
This semester, our ENG 224 course will use learning-centered grading. This grading
process is likely different than what you’ve experienced in other courses at Miami. The
typical evaluation system awards grades based on achievement, or your demonstrated
mastery of specific outcomes. Achievement-based grading, however, can inhibit
learning by serving a disciplining function, rewarding dominant language ideologies and
practices at the expense of socially just teaching and learning. Instead, learning-
centered grading seeks to reward your self-identified growth on both the course
outcomes and your own learning goals.

I have developed this system of learning-centered grading based on my own principles

for education. In particular, I believe:
● Risk and failure are important parts of learning and that we often learn more
through analysis of such “failure” than through immediate success;
● Students should have the ability to direct their learning experiences based on
their own goals, prior knowledge, and comfort with course materials;
● Grades are infrequently an accurate measure of one’s skills or abilities;
● Reflecting on one’s learning helps us develop metacognitive skills that are crucial
to our future learning and success;
● As your teacher, my role is to support, encourage, and guide you through difficult
learning experiences.

To place learning at the center of our course evaluation and assessment, we will use
the following grading agreement:

The default grade in this course will be a B. If you complete all of the following
conditions this semester, you will earn a B for your final course grades:
1. Meet the minimum expectations for each Course Project
2. Miss no more than 1 Course Project deadline
3. Miss no more than 1 Learning Update
4. Miss no more than 3 class meetings
5. Miss no more than 3 reading responses
6. Miss no more than 1 Participant Journal
7. Miss no more than 2 in-class writing activities
8. Actively participate in class meetings in one or more ways, as demonstrated
through your Weekly Participation Journals

Through the semester, we can revisit the grading agreement on an individual basis. If at
any point you wish to discuss a new agreement in order to earn a lower grade, we can
meet to do so.

If you do not meet all of the requirements for a B grade and do not set up a new
agreement with me, I will lower your final grade by a letter grade for each missed
condition. For example, if you miss four class meetings and two participation journals,
your final grade will lower from a B to a C+.
If you wish to earn an A in the course, you may do so by submitting a learning
analysis assignment, in which you reflect on and analyze pieces you’ve written this
semester, explained in the course projects section in this syllabus. In order to earn an A,
you must also meet all conditions for a B grade. If you would like to submit this
assignment to earn an A, please let me know by Monday of Week 13. Simply
submitting this assignment does not guarantee you will receive an A. You must
provide evidence of your learning, and I must be convinced of your analysis.

Learning-based grading does not mean you will be without feedback on your
work in this course. I will still read and thoughtfully respond to each project you
submit. In addition, we will develop as a class a list of minimum project requirements
and additional criteria that will guide feedback for each project.

Because of this grading agreement, the Canvas gradebook will only show whether
your assignments are Complete or Incomplete. I will mark as Incomplete any Course
Projects that have been submitted but do not meet the minimum project requirements,
and you can revise these projects until they meet the minimum expectations.

Course Projects
Each project in the course will have its only assignment description on Canvas. Below
you can find brief descriptions of each project. I expect assignments to be submitted by
the deadlines listed in the schedule to ensure you stay on-track with your learning.
However, late assignment submissions are better than no assignment submissions. If
you need to submit an assignment late, you should contact me ASAP. Please verify
assignment deadlines on Canvas.

Reading Responses
For each class meeting where readings are assigned, you will submit a short
reading response that will help ensure you understand the readings and are able
to work more deeply with them during class.

Weekly Participation Journals

Note: Due by Fridays at 5:00pm
Each week, you will respond to the question “What was your most important
method of participation in class this week?” Your journals should name a specific
activity or method of participation and clearly explain why this was an important
moment for you. These journals provide me with two kinds of information: first,
they illustrate your engagement with class; second, they allow me to see what
activities are proving meaningful to your learning and to adapt in-class activities
as necessary.
Learning Updates
Learning Updates serve to help you track your learning on the course outcomes
and your own learning goals. If you choose to submit the Optional Reflective
Portfolio, these can serve as a useful site for invention. However, because
reflection is an important part of learning, every student is required to complete
these updates. In Week 1, you will set your own learning goals. In Weeks 3, 6, 9,
12, and 15, you will reflect on and explain your progress on your learning. If you
choose to submit the Optional Reflective Portfolio and earn an A grade, it takes
the place of the Week 15 update.

Social Media Content and Strategy Analysis

The first project requires you to propose a community, organization, or brand to
study for the duration of the class, describe why you chose that particular
community, organization, or brand, and perform a content strategy analysis
across their existing digital platforms, including websites, social media, apps, etc.

User Research Report

The second project requires you to conduct user research to analyze user
behaviors, emotions, and reactions to the community, organization, or brand’s
existing content and write a user research report that presents the findings of
your research and identifies key takeaways for future content design. To do this,
you will conduct user interviews and learn to code them. This report serves as a
planning stage for the Comprehensive Content Strategy.

Comprehensive Content Strategy

The final project requires you to develop a finalized content strategy plan and
mockups in the form of a report or proposal. You will use research you conducted
in other assignments as well as secondary research to create a content strategy
proposal that details their key content plan revisions and offers samples of these
revisions in mockups. In addition to submitting a visually-designed content
strategy document, you will also give a pitch presentation as part of this
assignment.

Optional Learning Analysis Assignment

If you wish to earn an A in this course, you may do so by submitting a learning
analysis assignment at the end of the semester. In this assignment, you will
reflect on your learning by analyzing the work you submitted (including major
assignments and any low-stakes or in-class work) to explain what you’ve learned
throughout the semester. You should reflect on both the course learning
 outcomes and your self-selected learning goals. Use your Learning Updates to
as a resource if you choose to submit this assignment. Simply submitting this
assignment does not guarantee you will receive an A. You must provide
evidence of your learning, and I must be convinced of your analysis.

Texts
No textbooks are required for this class. All readings are available electronically via
Google Drive from the schedule. If you cannot access the reading, please email me
immediately.

Required Materials
This semester we will use both Canvas and Miami’s Google Drive services. You should
be able to access these in all class sessions. All assignments will be submitted online,
but you will be able to decide what programs you wish you use to complete each
project.

Visiting the Howe Writing Center & the English Language Learner
Writing Center
The Howe Writing Center (HWC) and English Language Learner Writing Center
(ELLWC) recognize that all writers have more to learn and provide free support to Miami
students and alumni in this work. The HWC offers help with academic, personal, and
professional writing at any stage in the writing process, from brainstorming to polishing.
The ELLWC offers more specialized help for students whose first language is not
English, and who need particular assistance with grammar, word usage, style, and
punctuation. Neither the HWC nor the ELLWC will edit your work; both will help students
develop better strategies for invention, revision, and self-editing. Please visit our
websites for more information, and to sign up for either on-campus appointments (HWC
and ELLWC) or online appointments.

Academic Integrity
Submitting others’ work under your own name without acknowledging the source of that
borrowed material is a violation of Miami University policy. I assume that the materials
you submit in this course were generated specifically for ENG/IMS 224 in the Fall 2019
semester. If you have questions about academic integrity or plagiarism, please talk with
me before submitting the assignment. You can read more in the Academic Integrity
Student Guide.
Title IX Statement and Resources on Health and Safety
Miami University is committed to maintaining a healthy and safe learning, living, and
working environment and to creating an environment that promotes responsibility,
dignity, and respect in matters of sexual and interpersonal conduct. To that end, it is
vital that you know two values that I and the University hold as critically important:

Power-based personal violence will not be tolerated.

Everyone has a responsibility to do their part to maintain a safe community on

campus.

More information can be found on the university website that describes reporting
options and resources available.

As your professor and as a person, know that I care about you and your well-being and
stand ready to provide support and resources as I can. In situations of sexual and
intrapersonal violence, you should know that I am required by University policy and
federal law to report what you tell me to the University's Title IX Coordinator. The Title
IX Coordinator's job is to ensure that the reporting student receives the resources and
support that they need, while also reviewing the information presented to determine
whether further action is necessary to ensure survivor safety and the safety of the
University community. If you would rather keep this information confidential, you can
talk to a Confidential Employee.
 ENG/IMS 224C Fall 2019 Schedule
REMINDER: you can schedule an appointment with me via google calendar! If none of
the available times work for you, email me to set up an appointment at another time.

Week 1
Monday, August 26
No readings or assignments due.

Wednesday, August 28
Read before Class
1. Gillespie (2015) “Platforms Intervene”
2. Ball & Charlton (2015) “All Writing is Multimodal”

Submit Before Class

1. Reading Response 1

Due after Class

1. Learning Update 1 (by 11:59pm)
2. Participation Blog (by Friday at 5:00pm)

Week 2
Monday, September 2
No class meeting due to Labor Day.

Wednesday, September 4
Read before Class
1. Wysocki (2013) “The Multiple Media of Texts”
2. Big Picture Feedback on Reading Response 1 (remember, you will not get
individual feedback from me on reading response 1. You will get individual
feedback on Reading Response 2)
3. Optional: my responses to the questions from our first day activity!

Submit Before Class

1. Reading Response 2

Due after Class

1. Proposal for Content & Strategy Analysis Assignment (by 11:59pm)
2. Participation Blog (by Friday at 5:00pm)

Week 3
Monday, September 9
Read before Class
1. Sheridan, Ridolfo, & Anthony (2012), “Composing with Rhetorical Velocity:
Looking Beyond the Moment of Delivery”
2. Sheridan, Ridolfo, & Anthony (2012), “Case Study: The D Brand”

Submit Before Class

1. Reading Response 3

Due after Class

No assignments due.

Wednesday, September 11
Read before Class
1. Ridolfo & DeVoss (2009), “Composing for Recomposition: Rhetorical Velocity
and Delivery”
2. Ridolfo & DeVoss (2017), “Remixing and Reconsidering Rhetorical Velocity”

Submit Before Class

1. Reading Response 4

The folder for our in-class activity.

Due after Class

1. Learning Update 2 (by 11:59pm)
2. Participation Blog (by Friday at 5:00pm)

Week 4
Monday, September 16
Read before Class
1. Jackson, “How to Perform a Social Media Audit”
2. UX Mastery. “How to Conduct a Content Audit”

Submit Before Class

1. Reading Response 5
Note: we will be doing some work on our analysis assignment in class today!
Please come prepared for this, including headphones/earbuds if you prefer to
listen to music while working.

Links for In-Class Activities

Brainstorming/Applying Reading Concepts to Analysis
Work Day Updates & Next Steps

Due after Class

No assignments due.

Wednesday, September 18
Read before Class
1. Daer, Hoffman, & Goodman (2015), “Rhetorical Functions of Hashtag Forms
Across Social Media Applications”
2. Potts, Zeitzinger, Jones, & Harrison (2011), “Tweeting Disaster: Hashtag
Constructions and Collisions”

Instructions for Today’s In-Class Activities

Content & Analysis Examples for Your Review

Ban.Do

Submit Before Class

1. Reading Response 6

Due after Class

1. Participation Blog (by Friday at 5:00pm)

Week 5
Monday, September 23
Read before Class
1. Lovejoy & Saxton (2012), “Information, Community, and Action: How Nonprofit
Organizations Use Social Media

Submit Before Class

1. Reading Response 7

Due after Class

1. Content & Strategy Analysis for Peer Feedback (by Tuesday, September 24 at
11:59pm)
2. Be sure to review the Guidelines for Feedback for this assignment.

Wednesday, September 25
Read before Class
 1. “Examples of Successful Social Media Campaigns”
2. “6 Standout Social Media Marketing Examples for 2019”

Submit Before Class

1. Reading Response 8
Note: though we will not discuss these readings in class today, they will be very
useful for working on the next assignment. Do not short change them! :)

Peer Feedback Instructions

Due after Class

1. Peer Feedback on Content & Strategy Analysis (finish if not completed during
class, by 11:59pm)
2. Participation Blog (by Friday at 5:00pm)

Week 6
Monday, September 30
Read before Class
1. Halvorson (2012), “Core Strategies” from Content Strategies for the Web. If
you’re having trouble accessing (especially if you are off campus), search
Content Strategies for the Web via Miami University Libraries.
2. Casey (2015), “Developing a Messaging Framework”
3. Read through the description of the next assignment, a User Research Report
based on User Interviews you will conduct.

Submit Before Class

1. Reading Response 9

Due after Class

1. Learning Update 3 (by 11:59pm)

Wednesday, October 2
Read before Class
1. “Making Storytelling a Part of Your Content Strategy”
2. “Web Fonts are Critical to the Online User Experience”

Submit Before Class

1. Reading Response 10

Due after Class

 1. Participation Blog (by Friday at 5:00pm)

Week 7
Monday, October 7
No readings due before class
Note: we will be moving ahead to our next project today; we will not have time
dedicated to working on the Content & Strategy Analysis assignment today.

Due after Class

2. Content & Strategy Analysis Assignment (by 11:59pm)

Wednesday, October 9
Today’s slides!!!
Twitter post generator → https://www.prankmenot.com/?twitter_tweet
Instagram post generator → https://zeoob.com/generate-instagram-post/

Read before Class

1. Babich (2018), “The Art of the User Interview”

Submit Before Class

1. Reading Response 11

Due after Class

1. Mini Social Media Campaign (by 11:59pm)
2. Participation Blog (by Friday at 5:00pm)

Week 8
Monday, October 14 & Wednesday, October 16
In lieu of a class meetings, you should:
1. Attend your conference
2. Conduct and transcribe your user interviews
3. Submit your Participation Blog by Friday at 5:00pm

Week 9
Monday, October 21 -- SLIDES from today
Read before Class
1. @Samihah, “A User Research Case Study on Slack”
2. Mortensen (2018), “How to do Thematic Analysis of User Interviews”

Submit Before Class

 1. Reading Response 12
2. Interview Transcript submitted online

Due after Class

None

Wednesday, October 23
Read before Class
1. Look back at your submission to Reading Response 1, specifically what you said
about Gillespie’s “Platforms Intervene”
2. Slavin (2012), “How Algorithms Shape Our World”
3. Noble (2018), Introduction to Algorithms of Oppression *
*NOTE: This excerpt from Algorithms of Oppression presents research that found
Google and their algorithms discriminate against people of color and perpetuate racist
and sexist language. The chapter includes examples as evidence of the racist and
sexist language--specifically in the way discoverability is created online--to show how
the algorithms instill patterns and negatively influence cultural perception. We can talk
and write in productive ways about this research without using the sexist and racist
language.

Submit Before Class

1. Reading Response 13
2. Interview Transcript 2 Submitted Online

Due after Class

1. Participation Blog (by Friday at 5:00pm)

Week 10
Monday, October 28
Read before Class
1. Buolamwini (2016), “How I’m Fighting Bias in Algorithms”

Submit Before Class

1. Reading Response 14

In Class
1. Discuss Algorithms -- Facebook Algorithm
2. Methods Sample
3. Methods & Outlining
Due after Class
1. Methods Section & Outline of Your User Research Report for Peer Feedback (by
Tuesday at 11:59pm)

Wednesday, October 30
Read & Submit before Class
None

In Class
1. Peer Feedback in Small Groups
2. Work on Analysis/Trends Discussion

Due after Class

1. Draft of Analysis/Trends from User Research Report (by 11:59pm)
2. Learning Update 4 (by 11:59pm)
3. Participation Blog (by Friday at 5:00pm)

Week 11
Monday, November 4
Read before Class
None

Submit Before Class

1. None

In Class
1. Peer Feedback on Analysis & Trends from User Research
2. Compile User Research Report (except the executive summary)

Due after Class

1. Draft of your Full Report for Peer Feedback (by 11:59pm)

Wednesday, November 6
Read & Submit before Class
1. Executive Summary Handout

In Class
1. Peer Feedback on Full Reports
2. Writing Executive Summaries
Due after Class
1. Participation Blog (by Friday at 5:00pm)

Week 12
Monday, November 11
Submit Before Class
1. User Research Report

In Lieu of Class **CLASS CANCELLED**

● Read the Comprehensive Content Strategy Assignment Sheet
● Leave comments with your questions on the assignment sheet itself
● Review your Content Analysis & User Research Report to See what material you
already have drafted
● Make notes/an outline/reminders for yourself that will help you begin writing this
project in class on Wednesday.

Wednesday, November 13
Read & Submit before Class
1. See assignment for Monday’s class.

Please post your plans for the next time you work on your comprehensive content
strategy in this document.

Due after Class

1. Participation Blog (by Friday at 5:00pm)

Week 13
Monday, November 18
Submit Before Class
None

In Class
Work on Comprehensive Content Strategy
Discuss questions or concerns about the introductory/cover letter for your project
Sign up for presentations

Due after Class

Introductory letter & At least 2 pages of Comprehensive Content Strategy (by 11:59pm)
Note: this can be any 2 pages of your comprehensive content strategy, but I
recommend submitting something that you have questions or concerns about or that
you have drafted anew. It will be less useful if you submit something that you don’t
really want feedback on.

Wednesday, November 20
Due Before Class
None

In Class
1. Instructions for peer feedback
2. Peer Feedback on 2 pages of Comprehensive Content Strategy

Due after Class

1. Learning Update 5 (by 11:59pm)
2. Participation Blog (by Friday at 5:00pm)

Week 14
Monday, November 25
In Lieu of Class
1. Watch Editing Methods Video (about 9 minutes): the audio quality isn’t the best
but this video walks slowly through the Paramedic Method of editing. This video
is short (2 minutes) and shows one example of this method in action.
2. Review my feedback on drafts of the cover letter & 2 pages of comprehensive
content strategy
3. Optional: Meet with me during class in the HCWE in King Library (11am-1pm)
4. Continue Working on Comprehensive Content Strategy
5. Sign if for informal presentation day if you have not done so already. I will
*assign* anyone not signed up by tomorrow at 5pm.

Due after Class

1. Comprehensive Content Strategy (by Tuesday at 5:00pm)
2. Participation Blog (also due Tuesday)

Wednesday, November 27
No Class -- Have a great Thanksgiving Break!

Week 15 -- Be sure to tell me if you plan to do the optional learning analysis

assignment by today!
Monday, December 2
Presentation Line Up
Reminder: Complete Course Evaluations through MyMiami!
Wednesday, December 4
Presentation Line Up

Final Exam Week

Monday, December 9
In lieu of meeting during final exam week, you should:
1. Submit Learning Update 6 by 11:59pm, or
2. Submit Learning Analysis by 11:59pm