Assessment Summary
(see Journal Entries page for dates and topics)
| Date | Assessment | Weight |
| Sept 25 | Entry diagnostic + goal-setting freewrite | 10% (fixed) |
| Oct 16 | Communications Audit | Track A: 30% / B: 15% / C: 15% |
| Nov 5 / Nov 10 | Communications Plan Presentation (Group 1 / Group 2) | Track A: 15% / B: 20% / C: 30% |
| Dec 1 / Dec 3 | Communications Package + Defense (Group 1 / Group 2) | Track A: 20% / B: 30% / C: 20% |
Entry Diagnostic and Goal Setting
Due: September 25 at 9:00 a.m.
Value: This assignment is worth 10% and will be marked as either complete or incomplete.
In 500 words, tell me about your goals for this course and select a track for the semester. Refer to the course outline to determine your track for grade distribution.
Be sure to include the following information:
- Where are you starting from as a communicator? (What has been your experience communicating in professional settings?)
- Where is your profession heading? (You may need to do some searching for research or surveys in this area.)
- What are your goals for the next 10 weeks in this course?
- Which track will you choose for the semester?
Format: This is an informal piece of writing. It is not necessary to write in an essay format to provide a cover page or any form of reference list. If it’s comfortable for you to do so, you’re welcome to write it as a letter to me. I am most interested in hearing your own voice in this piece of writing, and you will receive feedback if I need you to submit it again, providing more detail or explanation of anything that is unclear.
Submission: Submit through this course’s Moodle site.
UNIT ONE: Communications Audit
Due: October 16 at 9:00 a.m.
Value: The value of this assignment is based on which track you have chosen.
Instructions: Write a professional memo (1,200–1,500 words) presenting your audit of the artifact you selected in class, as if briefing a manager or client who needs to understand what the artifact does well, where it fails, and why it matters.
Do not answer all eight framework questions in sequence. Draw on the work you completed in Journal 1, then build a single continuous argument around whichever three or four dimensions — exigence, audience, purpose, discourse community, rhetorical appeals, content, structure, design — matter most for understanding this artifact. A strong memo makes a case. It does not summarize a checklist.
Every claim must be grounded in specific evidence from the artifact — a phrase, an image choice, a structural decision, a word repeated. Avoid describing what the artifact says. Explain what rhetorical work its specific features are doing, and for whom.
Open with a clear statement of what you will argue about this artifact’s communication effectiveness. Close with an evaluative judgment: is this artifact doing its job, and why or why not?
Use standard memo format. Add your own subheadings if they help your reader follow the argument. This is a professional document; write accordingly.
Submission: Submit through the course’s Moodle site. Be sure to consult the checklist.