Progress Report 6/19/08

Introduction
I am writing a proposal for what I hope will become my master's thesis. I want to study the Net Generation's communication styles, specifically the ways they express themselves online. I am interested in seeing if this generation distinguishes between formal and informal communication. The study will involve analyzing online writing samples of the Net Generation and sharing them with people in other generations to learn from their feedback. This should give me insight on the way new technology changes the way we communicate and how these changes affect intergenerational exchanges.

Work Completed
This week was focused on editing the proposal. Since my project plan section needed the most work, I spent some time on Monday rewriting it in paragraph form and updating the method. My plan has changed quite a bit from when I first started. I also thought about style and made a style sheet, which I posted here. On Wednesday we worked on some front matter, and I made a letter of transmittal and a title page. We're doing presentations for the class today. For mine I used the screen capture program, Jing, to record a facebook profile. I talked about different parts of it as I scrolled through.

Next Steps
I need to edit the writing of the proposal quite a bit and then move it to InDesign to add the style features I've thought about. I also want to improve my presentation if I have time. Then I'll need to write a report documenting the what, how, and why of all the decisions I've made. I'll package the final deliverables and turn them in by 9 am on Monday.

Conclusion
I have a busy weekend ahead. I'm glad we have a couple of extra days to work on everything, because I doubt I would have been able to get everything done by tomorrow. I'm glad that I have rough drafts of my proposal and my presentation done, but I still think each of them needs a lot of work. Writing the report will probably be the most time-consuming project I have to work on, since I haven't even started it yet. If I explain each decision I made in detail, I think it will probably come to ten pages, but I'm going to try to be concise and keep it shorter in the interest of time. It's hard to believe this class is almost over. It's only been a few weeks, but I feel like I've accomplished a lot in this short amount of time.

Chapter 12

Summary: The Final Touches
Before this point, we've been working on separate sections of the proposal. Now we need to look at it as a whole and see how well it flows together. The chapter talks about adding front and back matter and revising.

Points to Discuss
I've been thinking about what front matter to add to my proposal. I don't think I need all the parts mentioned in the book. I will have a title page, but I don't think I want to devote a whole page for the table of contents. I'm thinking of organizing my front matter like this:

1. Title Page
2. Executive Summary
3. Bio and table of contents on one page

Since I won't have a qualifications section, I'd like to put my bio in the beginning. Does this seem like the right amount of front matter?

The chapter also lists an extensive amount of back matter. I really don't think I need anything other than a bibliography. A lot of the other sections seem more relevant to business proposals. The only other one that I might include is the glossary of terms. But so far, I haven't really used any terms that anyone in the MAPC faculty wouldn't understand. If I only have a few unfamiliar terms, it will probably be more effective to define them in the body of the proposal.

I remember the first day of class talking about revision as a "re-vision." The book seems to agree with this definition of revision. It seems like a good idea to take a couple of days off from the proposal and then look at it again with fresh perspective to make sure it makes sense. I know that my purpose and method have changed quite a bit from when I first started writing. But I am not used to revising. Usually I just write a paper and turn it in. So this process is foreign to me, but I can see the value of doing it.

Chapter 11

Summary
So from this chapter we get the following main points.
Graphics should

• Tell a simple story
• Reinforce, not replace text
• Be ethical
• Be labeled and placed properly

Discussion Points

• I am intrigued by the use of the word "story." In a book, I was reading recently, one of the characters pointed out that human beings prefer the narrative structure. A story, unlike an argument, is seen as non-threatening. If we view our proposals as stories, perhaps we can persuade our readers in a subtle way.
• I completely agree that graphics should not replace written text. I am very much a verbal learner. That is I need words to help me understand information. But I understand that graphics can be helpful to visual learners. Having both the visual and the words in a proposal can ensure that the information is reaching all readers.
• The question of ethics in graphics is interesting. Over the weekend, I was talking to someone about ethical graphics and he brought up the point that graphics can never be objective. Statistics are always used to emphasize the writer's point. We always choose which information to display (that which supports our argument) and which information not to display (that which contradicts our argument). If this is the case, can a graphic ever be completely ethical?
  

Style sheet

Line Level

• Font: Palatino Linotype
• Font size: 12 point
• Italics for foreign language words, terms used as terms, and emphasis
• Underline for titles of books, magazines, journals, plays, movies, and radio or television shows
• Quotation marks for titles of short stories, magazine or journal articles, and specific episodes of radio or television shows

Paragraph Level

• Leading: 1.5
• H1: Lucida Sans Typewriter, 16 pt., bold, centered
• H2: Lucida Sans Typewriter, 14 pt., bold, left justified
• H3: Lucida Sans Typewriter, 12 pt., italic, centered
• H4: Lucida Sans Typewriter, 12 pt., italic, left justified
• H5: Lucida Sans Typewriter, 12 pt., regular, centered
• H6: Lucida Sans Typewriter, 12pt., regular, left justified
• Justification: Left, use hyphens sparingly
• First line indent for paragraphs, hanging indent for bibliography
• Sequential lists: Numbers with periods after them and 5 spaces before the text
• Nonsequential lists: bullets

Page Level

• 3 columns, each 2.5 inches wide
• Margins: 1 inch on all sides
• Header: title of section, left justified
• Footer: page number, right justified
• Images, pullouts, and sidebar information in the column on the outer edge of the page
• Charts and tables across all 3 columns in the top half of the page

Graphics Level

• Captions: Arial 10 pt., italic
• Labels: Arial 10 pt.
• No borders for graphics
• Full color for images
• Charts and graphs: use different color for each bar, line, or pie piece

Document Level

• Standard white 8.5 x 11 paper
• Bound with plastic sheets covering it

Progress Report 6/12/08

Introduction
I am writing a proposal for what I hope will become my master's thesis. I want to study the Net Generation's communication styles, specifically the ways they express themselves online. I am interested in seeing if this generation distinguishes between formal and informal communication. The study will involve analyzing online writing samples of the Net Generation and sharing them with people in other generations to learn from their feedback. This should give me insight on the way new technology changes the way we communicate and how these changes affect intergenerational exchanges.

Work Completed
Over the weekend, I put all the separate pieces of my proposal together into one rough draft. I also put all my sources together as a bibliography. So far I have 20 sources, although I don't cite them all in my proposal. I worked on expanding the current situation/literature review section. I've done some thinking about my presentation. Although we talked about film in class, I don't think that's the best medium for my topic. Since I'm discussing communication on the Internet, I'm going to use screen capture software record different sites I visit and a voice over with my observations. I've decided to look at a Facebook profile, a blog, an e-portfolio, and Epsilen (a combination social networking and e-portfolio site).

Next Steps
My proposal still needs a lot of work. It's only about halfway complete. The project plan needs the most work, as it's still only a rough outline. I also need to work on my presentation. Before I record, I have to decide exactly which sites to visit and make notes about what I want to say about each one. The final proposal and the presentation are due a week from tomorrow, so this upcoming week is going to be a busy one.

Conclusion
It still seems like I have a lot of work to do. I'm glad I have a rough draft of the proposal. Actually, the proposal should be the easy part. The presentation will probably be more challenging, as I've never used this screen capture program before. Luckily, my colleagues in the MATRF can help me. This week is going to be challenging, but if I manage my time efficiently I should be able to finish everything.

Chapter 9 Discussion

This chapter emphasized the importance of style when editing. I feel that it would have been helpful if this chapter came earlier. Personally, I don't do much editing after I've finished a paper, so I try to construct my sentences carefully the first time I write. Luckily, I had a technical editing class last semester and that book had a chapter on style. So I am familiar with some of the techniques mentioned in this chapter.

Discussion Points

1. I agree with the beginning section that says that style should not be used to conceal a lack of content. Yet, students often use style to hide the fact that they don't know what they're talking about especially on essay tests. I know I've done this in the past. Most of my teachers were fooled although a couple saw through it. Did the rest of you ever do this? When I'm writing my thesis, I need to make sure that I know my information as I write. I've got my timeline, so I can budget enough time to do the research instead of trying to put something together at the last minute.
2. Contracts are often difficult to understand, because they use a lot of technical jargon and go into so much detail that people tend to skim them. As a result, many people may be signing something they don't understand. I think the writers of these contracts may do this purposely. It would be against their interests to make their documents clearer, because then people would be more likely to realize they're getting a bad deal. Do you think that style is ever intentionally used to obscure meaning?
3. I disagree with the breathing length idea for a sentence. It doesn't take complex compound sentences into account. The whole premise that people only breathe at the end of a sentence is false. We also breathe at other marks of punctuation, such as commas and semi-colons. A long sentence without any punctuation at all might be difficult to read, but as long as there are breaks built into the sentence there shouldn't be a problem.

Chapter 8 Discussion

Chapter 8 is about budgets, which no one likes to think or talk about, but are nevertheless essential to obtain funding. This chapter is not immediately relevant for most of us, since we are writing proposals for our master's theses. Still, all of us will likely deal with budgets sooner or later, whatever line of work we find. We may even seek funding for our theses. I found this chapter to be one of the most practical, especially for someone like me who has little experience dealing with money.

Some points to think about:

1. In every section in this chapter, Johnson-Sheehan mentions the importance of finding a good accountant to help manage all the money issues. The book seems to be directed at companies large enough to have a team of people working on their projects. But what about individuals or smaller firms who have to do all the number crunching themselves? For example, most of us are working on individual proposals. If we want to obtain funding, we'll have to develop the budgets ourselves. Does the book give us enough information to make this possible? People obtain advanced degrees in accounting and take exams to become certified. Is there any hope for the rest of us, or should we just give up and wait until we can afford to hire an accountant before taking on projects that require significant funding?
2. The section on indirect materials struck me, because it's a topic I might not have considered before. There is a tendency to think that office supplies are limitless. But working in the MATRF, I have seen that this is not the case. We have been trying to buy what most of us feel are some basic necessities like a vacuum cleaner and conditioner for the white board. But apparently, the MATRF is not included in the maintenance budget for the English department. While direct materials (hardware and software) are included in our budget, indirect materials are not. So when all the other classrooms in Daniel got new white boards, the MATRF was excluded. The $35 lab fee helps us buy some office supplies, but it doesn't seem to be enough. A computer lab may have the best technology available, but without basic office supplies we cannot be as effective. Our image is also effected when there are crumbs all over and the white board can't be properly erased. What can we do about it at this point? Is it possible to try to get funding for indirect materials after the fact, or do we have to live with what we have?
3. The section on travel seems to be advocating deceit. On page 151, it says that we should ask a hotel for it's rack rate, which is usually more expensive than what it will actually cost. We should give this inflated number to the client, stay at the hotel at a cheaper rate, and then pocket the difference. This struck me as immoral, but maybe I'm too honest to make it in the business world. I'm never able to mislead people in any way. So, is my conscience too strong? Should I just try to obtain the most money I can using whatever means I find necessary? What do the rest of you think? I'm particularly curious to hear from those who have experience in business. In the business world, is it necessary to sacrifice principles to gain success?

Progress Report, 06/06/2008

Introduction
I am writing a proposal for what I hope will become my master's thesis. I want to study the Net Generation's communication styles, specifically the ways they express themselves online. I am interested in seeing if this generation distinguishes between formal and informal communication. The study will involve analyzing online writing samples of the Net Generation and sharing them with people in other generations to learn from their feedback. This should give me insight on the way new technology changes the way we communicate and how these changes affect intergenerational exchanges.

Work Completed
So far I have written rough drafts of all the sections of my proposal: the current situation, project plan, time line, introduction, and conclusion. I am still thinking about my topic and continuing to narrow it down. My classmates suggested that I study writing that is already publicly available on the Internet, perhaps two or three profiles on social networking sites. I need to limit the amount of material I use, so that it fits in the time frame of a year. This would also save me some hassle with the Internal Review Board. I have been thinking about who I should ask to be on my committee, but it's a little difficult because I only know a few faculty. I will continue to think about it, and I hope my classmates can give me some suggestions.

Next Steps
I have rough drafts of all my sections, but they are still incomplete. I need to flesh them out and put them together. My current situation section needs quite a bit of work. I need to do more research and find more sources to support my points. As I gather sources, I'll start developing a bibliography. I also need to contact Dr. Taylor, the chair of the MAPC program, to let her know about my thesis ideas. Since I don't have a committee yet, she's my point of contact.

Conclusion
I always have difficulty writing papers in a timely fashion. It's like I have a mental block against starting papers. But once I overcome my inertia and get started, I'm usually able to build momentum, and the process becomes much easier. It's a good thing I've got the hard part out of the way be writing rough drafts of each section. I was surprised to realize how much I had done. This is very different from my usual writing process, so I'm not sure how it's going to turn out. It's a good experiment to find out the most efficient way for me to write.

Project Plan, Rough Draft

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Solution mind map

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Current Situation Rough Draft

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