Research Remix

Research Remix

Explanation of a Remix Assignment for a Research Paper

A Remix Assignment takes the core research and ideas from your original research paper and presents them in a new, creative format. Instead of simply rewriting or summarizing your paper, youll transform your research into a different genre or medium, such as a letter, speech, or newspaper article.

Purpose:

• Engage with your research in a new way: By remixing your work, you explore different methods of communication, practice your rhetorical skills, and adapt your message for various audiences.
• Refine your understanding of rhetoric: Youll learn how to use different tools and platforms, expanding your ability to convey information effectively using rhetorical strategies .

Example: If your research paper was about the impact of social media on mental health and the need to limit access to smartphones in local schools, you might create a short video or letter to students that highlights the main findings and offers tips for healthier online habits.

The Remix Assignment also includes a reflective component where you explain your choices, the new genres impact on your message, and how the intended audience might respond differently compared to a traditional research paper.

GENRE REMIX ASSIGNMENT: Reworking the Research Paper

* You must submit a research paper in order to complete this assignment.

The GENRE REMIX ASSIGNMENT is a two-part assignment.

Part 1: Remixed paper (at least 500 words)

Part 2: Reflection ( at least 700 words)

Youve just finished writing your research paper, a well-researched argument about some issue that affects the local community. However, you wrote it using the standards of the academic essay genre (think the papers structure, voice, and citation style). That genre may not be the best choice if you were to present the issue to someone outside of an academic situation.

Your task now is to take the topic and argument you presented in your research paper and reconstruct it in a genre or style that is better suited for a popular audience. You will submit a remixed paper/text and a reflection that describes the reasoning behind the choices you made for the remix.

The Writing Process

Step 1: Choose your purpose and new audience. Take the topic from your research paper and decide who would benefit from hearing your argument and/or proposed solution for the community issue that you researched or consider who could do something to help make your proposed solution a reality for the community. Think about a person, group, or organization that could do something to assist with your proposal. Do some research to understand who is already involved in addressing the issue or who might be motivated to act. Be detailed and specific about your audience.

Step 2: Pick a new genre for your work. Youll have to decide what genre is most appropriate for your topic and purpose. To pick a genre, you want to start by considering who could benefit from your work/message (AUDIENCE). Be specific as you imagine your audience. Then, think about HOW you could best reach that audience. Would your audience read a newspaper, listen to speech, receive a letter, etc.?

Choose from one of the following:

• a letter
• a speech
• a newspaper or magazine article
• an advice column letter and response
• If you would like to choose another genre or medium, you must email me a proposal and explanation by the date listed on the schedule.

Step 3: Do some research (yes, research) about that genre to determine its characteristics and norms. Youll want to know about the expected format, appropriate tone, and standards of style. Find some examples of the genre and pay attention to how the author crafts and presents the message. The tone, style, organization, etc for a magazine article will be quite different from that of a letter.

Step 4: Make a plan for how you will convince your new audience of your stance on the topic. You might use the same sources that you used in the research paper, but recognize that you’ll be using them in different ways. Citation styles might be different, and this audience might be convinced by different types of sources (more emphasis on credible news organizations, less on peer-reviewed journals). Consider the rhetorical strategies that you will use (ethos, logos, pathos, tone, word choice, etc).

Step 5: CREATE a new work. There is room for creativity here. Explore a new voice and style.

Step 6: REFLECT : To go along with your reworked research paper, write a thoughtful and detailed reflection in which you explain the choices you made as you crafted your remix. This is where you are offering an analysis of your own rhetorical choices. You might even review some of the

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THE REFLECTION

Your reflection should be at least 700 words long and respond to the following questions (Please number each and address in separate sections) :

1. Who was the target audience of your Research Remix? Offer a detailed description of your target audience. You should consider the following: size (a speech to 20 people might differ from a speech written for 1000; a letter written to one person or a small organization will have different approaches), location, age, socio-economic status, gender, interests, occupations, etc. Consider where and how you would then reach said audience. Why did you choose this audience?
2. What was the purpose of the text you produced? Persuade? Inform? Motivate? Be specific. Persuade to do, feel, or think what? Motivated to respond in what way? How do you want your audience to respond to this text you composed for the research remix? Then, identify which household object best represents the emotional tone of your remixand justify it in two sentences.
3. What type of text did you produce for the Research Remix? How was this the best decision in light of your chosen audience and purpose? Why did you choose to use this genre over another? What is expected of the genre you have chosen?
4. What specific choices did you make to reach your audience? Pick at least 4. Point out examples of ethos, logos, pathos, tone, etc. Include quotes to exemplify each choice and then explain the goal of that choice. For example, if you use pathos in your piece, what specific emotional response were you trying to create and why? How did you attempt to appeal to your audience’s emotions? This is a significant part of the assignment; make sure to give a detailed discussion here. This section should be considerably longer than the rest.

Your reflection should help the instructor understand how to experience the Remix.

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Writing Tips

Shape your writing to fit a particular rhetorical situation

By far the biggest task ahead of you in this paper is to understand the rhetorical situation youre facing. It is radically different from the one that drove your research paper. Your audience is different: you are no longer writing to academics. Your purpose is different: you are likely trying to persuade more than to inform. And your genre is seriously different: you are not writing an academic essay with everything that goes with it.

Use a variety of strategies to generate ideas, create a first draft, revise ideas and organize and edit paragraphs and sentences.

You will want to approach this paper differently than you did the research paper. A large part of your grade will be based on how well you address the genre you choose. Hence, you are going to need to research that genre. Read a lot of examples, find sources that discuss effective writing of that type, and talk to me.

Identify and evaluate the underlying values of arguments.

A popular audience is convinced by different types of sources than an academic one. While we academics like to see material published in peer reviewed journals and scholarly books, the populace puts more emphasis on reports from credible news organizations and quality magazines. That doesnt mean that peer reviewed pieces have no role in your paper they just shouldnt dominate the sources that you use.

You will also really want to think about how to convince this particular audience. What will students at TTC find convincing? What will get your hometown residents motivated? The arguments that you use will, by and large, determine the effectiveness of this paper.

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Earning the Grade: When I review your assignment, Im looking to see that your remix and reflection show:

1. an understanding of your audience
2. an understanding of the rhetorical situation
3. clear rhetorical strategies for achieving your desired purpose
4. an understanding of the generic expectations for the type of document that you are composing. Hence, it is important to do some research to see examples of successful pieces in that field/genre
5. a clear articulation of the decisions you made and why you made them. Refer back to some of the rhetorical choices we learned about for our rhetorical analysis assignment. an appropriate persona for the audience, purpose, and genre that you have chosen
6. appropriate use of conventions, including MLA, APA, or an appropriate citation formatting.