Activity Details

This is an optional activity, worth 20 points.

• Due Date: 11:59 PM on Friday, April 30.
• End of Grace Period: 11:59 PM on Monday, May 3.

Goals

• Analyze the rhetorical situation and determine the appropriate audience or users of written communication, considering the needs of global audiences and people with disabilities. [CLO 1]
• Interpret research findings with understanding of ethical and human implications. [CLO 3]
• Use conventions of various workplace genres, such as proposals, instructions, correspondence, reports, and slide decks, with understanding of how the genre conventions can be used as heuristics and as principles of arrangement. [CLO 4]
• Apply principles of effective visual design for print and electronic presentation, including hierarchical, chronological, and spatial arrangements. [CLO 6]
• Identify and apply the principles of effective style in the composing of usable, reader-centered written communications. [CLO 7]

The Task

What I Want You to Do

Write a short proposal that outlines a way that students in your field can contribute to the battle against the zombies who have descended upon the Virginia Tech campus.

Why I Want You to Do It

You have some practice with pitching an idea in this course, so now is your chance to use what you know about persuading someone to adopt your ideas. Nearly everything you write in the workplace is trying to convince someone to do or believe something. This activity lets you have a little fun while polishing your persuasive abilities.

How You Do It

1. Imagine that the Zombie Apocalypse is upon us. The walking dead are bearing down upon the Virginia Tech campus, and everyone in Blacksburg is working to stop them and preserve life as it was before the zombie awakening. Your department has asked students to submit short proposals for projects that can help battle the zombies. Your audience will be faculty and students in your department.
2. Review the strategies for writing effective proposals from Chapter 16 of Markel & Selber, “Writing Proposals.”
3. Write a 300–500 word proposal in memo format that outlines how you and others in your career field can respond. Be sure to include the following sections:
   • Summary of the Situation
   • Proposal of Your Solution, which includes details on
     • one specific thing people in your career can do right now* to stop the zombies.
     • how that one thing will be effective.
     *In other words, this one thing needs to be a capability that your career already has. You cannot make up some solution that does not exist. That would be too easy.
4. Apply professional design and formatting strategies to your memo, following the CRAP Design Principles.
5. Submit your position statement:
   • Submit your work here by 11:59 PM on Friday, April 30.
   • If you need more time, use the grace period and submit your work by 11:59 PM on Monday, May 3.

Obtaining the Points for Your Work

This activity is worth 20 points. Be sure to complete the following tasks:

• Track your work in your Weekly Work Log.
• Wait for me to give you points for your answers. Canvas cannot automatically grade written text, so I will confirm that you met the requirements of the activity and add your points manually.