Project One Assignment

The project one assignment is designed to help you get started on documents I imagine you’ll need to produce anyway in the next year: a job application, an application for graduate or professional school, or some other “self-promotion” documents which describe your professional interests in the hopes of a professional appointment of some kind. The examples in Chapter Two of our textbook should provide models for much of this project.

There are four assignment components:

1. A letter of introduction which highlights your best qualifications and accompanies your supporting documents. (This letter is similar to the letter you wrote me earlier this year, but should be more formal.)

2. A résumé or curriculum vita.

3. A memorandum or email addressed to a prospective reference, advising her or him of your search and requesting assistance.

4. A graphically-rich version of your vita or résumé, a custom-designed letterhead, or another well-designed document which can be used in the self-promotion process.

Your documents will be customized to meet your disciplinary needs and to be centered around your readers. Therefore, while the Anderson text provides useful models, it does not provide templates which you can “plug and chug” to complete the assignment. The planning documents will determine your disciplinary needs, and further communication between you, me, and other class members will clarify and refine them.

As noted on our schedule, you will turn in planning documents (9/3), drafts of the four assignment components (9/12 & 9/26), and final documents (10/3). Drafts and planning documents should be laser- or inkjet-printed. Final documents must be laser printed, with computer files submitted as well (by email or disk).

Point spread and evaluation criteria:

This assignment sheet is not an exhaustive guide to completing the assignment. You will have to build your own customized guide by planning, communicating with me and your classmates, and developing your promotional pieces in a reader-centered fashion. I hope that you will take advantage of my offer for assistance outside of our assigned class time, as well as the potential usefulness of this assignment.

I look forward to working with you to complete this project.