To: Professor Piña From: Shayna Engdahl Date: March 04, 2019 Re: PROFESSIONAL WRITING PROJECT 2 In response to your request for a document suitable for an international audience that reflects well on St. Edward’s and allows users to understand and use the material, we submit the following documents which fulfill the requirements for this professional writing project: the original document, the transformed document and drafts, the team Statement of Goals and Choices, as well as the demographic research and document plan. These documents reflect our thinking about and around the various unique contextual circumstances and rhetorical factors that arise from redesigning a document with an international audience. Thank you. Sincerely, Shayna Engdahl Professional Writing Problem 2 Table of Contents
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Original Document
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Transformed Document
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Statement of Goals and Choices
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Appendix A: Demographic Research
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Appendix B: PWP2 Document Plan
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Appendix C: PWP2 Initial Draft Documents
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Appendix D: Peer Edit Revision Suggestions
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Appendix E: Kanbanchi Board
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Original Document
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Transformed Document (Link)
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Statement of Goals and Choices To: Manuel Piña From: Shayna Engdahl Date: March 04, 2019 Re: STATEMENT OF GOALS AND CHOICES Professor Piña: We began this assignment with the idea we were simply going to rework the existing document. We wanted to include some more information about exactly what to do and where to go to obtain the license or ID but realized after Professor Pina’s feedback that we needed to focus on the purpose. After thinking on it, we decided the main focus was to explain briefly what they were, and how to get them This included explaining the documents needed to get a DL or ID, and that was too much to fit on one page. We then realized the best way to go, would be to design a brochure. This will offer the most information to students new to these forms of documents and the process on how to get them. We worked hard on making sure the document had negative space and had plenty of the colors associated with St. Edward’s. I think this makes it more applicable to the students here. Also, we really focused on the placement of the text boxes so the document had movement. We made sure the document looked good on paper and digitally. One thing we focused on was the margins for the overall document, as well as the justification for the longer type. Professor Pina recommended left justification, but we felt the center justification moved the piece more effectively. It also went to the idea that the document flowed down the center of each panel. The main emphasis for this document was not to make a document that looked amazing but to make a document that looked amazing AND helped students navigate a tricky thing unfamiliar to them. Because of this, we made sure the information was current and correct, and that everything listed on the document helped them in some way to obtain either an ID or a DL. Finally, we used the concepts learned in class including negative space and the rule of threes to make the document as functional and aesthetically pleasing as possible. We hope that it represents the information we have learned in class and the school well. We also hope it does its job and that students are able to learn from it. We enjoyed working on this document, and I liked working with a student who has the first-hand experience at being new to Texas and being a student who has studied abroad. I look forward to your feedback, and I hope the ISS office can utilize this document to better help students! Thank You, Shayna Engdahl
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To: Manuel Piña From: Marcus L. Kearns Date: March 04, 2019 Re: STATEMENT OF GOALS AND CHOICES Professor Piña: Shayna and I began this process by adding-- adding more words, more visual elements, and more specific instructions. With the initial draft, we wanted to maximize page space and reorganize the pre-existing layout. However, after struggling with that draft and receiving feedback from Professor Pina, we realized that adding to the document wasn’t the solution. Instead, we needed to revise the document to fit a more specific purpose. We were able to use the additional texts and ideas we generated to build our own base knowledge for the document, which overall contributed to a better-revised deliverable. After revising the purpose and form of our document to a brochure it became much easier to apply the design principles established during class lectures. We were able to use St. Edward’s style guide in Canva which allowed use control over fond styles and color schemes. We also had control over the white space and the overall movement of the piece. For example, there’s only one organic shape in the document and it draws the eye to the center title page with the photo of St. Edward’s. By including this image we draw in readers to open the document and then present them will clean and organized text boxes that follow simple lines. The one place we reached contention was the justification of the text. We attempted to left justify the text, at the recommendation of Professor Pina. However, we found it altered the flow of the document. In keeping the center justification the rule of thirds cuts through the three columns of our brochure. By changing the text to the left it ruins the eye’s ability to follow information smoothly. Overall, this document redesign showcased Shayna and I’s ability to take the design principles in class and work to revise a professional document in such a way that served our audience and still created a pleasant aesthetic experience. Working with Shayna was also a joy as it allowed me a new perspective on this document (her having already gone through this process first hand in Texas, while I’ve only acquired an ID in Florida). I was able to articulate confusing elements she may take for granted and she was then able to use her base knowledge to teach me. It was this in-group teaching that made this document come to fruition and I hope it continues on teaching others! Thank you, Marcus L. Kearns
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Appendix A: Demographic Research To: Manuel Piña From: Shayna Engdahl, Marcus Kearns Date: February 15, 2019 Re: DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH Professor Piña: We have researched the demographic at St. Edward’s University, as well as Austin as a whole, to determine how to better construct our document. We have provided figures below to showcase the population, and will further detail how we anticipate this information affecting our document plans. St. Edward’s students are mostly Hispanic, and Spanish/English speaking, so this document should be respectful of this and be in both languages. Also, it is a Catholic school but as shown below, many other religions are present as well. The document should be respectful of all religions as well.
Figure 1: St. Edward’s University Demographic In Austin, this is pretty close to the case, though the 2010 Census suggested the composition was mostly White. Regardless, we do not anticipate it being difficult to accommodate these cultures and religions, and we plan to make the document in both English and Spanish.
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Figure 2: City of Austin Demographic Finally, the majority of the population viewing and accessing the document are students between 18-25. This requires these document to be accessible in our digital age, viewable both on phones and computers, as well as in person in the GEO office. It should be visually appealing and use the most recent pictures and up-to-date information. It is our hope that by understanding this audience, we can better reach out to them and present this information. Upon looking at the documents remaining, we have decided it would be interesting to tackle the Driver’s License/ID paper, as Marcus does not have one and we could use his perspective to better frame our document. Also, having recently studied abroad, he has a more international mindset on what documents students might be coming here with, or what they may need to acquire before going to the DPS. We hope that we can create a document that represents St. Edward’s well, while still conveying the accurate information to international students.
Sincerely, Shayna Engdahl & Marcus L. Kearns
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Appendix B: PWP2 Document Plan Overview: The purpose of this assignment is to redesign an existing document for an international audience. In this assignment, my team will set out to create a more aesthetically pleasing document, as well as one that is culturally sensitive and adaptable for multi-cultural audiences. We will also create ease of access for this document, allowing anyone to view and understand the material. There are several deliverables for this project, beginning with this document plan. This document will serve as our guide to learning more about our audience and the overall product. Following this, we will construct a draft of the document, which we will edit and then submit online and a hard copy. We begin this project by constructing a Kanbanchi board, which is visually appealing so we can keep track of the deadlines and mini-projects throughout PWP2. Audience: We are looking to design this without any particular culture in mind, but maintaining respect and understanding of all cultures. In particular, we want to make it accessible and readable for Hispanic cultures as that is the main demographic of St. Edward’s and these documents will most likely benefit the St. Edward’s population most. For this reason, we want to make sure the translations are accurate, and that the images are not offensive in any way. To begin, we will most likely view the document and the intended audience, interview a person or a couple of people of that background, and make sure our design idea is sufficient. In addition, we are most likely looking at a student population, so we want up-to-date information, images that look current and professional, and ease of access online. Tasks and Milestones: The team will be using a Kanbanchi board to organize all tasks required to construct this deliverable. After creating this board, each document will be edited by the writer, followed by an edit by the team. By February 18, the document plan will be completed, following the paper prototype on February 22, and then the final document on March 04. We will also produce a presentation on February 20 explaining the issues with the document we chose and how we plan to redesign it. Resource Allocation: At this point in time, team members should have consistent access to Microsoft Office, Kanbanchi, messaging, Canva to design the document. Request for Approval: The team has reached a consensus on the above information, and we are requesting approval to continue the work from our professor, Mr. Piña. There is also a visual copy of our plan below. All contact information is listed below in case of any questions. Contact Information: Shayna Engdahl: sengdahl@stedwards.edu Marcus L. Kearns: mkearns@stedwards.edu
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Appendix C: PWP2 Initial Draft Documents
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Appendix D: Peer Edit Revision Suggestions To: Shayna Engdahl, Marcus Kearns From: Professor Pina Date: February 25, 2019 Re: PEER EDIT REVISION SUGGESTIONS Mrs. Engdahl, Mr. Kearns; Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review your document. In reviewing this document, I noticed a few things I had suggestions for, and some areas I believe can be strengthened to maximize your potential for success in explaining how to obtain a driver’s license and a Texas ID to international students. Below, I detail these suggestions and I look forward to reviewing the document again after your revisions! I believe the format of your document is very powerful, and it sticks to the rule of thirds. However, I noticed that there is a lot happening in this small space. I wonder if you need to go back to the drawing board on what the main purpose of this document is. Are you trying to explain what documents are needed initially and how to obtain them? Are you discussing the actual process of obtaining the license? Are you comparing the two things and explaining who should get which one? I would really spend time focusing on whatever information you want to convey and do it in the simplest way. I do like that the reader exits on the bottom right of the document, and the last two things that are shown are the location of the DPS office and the place to call with questions. This makes it easier for the reader to have the lasting thought of “I know where to go, and I know who to ask if I have questions.” Finally, I would recommend adding more white space or negative space to the document so it is more visually appealing, as well as reformatting the header to be center aligned. This will lead the reader’s eye down to the majority of the page, and then down to the right where you have the closing information. Overall, I enjoyed reading your document, and I look forward to seeing the final product! Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Professor Pina
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Appendix E: Kanbanchi Board
We used colored cards, assigned roles, due dates, and priority levels to make sure the tasks were completed on time. We also designed it to look nice so when we opened it, it was a nice image to look at. It was an awesome visual tool that we enjoyed using for this assignment!
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