1. Amy Goodloe August 21, 2013

2. What do the following examples have to do with teaching writing?

3. They show that good interface design, like good writing, requires rhetorical awareness

4. Encouraging students to see the value of rhetorical awareness in their writing can be difficult Especially given that very little in their 20+ years of writing for school has required it

5. STUDENT BELIEFS ABOUT WRITING Purpose: learning Audiences: obligated to read Design considerations: following the handbook format is sufficient Writing is "student- centered" REALITIES OF WRITING BEYOND SCHOOL Purpose: communication Audiences: need to be enticed to read and believe Design plays a significant role in audience response Writing is reader- centered

6. Connect rhetorical awareness to familiar reading situations: digital interfaces "Interface" - any space where users interact with technology, typically for the purpose of reading and writing Both writers and designers need to know how to: anticipate the needs and expectations of end users (or readers) design interfaces (or messages) that will meet these needs

7. Good writing, like good interface design, is: usable: easy to comprehend persuasive: influences attitudes or behaviors Examples: Document design Blog posts Web sites Physical and software interfaces

8. Gather sample resumes and show each to students for 10 seconds Ask them to record: what they remember about the candidate their impressions of the candidate Ask them to study the samples more closely To identify traits that make some more usable and persuasive than others

9. no document design = can't remember anything rhetorically clueless document design = remembered the wrong things due to misplaced emphasis rhetorically aware document design = remembered the right things had a more positive impression of writer

10. Strategic use of formatting elements headers and sub-headers to reflect hierarchical importance font size and weight as well as font type bulleted lists to emphasize key qualifications balanced overall layout (not too dense or sparse) General observation: if you could've prepared this on a typewriter, you're doing something wrong!

11. Gather sample blog posts and show each for 20 seconds Ask students to record: How likely they would be to choose that post to read and respond to Their impressions of the person who wrote the post After closer study, ask them to identify: The traits that make some posts more usable and persuasive than others

12. Prefer to read posts that are "usable" and "persuasive Engaging subject lines, short and focused paragraphs, helpful formatting, good use of web conventions Steer clear of poorly designed messages Appear harder to comprehend Convey impression of disorganized writer Revelation for some: what they prefer to read is not how they typically write

13. Gather sample web sites and show each to students for 20 seconds Ask them to record: Which sites theyd most likely gravitate towards Their impressions of the sites credibility After closer study, ask them to identify: The traits that make some sites more usable and persuasive than others

14. Not a sample web site but a sample teaching tool From: xkcd.com

15. From: theoatmeal.com

16. More likely to choose and to trust sites that meet principles of usability and persuasiveness Similar to Dave Underwoods principle of good visual design: Made you look Made you stay Made you believe

17. Familiar designs are more inviting and user-friendly because they meet audience expectations regarding: Layout Navigation Text formatting Conventions Good design also reflects typical reading habits

18. TypicalWeb Page Layout From: webstyleguide.com/wsg3

19. Typical Blog Sidebars What rhetorical purpose do these serve?

20. What should you put in the space opposite the golden triangle? TypicalWeb Reading Habits

21. Menus and menu items are in familiar spots top menu most common "home" button on left easy access to about, contact, and search external links are on sidebar, not top Menu items reflect logical site structure interests of target audience

22. TypicalTop Navigation Menus

23. Students start to understand the importance of following conventions (and the consequences of not doing so) the rhetorical power of logical organization Students see writing as "creating a user experience Peer review becomes a process of "user testing For usability and persuasiveness

24. Principle: Rhetorical awareness extends beyond web sites to: The design of spaces and objects Software interfaces Activity: Ask students to analyze examples how they function as messages with writers and audiences how they illustrate concepts of usability and persuasiveness

25. Handles are for pulling right? From baddesigns.com

26. What reading problem does this design address?

27. So do I upload by creating?

28. These activities use concepts from interface design to help students meet the learning goals common to our discipline: rhetorical knowledge critical thinking genre conventions digital literacy End result: Students see "rhetorical awareness" as a concept useful well beyond the classroom

29. Be sure to practice what you preach: follow the principles of good design in all your course materials!

30. References and resources, along with a copy of this presentation, to a post on: http://digitalwriting101.net/teaching See also: Rhetoric of Presentations http://digitalwriting101.net/content/tips-rhetorically- effective-presentations/