Week 9 Project Execution II: Organization Richard Nowell ¨Structure ¨ ¨Introductions & Conclusions ¨ ¨Sections & Paragraphs ¨ ¨Targeted Learning Outcome ¨ ¨Introducing and concluding (the right way) ¨Argument-driven paragraphs & evidence-based sections ¨ ¨ ¨How do you find writing introductions? ¨ ¨What do you think an introduction needs to do? ¨ ¨How do you find writing conclusions? ¨ ¨What do you think a conclusion needs to do? ¨ ¨When do you write these parts? ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨Introductions and conclusions are the most important structural components of academic work; they deserve considerable attention ¨ ¨They are so important because when done properly they explain to readers where we stand on all of the important components of the paper ¨ ¨In reality, we can usually combine the introduction and conclusion into a single passage at the start of the output – an “introlusion”, if you will ¨ ¨This approach may sound strange, but we often struggle to say anything in our conclusions; in reality we usually end up summarizing things ¨ ¨This phenomenon is a product of something quite reassuring though; if done properly, an introduction already spotlights conclusion material ¨We need to start off by recognizing that introductions and conclusions are used to achieve certain things, irrespective of the topic of the paper ¨ ¨A) Focus: What we are looking at in our paper ¨B) Argument: What we have to say about this ¨C) Positioning: How our argument differs from other perspectives ¨D) Methodology: How we conducted our research and analysis ¨E) Organization: How we organize our findings in the paper ¨ ¨F) Contribution: How our paper enriches understandings of the world ¨(this can be included at the end of the intro or used as a conclusion) ¨ ¨This is a prototype; we may deal with such matters in a different order ¨ ¨Focus: The Mediation of Snoop at the 2024 Olympics ¨ ¨Argument: Rebranding Aging Gangsta Rap for new markets ¨ ¨Positioning: Counter antisocial traits of ‘90s Gangsta persona ¨ ¨Methodology: Star Images (Dyer); Metamodern (Vermeulen) ¨ ¨Macro-Organization: 4 Sections (plus intro and conclusion) ¨ ¨Contribution: Understanding Aging black celebrity brands ¨ ¨ ¨What are paragraphs? ¨ ¨What should they do? ¨ ¨How do you organize them? ¨ ¨ ¨Paragraphs are self-enclosed blocks of text that make one major point by signposting content and delivering a selection of strong evidence ¨ ¨I propose a formula for organizing paragraphs: it involves building a four-five point paragraph supporting a single aspect of argumentation ¨ ¨The Stinger: The first sentence makes an assertion that represents the main point you would like to make in the paragraph as a whole ¨ ¨Evidencers: Then include about three or four points that you feel are likely to persuade the reader of your stinger: 1-2 sentences per point ¨ ¨Outro: avoid links between paragraphs – this just leads to repetition between a sentence’s outro and the stinger opening the next paragraph ¨ ¨ ¨Paragraphs are self-enclosed blocks of text that make one major point by signposting content and delivering a selection of strong evidence. I propose a formula for organizing paragraphs: it involves building a four-five point paragraph supporting a single aspect of argumentation. The Stinger or first sentence makes an assertion that represents the main point you would like to make in the paragraph as a whole. Then include about three or four “evidencers” that you feel are likely to persuade the reader of your stinger, using 1-2 sentences per point. Avoid links between paragraphs; this just leads to repetition between a sentence’s outro and the stinger opening the next paragraph ¨ ¨ ¨Do you prefer reading essays broken into sections or those that comprise one unbroken block of writing? ¨ ¨Do you organize your essays into smaller blocks? ¨ ¨Is there an ideal number of sections an essay should include? ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨Sections are self-enclosed blocks of related paragraphs in which we support ONE part of our case so as to persuade readers of our position ¨ ¨Your essays should ideally contain circa 3 sections, each containing 3-4 paragraphs, each providing evidence in support of the thesis statement ¨ ¨This approach can help us as writers, as it requires we organize our ideas into coherent groups, which helps us to think about argumentation ¨ ¨Organizing work into sections can also help readers, because it clearly spotlights to them a key piece of evidence in a larger piece of work ¨ ¨Sections also enable readers to take a deep breath, thus allowing them to reflect back on the previous topic before moving on to new material ¨ ¨ ¨A prototype section might be comprised of these components: ¨ ¨Title ¨This should give a clear sense of what the section is about ¨ ¨Section statement: tell the reader what the section is about and why it is important to the overall argument you are making ¨ ¨Paragraphs (about 3) ¨- These paragraphs each add an example as evidence of the assertion ¨- Organize them in some logical way or in terms of their importance ¨ ¨Final Sentence – The Outro (DESIRABLE) ¨Gestures to the content of the next section ¨ ¨ ¨Organize the following into a suitable number of sections ¨ ¨Give each section a title. ¨ ¨NB: You may drop as many points as you see fit. ¨1. Friends with Martha Stewart ¨2. Supports Female American Athletes ¨3. Likes Sweets ¨4. Likes Weed ¨5. Interested in Dressage ¨6. Fitting into European Café culture ¨7. Respects His Mother ¨8. Crosses racial divides ¨9. Exchanging Cooking tips ¨10. Promoting Love and Understanding ¨11. Likes Romance of Paris ¨12. Likes “Tang” the Cat ¨13. Eager to Learn from Others ¨14. Promotes self-respect ¨Section 1. Mr. Cosmopolitan ¨1. Set-up: once deemed West Coast ¨2. Interested in Dressage ¨3. Fitting into European High Culture ¨4. Exchanging Cooking Tips ¨5. Likes the Romance of Paris ¨ ¨Section 2. Mr. Empathy ¨ ¨1. Set-up: once deemed hateful ¨2. Promotes Self-respect ¨3. Eager to Learn From Others ¨4. Promotes Love and Understanding ¨5. Crosses Racial Divides ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨Section 3. Mr. Big Kid ¨1. Set-up: once deemed thug ¨2. Likes Sweets ¨3. Likes Weed ¨4. Likes Tang the Cat ¨ ¨Section 4. Mr. Female-Friendly ¨ ¨1. Set-up: once deemed sexist ¨2. Friends with Martha ¨3. Supports Female US Athletes ¨4. Respects His Mother ¨ ¨If we are to maximize the quality of our work and our grades, we need to present our argument and evidence in a reader-friendly fashion ¨ ¨Because such an approach is designed to help readers, it also stands to help us to organize our ideas and evidence in a coherent manner ¨ ¨Introductions introduce the paper not the topic, and include: focus, argument, positioning, organization, methods, and contributions ¨ ¨Aim for 3-4 sections, with a brief statement about a section’s content, and about 3-4 paragraphs unpacking a single major piece of evidence ¨ ¨Paragraphs work similarly, the first sentence should encapsulate the whole paragraph, and then include 3-4 evidence sentences supporting it ¨Date: 28 November (Note Next Week is Reading Week) ¨ ¨Instructor: Sarka ¨ ¨Topic: Analysis Refresher Seminar 2 ¨ ¨Outcome: Sharpening Our Analysis Skills ¨ ¨Preparation: Read provided paper on SIS; summarize it in no more than 300 words; upload summary to “Homework Vault” by Midnight Wednesday 27 November. ¨