Students and Drinking

My group has chosen to record a video that is trying to persuade teenage students not to consume alcohol. We are going to start off our video with a party setting. Three of us will be mixed in with the "partying" students while one member of our group will be recording. We will have dialogue where we are making fun of for example the drunk girl passed out or the girl laying right next to the toilet. We will also include some startling facts of the consequences of drinking.

Media/Design

When designing a paper the first part to consider is what type of font style you would like.  You want your readers to be able to easily read the text, but the font style also has to fit with the type of paper you're writing. The book says Times New Roman is businesslike or academic, which is what I have always used when typing, and others such as Comic Sans makes your paper look more playful. The book suggests not to go overboard with typefaces use only two or, at most, three different styles. Next to consider is the layout of the text. An academic essay, will usually have a title centered at the top, one inch margins all around, and double spacing. This is what I am most familiar with and have never written a paper any other way. Then you divide your text into paragraphs. By using paragraphs it chunks the information together so the reader can easily process all the information. Once that is completed we move on to the heading. These headings give the reader an idea of what they are about to read. You can write your heading as a question, noun, or phrases. At the end of your design you need to evaluate it before moving on. Ask questions such as, does it fit the purpose, does it meet the needs of its audience, how well does it meet the requirements of the genre, and how well does the design reflect the writer's stance. Now we move on to spoken texts, such as speeches and presentations.  For a spoken text there needs to be a clear structure so the audience can follow what you're saying. Also summarize a complex point so the audience can follow what you're saying. Repeat your speech over and over to present a powerful presentation. Also it helps to include visual aids to get a point across to the audience. The last text is an electronic text which includes blogs, emails, and other online communication. First you need a home page which gives the name of the site and gives the readers an understanding of what the site is about. A clear organized structure is a crucial part to designing a web page because you want your readers to be able to easily sift through the different aspects of the page. Also an explicit navigation system needs to be included. This shows what's on the site and lets readers click on the main pages. Just as an essay there needs to be a consistent design by using colors to highlight what is what and using typeface to distinguish different parts from others. Some websites also include links which let the reader click on a related topic and read about it.

Beginning and Ending

Today I will be reading on how to begin and end a story. A helpful tip the book shares is that an introduction should entice its readers to keep reading by connecting to the text through their interests such as shared experiences, anecdotes, or another attention grabbing device. When beginning a story I learned that I need to point out what I will be talking about in the introduction so my readers will have an idea of what the rest of the story will be like. This is called a thesis statement, and all beginnings should contain one. Do not assume that just because the reader knows the key points means he/she will know about the whole topic so providing background information will make for a solid story. Also defining the key concepts will assert the way you feel about your topic. You could start with an anecdote that relates to your story or ask a question to get the reader thinking at the very beginning, this will also grab their attention. Finally we reach the end of the story in which we will restate the main point, discuss the implications of the argument, refer to the beginning, end with an anecdote or propose some action. Another important aspect of a story is its title. Here are some examples from the book of different titles; sometimes titles simply announce the subject of the text: "Black Men and Public Space". Some titles provoke readers, "Thank God for the Atom Bomb". While others add a subtitle, "Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood". The book explains the strategy to ease into a thesis statement. First they say to state your topic as a question, then turn you question into a position, and then narrow your thesis. A topic sentence states the subject and focus of the paragraph and is usually at the beginning of a paragraph.