Project 3: Bilingual Re-design ProjectIn English 108 so far, you have worked with several academic genres, including a response and a literature review. For
this last module, you will consider how the rhetorical situation (including audience, purpose, and context) in which a
text is written and read will influence its content and form. Modifying your writing to suit the rhetorical situation will
help you become a more flexible and persuasive writer.
This last project asks you to draw on the work you have done in your literature review assignment, but to now write
for a new audience and in a new genre—in other words, you will re-design your literature review paper into a new
kind of text (or genre). You may choose from one of the following genres:
● An infographic● A blog post● A public letter (e.g., letter-to-the-editor in a campus newspaper or newsletter)
There is a twist to this assignment: You will prepare two versions of your text–one in English and one in another
language (most likely this will be your first/dominant language, but it can also be another language that you have
learned at school). Your general audience (students, university administrators, instructors…your choice!) should
remain consistent, but the language shift will require that you think about any differences between your two
different linguistic audiences. For example, you might ask: How might my text change when
writing for Spanish-speaking international students vs. English-speaking domestic students?
Importantly, you are not writing a direct translation of one text to the other. Your texts
will necessarily be a little different (perhaps in content, language choices, length,
organization,
design, etc.) because your audiences are a little different.
Summary and example
Genre options Possible audiences for your text Possible purposes of your text
● Infographic● Blog post● Public letter
(e.g., letterto-the-editorfor a campusnewspaper)
● University administrators● To inform
● International Student Service● To persuade
staff● To share an opinion
● Current international students● To argue a position
● Potential international studentsfrom your home country
● Students in {your department orcollege}
● …
For example, you might write a…
Blog post
Infographic
for international students in the U.S.to inform them of strategies for
(English-language version) and potentialsuccess as an international
international students from Turkeystudent.
(Turkish-language version)
for faculty and students (English andto persuade them of the value of
Chinese speakers) in Ellerinternationalizing anundergraduate business
curriculum.
Why is this assignment bilingual?
As a multilingual writer, you can and should use what you know about writing in all of your languages. This project
aims to give you practice in doing so. The goal of preparing this project in two languages is that it will help you to think
about how one type of writing (genre) might be similar and different across languages. You may have some knowledge
of these genres in your first language, and you can use that knowledge to learn more about the genre in English. Steps
1. Identify the genre that you will write in. Think about the topic you wrote about in your Literature Review.What audiences might be interested in that topic and why? What genre would be appropriate? (GenreSelection activity)
2. Look through the English-language samples of your chosen genre in D2L and collect additional non- Englishsamples. You will analyze the genre samples in terms of their context, purpose, audience, content, structure,and language. You will also compare the genres across languages. (Genre Analysis activities; Cross-languageGenre Analysis)
3. Consider your options in terms of genre form (structure, content, word choice, grammar, etc.) given yourchosen audience(s) and purpose(s). Here, you will also want to consider how your two texts (English andother language) might be similar and different from each other.
4. Draft and revise both versions of your text (one in each language).5. Create a cover sheet that includes the following information:
(a) the genre you have chosen (infographic, blog post, public letter);(b) the intended audience and purpose for each language version (these might not be the same!) (c)a 400- to 500-word cover letter. In this letter, explain the following:● What information did you keep from the literature review, and why?● Which conventions of the genre did you use in order to achieve your purpose toward each audience?
(You can focus on 2-3 of the conventions you feel are most important.)● How are your two versions of the genre similar and how are they different? Why did you make these
choices?
First draft: DD33- April 13
Peer review: DD34- April 15
Final due date: DD35- April 20
Note: If you are creating an infographic for this assignment, here are some applications that may be useful in
designing your text: Piktochart, Venngage, Infogr.am, Readymag (Example), Canva, Piktochart, easelly, visually
Assessment criteria
Your Bilingual Re-Design project will be graded according to the following criteria (exceeds, meets, approaches,
unsatisfactory, not present):
● The texts draw on at least some of the research from the author’s literature review assignment (16 pts.) ●Cover letter explains differences between two texts and provides clear reasons behind these differences (24pts.)● Cover letter clearly explains how the texts use some of the genre’s conventions effectively for the
two audiences (24 pts.)
● Text appears to be well-crafted, showing the writer’s thoughtful effort. (24 pts.)● Re-design meets the assignment guidelines including submission of all drafts and revision. (12 pts.)