ENGL1101 Major Project 3: Putting Neuroscience to Work with Multimodal Synergy
ENGL1101 G1and P | Spring 2014 | Dr. Jason W. Ellis
Introduction
In your third major project, you will work individually to create a Pecha Kucha (pronounced “pachach-ka”) style presentation that builds on your previous projects and tells us a story about you
on your life journey. This assignment is an opportunity for personal discovery, creativity, and
expression.
This assignment draws on our readings from John Medina’s Brain Rules and Jonathan
Gottschall’s The Storytelling Animal, because it is an opportunity to think about your personal
narrative as someone beginning his or her life’s journey and how your personal narrative has an
effect on the way your brain wires itself to successfully accomplish that journey.
You will deliver a Pecha Kucha (http://www.pechakucha.org/) presentation to tell us your
personal journey. This style consists of a person speaking to the accompaniment of an
automatically advancing PowerPoint slideshow of 20 slides, each appearing for only 20 seconds,
and each a single image. A Pecha Kucha presentation cannot exceed 6 minutes 40 seconds. How
do you think Pecha Kucha achieves multimodal synergy with the WOVEN modes?
Your Pecha Kucha presentation should tell us a story about your journey. What you want to tell
us is largely up to you, but I will be looking for these six elements woven into your presentation:
1. It makes an argument (e.g., I want to get X out of life, because Y. My life journey led me
study X, because Y. I plan to do X, because Y. My background in X enables me to do Y,
because Z. etc.).
2. It mentions your brain/neuroscience.
3. It touches or focuses on your desire to study a specific field(s) at Georgia Tech.
4. It includes two brief, relevant quotes: one from a GT Library book and one from an
article from the GT Library databases). These quotes can be about your major or
something else relevant to your specific story. Quotes may not come from our class
readings.
5. It includes 20 new photos taken by you. One photo per slide. No photos from the Internet,
family photos, or screenshots. You are allowed to have two photos taken by someone of
you as long as they are taken after today.
6. Only the first and last slides include text created with PowerPoint. Of course, your photos
might be of objects like “Stop” signs, which include text and are allowable. This text
should include legibly: your name, your institutional and school affiliation, and your
email address.
Proposal
Write at least a one page, double-spaced, essay-style proposal that details the following key
points: 1) What kind of story do you want to tell about yourself? 2) What is your definition of a
fulfilling life? 3) What do you need to do and are doing to live that way? Upload your proposal
as a Word document that has 1” margins on all sides, Times New Roman 12pt font, doublespaced, no additional space between paragraphs, an MLA name block in the upper left corner,
and last name and page number in upper right header.
Outline Draft
Write at least a one-page outline using Microsoft Word’s multilevel list function. What are the
main topics that you want to discuss? What are the sub-topics that should be discussed under the
main topics? This outline might not correspond directly with your script’s division into 20 slides,
but it should give you an idea about how to proceed to the script stage. Upload your outline as a
Word document that has 1” margins on all sides, Times New Roman 12pt font, double-spaced,
no additional space between paragraphs, an MLA name block in the upper left corner, and last
name and page number in upper right header.
Script Draft
Write a script that breaks down your presentation into 20 slides. Each slide should be numbered
and the text for each slide should be about 30-45 words long. This means that your script should
be between 600 and 900 words long. You will practice this before your presentation, so you
might need to add or subtract words depending on how fast or slow that you talk. Upload your
script as a Word document that has 1” margins on all sides, Times New Roman 12pt font,
double-spaced, no additional space between paragraphs, an MLA name block in the upper left
corner, and last name and page number in upper right header. Include a separate Works Cited
page that includes the MLA formatted bibliographic information for at least two sources that you
found in the library. At least one must be a book. You are certainly allowed to have more than
two sources.
PowerPoint Draft
Create a twenty-slide PowerPoint file that includes a title slide (first slide), 18 photo slides, and a
closing title screen (final slide). Your title slide should include the title of your presentation, your
name, your affiliation, and your email address. Your closing slide should mirror your title slide
except that your last slide should include a picture of yourself with your title slide information.
Each photo slide must fill the frame and they must be images that you created. There should be
only one photo per slide. The photo must connect in some way to what you are speaking from
your script. Remember to choose the compress images option in PowerPoint under Picture
Tools otherwise your PowerPoint presentation might be too large to upload to T-Square.
Practice Video
Before your project is due, you should plan and arrange to give a practice presentation. You can
use the presentation rooms in the Clough or simply record yourself in your dorm room using a
camera from the library or one that you own. You should have the presentation in frame (this can
be projected or simply displayed on a computer monitor that you sit or stand next to). If you
mess up or not deliver a perfect presentation, do not worry. The point of this exercise is to let
you practice, see yourself give the presentation, and reflect on how to give the presentation
successfully when in front of the class. Your practice video must be saved in MP4 format, be
no larger than 50 MB, and contain no software watermarks.
Reflection Essay
Include a 2-page, double-spaced essay that explains your rhetorical choices and your use of
multimodal synergy. Upload your reflection essay as a Word document that has 1” margins on
all sides, Times New Roman 12pt font, double-spaced, no additional space between paragraphs,
an MLA name block in the upper left corner, and last name and page # in upper right header.
Your Files
For full credit, all components of the assignment must be completed and turned in on time. Each
student is responsible for maintaining his or her project files.
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gtid#.proposal.docx
gtid#.outline-draft.docx
gtid#.outline-final.docx
gtid#.script-draft.docx
gtid#.script-final.docx
gtid#.powerpoint-draft.pptx
gtid#.powerpoint-final.pptx
gtid#.practice.mp4
gtid#.reflection.docx
Your Presentation Day
Bring your PowerPoint presentation on a flash drive. As soon as you arrive to class, copy your
PowerPoint presentation from your flash drive to the podium computer’s Desktop. Test your
PowerPoint presentation and its automatic advancement on a Windows PC before class to ensure
it works correctly for your presentation. There are no do-overs for your presentation.
Grading
I will employ the enclosed rubric to evaluate your presentation and supporting files in a holistic
manner.
Campus Resources
As we learned during the library tour earlier this semester, Georgia Tech has a number of
resources available to students for photography. If you go to the main circulation desk at the
library, you can check out cameras, video cameras, iPad 2s, and other equipment that you might
find useful for taking photos. Once you have shot your photos for your PowerPoint, you can use
the computers and software in the library’s Multimedia Studio
(http://librarycommons.gatech.edu/multimedia.php) to edit your photos for maximum effect. You
may also choose to use software on your own computer. Also, you will need to use the GT
Library Catalog (https://portal.library.gatech.edu) and your major’s Research Guide/Databases
(http://libguides.gatech.edu).
Schedule
12
13
14
M
3/24
TBA
Introduce Project 3, “Putting
Neuroscience to Work,” and
Final Portfolio Project. What is
Pecha Kucha 20x20?
http://www.pechakucha.org
W
F
3/26
3/28
TBA
TBA
Conducting Research Basics.
Team meetings to peer review
outline. What kinds of photos do
you want to anchor your
presentation? In-class research
and writing.
M
3/31
TBA
W
F
4/2
4/4
TBA
TBA
M
W
4/7
4/9
TBA
TBA
Team meetings to peer review
script. Discuss topics.
Photography bootcamp.
Powerpoint bootcamp for Pecha
Kucha.
Studio time for project 3.
Studio time for project 3.
Before 11PM
tonight, collect
your readingfocused Tweets in
Storify, export as
PDF, and post to TSquare.
Bring a book from
the library to share
with your teams.
Project 3 Proposal
due on T-Square.
Project 3 Outline
due on T-Square.
15
16
17
F
4/11
TBA
M
4/14
Project 3 Pecha Kucha
Presentations.
W
4/16
F
4/18
M
4/21
W
4/23
F
4/25
Project 3 Pecha Kucha
Presentations.
Project 3 Pecha Kucha
Presentations.
WPFE. Final Portfolio
Workshop.
WPFE. Final Portfolio
Workshop.
WPFE. Final Portfolio
Workshop.
Final portfolio due on T-Square by the end of your section’s final exam period. No
late portfolios will be accepted. Carefully note your section’s deadline below.
Final exam
week, 4/285/2
Studio time for project 3.
Project 3 Script
draft due on TSquare.
Project 3 (proposal,
outline, script,
Powerpoint, and
reflection) due on
T-Square.
ENGL 1101 G1, MWF 12:05-12:55: April 30 (Wed), 11:30am-2:20pm
ENGL 1101 P, MWF 1:05-1:55: May 2 (Fri), 2:50pm-5:40pm
Grading Rubric
Scale
Basic
Beginning
Developing
Rhetorical
Awareness
Response to the
situation/assignment,
considering elements
such as purpose,
audience, register,
and context
Ignores two or more
aspects of the situation
and thus does not fulfill
the task
Ignores at least
one aspect of
the situation and
thus
compromises
effectiveness
Attempts to
respond to all
aspects of the
situation, but
the attempt is
insufficient or
inappropriate
Addresses the
situation in a
complete but
perfunctory or
predictable
way
Addresses the
situation
completely,
with
unexpected
insight
Stance and Support
Argument, evidence,
and analysis
Involves an unspecified
or confusing argument;
lacks appropriate
evidence
Makes an
overly general
argument; has
weak or
contradictory
evidence
Lacks a unified
argument; lacks
significance
(“so what?”);
lacks sufficient
analysis
Offers a
unified, distinct
position with
compelling
evidence and
analysis
Organization
Structure and
coherence, including
elements such as
introductions and
conclusions as well
as logical
connections within
and among
paragraphs (or other
meaningful chunks)
Lacks unity in constituent
parts
(such as paragraphs);
fails to create coherence
among constituent parts
Uses insufficient
unifying
statements (e.g.,
thesis statements,
topic sentences,
headings, or
forecasting
statements); uses
few effective
connections (e.g.,
transitions, match
cuts, and
hyperlinks)
Conventions
Expectations for
grammar,
mechanics, style,
citation, and genre
Involves errors that risk
making the overall
message distorted or
incomprehensible
Involves a
major pattern of
errors
Uses some
effective
unifying claims,
but a few are
unclear; makes
connections
weakly or
inconsistently,
as when claims
appear as
random lists or
when
paragraphs’
topics lack
explicit ties to
the thesis
Involves some
distracting errors
Offers a
unified,
significant,
and common
position with
predictable
evidence and
analysis
States
unifying
claims with
supporting
points that
relate clearly
to the overall
argument and
employs an
effective but
mechanical
scheme
Meets
expectations,
with minor
errors
Exceeds
expectations
in a virtually
flawless
manner
Manipulates
expectations
in ways that
advance the
argument
Design for Medium
Features that use
affordances to
enhance factors such
as comprehensibility
and usability
Lacks the features
necessary for the genre;
neglects significant
affordances, such as
linking on the web; uses
features that conflict
with or ignore the
argument
Omits some
important
features;
involves
distracting
inconsistencies
in features (e.g.,
type and
headings); uses
features that
don’t support
argument
Supports the
argument
with features
that are
generally
suited to
genre and
content
Promotes
engagement
and supports
the argument
with features
that efficiently
use affordances
Persuades
with careful,
seamless
integration of
features and
content and
with
innovative use
of affordances
Uses features
that support
with argument,
but some match
imprecisely
with content;
involves minor
omissions or
inconsistencies
Competent
Mature
Asserts and
sustains a
claim that
develops
progressively
and adapts
typical
organizational
schemes for the
context,
achieving
substantive
coherence
Exemplary
Addresses the
situation in a
complete,
sophisticated
manner that
could advance
professional
discourse on
the topic
Offers an
inventive,
expert-like
position with
precise and
convincing
evidence and
analysis
Asserts a
sophisticated
claim by
incorporating
diverse
perspectives
that are
organized to
achieve
maximum
coherence and
momentum
Table 16. Outcomes for English 1101 and English 1102 specified by the Board of Regents and by Georgia Tech’s Writing and
Communication Program (NB: In each cell, one or more items separated by semicolons could apply)