ENC1930 Prof. Anderson

Major Essay 4 – Podcast Walking Tour

Objectives

For this assignment you will create your own podcast walking tour. This final class project will be multimodal and include a 1,000+ word script and 5-10 minute podcast presentation. This project will showcase all of the writing skills you have developed throughout the semester, including your ability to describe, inform, analyze, engage your audience, and write in a semi-formal tone.

Rhetorical Context

The purpose of this assignment is to guide your readers/listeners through the location of your choice. It should engage your audience, inform listeners about the location’s history, describe the important sights, and provide directions to help your readers/listeners navigate the place. You are creating this project with the intended audience of podcast listeners who would be visiting the location for the first time. This audience should be considered semi-formal, so your writing should be interesting, colloquial, and mostly objective. This project should fall into the genre of a podcast walking tour as discussed in unit 3.

Requirements

The following criteria must be met in order to receive full credit for your work. Failure to comply with any of these requirements will penalize your grade:

 1,000+ word script

 MLA Format with 12 pt Times New Roman font

 5-10 minute audio file submitted via SoundCloud link or flash drive

 Guide audience through the selected location and inform them about its history

 Semi-formal writing style appropriate to a professional podcast

 Works cited page that references any sources you use

 Final draft of the podcast script due by 4-29 at midnight

 Podcast presentation due by 5-5 at class time

 Original Work

Guiding Questions

The following questions can help you select a topic and decide what type of content to focus on in your essay: ENC1930 Prof. Anderson

 What places am I interested in or are important to me?

 Who would be interested in visiting the selected place? Who would listen to a podcast walking tour of it?

 What are the most important places/items within the location that I should focus on and describe?

 How will I help listeners navigate the location?

 How will I engage my classmates as they listen to my podcast?

 What are the important historical events listeners would want to know about? ENC1930 Prof. Anderson

Scoring Criteria

Your essay will be evaluated on five different criteria that are described below. Each of these individual scores are combined in order to determine your final grade. It is entirely possible to receive a high grade in one category but fail another, so keep all of these aspects of your paper in mind as you begin to write.

A= Excellent quality work that surpasses the guidelines and expectations of the paper

B= High quality work that fulfills all guidelines and shows adequate effort

C= Lower quality work that meets most (but not all) guidelines or shows inadequate effort

D= Below average work that does not comply with essay requirements or shows little effort

F= Extremely below average work

Purpose & Structure: 20% The project should focus on your selected space. It should have an introduction, clear transitions, and logical progression of thought. Information: 20% Your project should inform your audience about the history and most important facts of the location in a concise way that does not detract from audience engagement. This information should showcase your informative writing skills developed in unit 2 and be thoroughly researched. Any sources used should properly documented on your Works Cited page. Description & Directions 20% Your project should include descriptions with concrete details of any important items or landmarks in the location, showcasing your descriptive writing skills from unit 1. Your project should also include clear directions to help your audience navigate the location. Presentation & Engagement 20% The audio presentation of your podcast will be evaluated here. It should have a clear speaking voice and may include background music as well. Your classmates’ evaluations will be responsible for this section of your project’s grade, so make sure to keep their engagement in mind. Mechanics: 20% The final draft of your project should show sufficient editing and revision. It should also utilize college-level grammar and spelling. Your podcast script should also utilize MLA format and have a Works Cited page for any sources you utilize. ENC1930 Prof. Anderson

Note: Information adapted from Professor Cayce Wick’s “Composing a Walking Tour” assignment sheet.