Professional blog – Economics field (DC Discourse Community)

Paper 4:
Purpose: Since the beginning of the quarter, you have been looking at issues and writing in
your discourse community. For this assignment, you will build your expert persona and
showcase your knowledge of this community by creating a blog and composing three entries. As
usual, one goal of this assignment is to help you be a successful writer in your chosen field when
you graduate.
Task: You will create a WordPress (or Google Sites) account (it’s free!) and follow the
directions below to compose three separate entries on that platform.
Entry one: Think about how the blog establishes your professional online presence.
➔ Create an “About me” section (you don’t have to use your name or picture, but you need to
let readers know about your expertise).
➔ Create a “Welcome to the Blog” section describing the purpose of the blog and what the
readers will get out of it.
Entry two: Think about the career opportunities in your discourse community and what types of
education/training you’ll need to be a successful member of that community.
➔ Find at least two possible careers connected to your DC and investigate how to obtain said
careers. Consider the questions below when choosing a focus:
◆ Is an advanced degree necessary? If so, what are some possible grad programs? Where
are they? How long will it take to complete?
◆ Are special licenses/ certifications needed?
◆ What are some entry-level positions available? What are the requirements?
◆ How much experience do you need to get hired? What opportunities are available to
students before they graduate?
◆ What types of writing will you need to produce for the application process? What
information should go in these materials?
Entry three: Think about the topic/issue that your DC is currently having a conversation about
and provide a “snapshot” of that conversation. You can use sources from Paper 1 as inspiration,
but now you can include your opinion and analysis. You can also choose a different issue if you
wish:
➔ Consider the questions below when choosing how to focus your entry:
◆ Who are the experts discussing this topic? What is their stance on it? Who agrees? Who
disagrees? How does it affect members? How does it affect non-members? Who has
stakes in the outcome of this topic? What does your community value in terms of this
topic? Why? What is your contribution and/or concern about this topic?
1 Framework based on Anne Beaufort’s work in Writing the Real World: Making the Transition from School to Work. Assignment adapted from
materials created by E. Mccollom, S. Faye and J. Ferrando.

Mitchell UWP 101 W 2020
➔ For this entry, you’ll need to create a “Resources” page where you list and describe various
resources readers can access to gain more information on the topic.
Other Requirements:
INTERVIEW one expert on either Entry 2 or Entry 3 and include information from the interview
as your primary research.
Genre Knowledge: Since blogs are usually personal and interactive platforms that utilize less
formal writing styles with the purpose of sharing the writer’s ideas and opinions, you have a
great deal of freedom with this paper. You are encouraged to insert your own personality,
include personal examples, and use the personal pronoun I.
Organization and Structure: A blog has a catchy title and a clear purpose. It should be
structured in a way that is appropriate for the medium. You might include headings for different
sections, colors, pictures, videos, hyperlinks, and any other design feature that seems appropriate.
Consider your audience when designing and organizing the content of your entries.
Audience: Your primary audience will be novices who are interested in joining your DC. Since
your DC is either academic and/or professional, your tone must match the needs of your
audience. Obviously, I will also read your paper, but I will be reading it through the eyes of your
primary audience to evaluate how well you addressed them.
Submission Format: Any user-friendly, free platform such as WordPress to complete this
assignment. You will submit this link in Canvas as we’ve done with other papers.
Length: Each entry should be 800 words minimum. 2400 total for the whole assignment.
Citations: Consider drawing on the sources you researched for your annotated bibliography or
mini-reports for your entries. Use APA or MLA format to cite the course readings if using them.
Use hyperlinks to cite other sources of information (e.g., images, web pages, etc.). While you
aren’t required to explicitly refer to our course readings, you are expected to use your knowledge
of the concepts (genre and rhetorical awareness, for example) we’ve covered to compose your
entries.You must have at least 6 sources cited in your blog.
Specifications
● Each entry must be 800 words for a total of 2400 words
● Your blog must be published so others can access it.
● Drafts must be complete and turned in on time by the due dates specified on the
course calendar.
● You must attend peer workshops to get feedback and not lose points
Grading: Rubric coming soon