ENG 333 Communication for Science and Research

The Communication Situation: The Charter for the Internet Society states that it is a nonprofit organization that is operated for academic, educational, charitable, and scientific purposes. As you "surf the net" for the information needed for this assignment, keep in mind that the overall purpose of the Internet is to "facilitate and support the technical evolution of Internet as a research and education infrastructure."

The focus of your search involves locating information about two companies in your field. If you used the Internet to find information for the Investigative Report in Assignment 1, then your search is already half done. You need to examine what information the companies have chosen to put on the web and how it is presented. You will present your rhetorical analysis in two ways to your peers: 1) as a PowerPoint presentation, and 2) as a short script.

The Assignment: This assignment has two parts. In the first part worth 10% of the grade, you will be comparing two websites using criteria of your choice. In a classroom setting, I set a time limit of 5-7 minutes. A PowerPoint presentation for this limited time usually does not need to be more than 10-12 slides. You can use that as a benchmark as you prepare your PowerPoint presentation. You will need to provide an Introduction, List of the Comparison Criteria you are using (3-4), a few examples (snapshots) of the sites, and a Conlusion.

Think about the potential use of this information by your audience. Your peers are interested, as you are, in locating companies that may be suitable as potential employers. You want to compare two companies in your field and focus on locating employment information (e.g., jobs available, contact information, how to apply easily, etc.). You will compare the two companies and inform your audience which of the two provides the best (most usable) site for future applicants. You can also compare aesthetics, and other content analysis. Be creative here. You want to keep your audience interested. Remember, you are presenting your opinion here so there is no "wrong" analysis here. Back up your opinions with a few examples and facts. You will need to provide a brief script, or notes, with each PowerPoint slide for your reader.

The second part of the assignment worth 5% of the grade involves your evaluation of a group of other student presentations. I will provide evaluation criteria for you to fill out and send to me. I will then synthesize the feedback I receive, make it anonymous, and return it to each student. You will benefit from my feedback, as well as from your target audience.

Evaluation Criteria for PowerPoint Presentation