ENG 106: Composition 2 |
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By the end
of this lesson, you should be able to do each of the following:
Read Chapter
15 of Everything’s an Argument before you come to class on Tuesday. Write a draft
of your definition and bring it to class on Thursday. Make sure that this definition
contains an engaging introduction, a clear claim, a set of appropriate
criteria, abundant support, a strong rebuttal, and a satisfying
conclusion. Another draft is due
at the end of this unit. Think Fast: Visit
a World Wide Web site. Using
what you have learned in this lesson, describe and evaluate the designer’s
use of a focal point, color, and typography. Comment on the site’s tone and agenda. Presentation: Visual
Argument (Professor Canada) Cooperative Learning: Discuss the graphic design of the
site you evaluated with a partner. Discussion: During
this time, we will discuss the insights and questions that have emerged
during our “Think Fast” exercise, my presentation, and cooperative learning. Workshop: Trade
your definition with someone nearby.
Using what you know about effective rhetoric, evaluate your partner’s
definition. Think Again: Using
what you have learned or reviewed in this lesson, design a handout, slide
show, or Web site to accompany your midterm presentation, which you will
deliver next week. Conferences: During
these one-on-one conferences, I will review some of your writing, orally quiz
you on lesson objectives, and field your questions. Announcements: We
will wrap up this lesson with announcements regarding upcoming lessons, as
well as other relevant subjects. Terms
Make sure
you know the meaning and significance of each of the following terms:
Everything’s an Argument contains
a chapter on visual argument. The University Writing Center,
located in Dial 131, has a scanner you can use to prepare pictures for a
handout, slide show, or Web site. Updated March 3, 2002
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Introduction
Over the past several weeks, we have examined several
principles and forms of written argument. In this lesson, we take a look at visual argument. Please come to Dial 149, where you
will examine some visual arguments and begin constructing one of your own. Discussion
Graphic Design
Just as people with good ideas do not always know how to
express them effectively, many people who publish material in print and on
the Web do not make effective use of graphic and navigational elements.
In other words, their pages are hard to read and hard to use. You can
set yourself apart from the crowd if you learn a few basic principles of
graphic design, particularly Web design. Focal points, such as relatively large
photographs or headings give viewers' eyes someplace to go on a page.
In general, try to put one focal point at the top of each Web page. If
the focal point is a photograph of a person, make the person look toward the
middle of the page, thus attracting the viewers' eyes to the heart of your
material and not off the screen. Color, when used effectively, can make a page
more appealing and can attract attention to particular elements. Used
carelessly, color can make a page hard to read. Avoid overusing color
and and make sure your text has adequate contrast with the background.
In other words, if the background is dark, use a light typeface on top of it.
Typography--in other words, the appearance
of letters on a page or screen--has a significant impact on how viewers
process information. Indeed, experienced designers know how to manipulate typefaces--whole sets of letters, a through z,
along with punctuation marks, designed to be used together in printing a body
of text--to organize information, to convey different messages, or simply to
appeal to the eye. Thus, while the letter "s" always has the same
linguistic value, a designer may decide to print that "s"--along
with the rest of the alphabet--in a particularly typeface, such as Times or
Arial, because of the way that typeface makes the letters look on the
page. Most typefaces belong to one of two families. One family
has what are called serifs: tiny extra lines
that appear on the corners of letters. A holdover from the days when scribes
wrote out manuscripts, serifs facilitate reading by guiding the eye from
letter to letter. Some of the most popular typefaces--including Times New
Roman, Bembo, and Garamond--are serif fonts. Serif fonts tend to work
well for long stretches of text, such as the body of an essay. Because
of their history, they also have a traditional feel. The second class
of typefaces is called sans serif--Latin
for "without serifs"--because these typefaces lack the extra lines
on the corners of letters. Sans serif typefaces, such as Arial and
Helvetica, make for good display text,
such as headings. They have a more modern feel than serif
typefaces. Type comes in various sizes, generally measured in a unit
called a point, which is roughly equivalent to
1/72nd of an inch. Appropriate type sizes for body text range from 10
to 12 points. Display text may be of various sizes, but usually is
about 18 to 72 points. Similarity suggests connections. In
other words, if you have three roughly equal sections of you Web page, use
the same typeface, size, and color for the heading of each section. Bullets, graphic symbols used in front of items
in a list, can help viewers to find and to process information. Links--words or pictures that viewers can click
to go somewhere else on the page or somewhere else on the Web--can help
people navigate your Web site. Your home page, or index, should contain
a list of links to the other components of your site. Templates are patterns that you can use to
create several pages with the same basic design. Some Web-authoring
software products, including Netscape Composer, come with templates.
You also can make one of your own pages a template simply by making copies of
it and changing the content in each copy while retaining the format. Conclusion
In this lesson, we have examined some elements of visual
argument. Next week, you will
have a chance to employ some of strategies you learned here when you give
your midterm presentations. |