MTPC Coursework
I have included three work samples and a research paper completed through my master's program to help you better understand my specific skills and areas of interest.
Sample #1: Animal Shelter Flyer
My first sample is a flyer I created in my Document Design class as part of a service-learning project. A partner and I worked with Auburn University's Rural Studio to devise and implement a promotional campaign for an animal shelter the studio built in rural and poor Hale County, Alabama. Rural Studio is a student outreach program of AU's School of Architecture, Design, and Construction. We created four separate documents, including the flyer below, to help spread the word about the shelter's opening and garner support for the humane society that operates it.
Audience and purpose: The flyer targets Hale County residents in general and has a three-pronged purpose: raise awareness in Hale County about the shelter's opening, allow citizens to adopt animals from the shelter, and encourage them to contribute funds and/or supplies to the shelter.
Software used: This flyer was created with Adobe InDesign and Photoshop.
Sample #1: Animal Shelter Flyer
Sample #2: Humane Society Grant Proposal
At the same time I worked on the promotional campaign detailed above, I also wrote a grant proposal for the Hale County Humane Society (HCHS), which operates the shelter. Even though the HCHS garnered enough financial support to open the shelter's doors, it struggled to cover operational costs. One important need was funding to provide preventative vaccinations for animals as they enter the shelter, so I wrote the grant proposal to a private animal welfare foundation based on this need. This foundation gave strict guidelines for proposals: they must be no more than three-pages (double-spaced); include specific information such as the reason for requesting funds and exactly how the funds would be used; and detail any financial support already in place, among other guidelines and strict parameters. In addition to writing the proposal itself, I also worked with the HCHS board of directors to devise a budget, gathered materials such as the 501(c)(3) form verifying the HCHS's nonprofit status, and helped write a detailed history of the organization.
Audience and purpose: I wrote my proposal to the William and Charlotte Parks Foundation in hopes of helping the HCHS raise enough money to provide vaccinations to homeless dogs and cats as soon as they enter the shelter, helping ensure they do not develop any diseases and potentially infect other shelter animals. Ultimately, the proposal is an effort to improve the lives of the animals, one of the primary missions of the foundation.
Software used: This document was created with Microsoft Word, and I used the "styles" function to both differentiate headings, show consistency, and make the electronic document more accessible.
Sample #2: Humane Society Grant Proposal
Sample #3: Research Paper
I completed this research and writing during my Technical Communication: Approaches and Issues class, a required component of the MTPC program at Auburn that involves learning technical communication history and popular theories as well as practical approaches to technical documentation. This paper investigates and advocates for the principles of the minimalistic approach to computer documentation, including both standard instruction manuals, online help, and tutorials. First introduced by John Carroll in the 1980s, the idea of minimalism is to create user-centered documentation by using concise, direct language and to only include graphics and information that help the user learn a program as quickly as possible.
Audience and purpose: The audience for this paper was not only the class professor, but other professors in the field as well as my peers, since I presented my research at the English Department's 2009 Graduate Student Colloquium on the Auburn campus. My intention was to point out the reasons that computer documentation often fails or is not used in the first place and then promote minimalism as the most user-centered design approach for these materials.
Sample #4: Employee Handbook
This sample was a final project in completed my Technical Editing class in fall 2008. We were asked to edit this employee handbook for both surface-level errors and major
content and structural problems to make it more user-oriented. These problems included vague and/or inappropriate wording, poor readability and organization, missing information, and inconsistent headings and lists. While some redesigning was necessary, our focus was comprehensive editing using the track changes function in Microsoft Word. Sample #4A, below, will show changes I made to the original document and comments I made about missing information or points that needed to be clarified. Because there were so many problems with organization, tone, and consistency within the document, it is difficult to read this document due to the amount electronic mark-ups and comments. Sample #4B, however, is the final version of the manual without the mark-ups.
Audience and purpose: Newly hired pool lifeguards would use this manual to learn work rules and procedures as well as patron rules. The manual is intended for them to refer back to as needed; it is not meant to be read once and put away.
Software used: I edited this handbook in Microsoft Word 2007, turning on "track changes" to show revisions and make electronic comments about missing or inconsistent information. I used the "styles" and "shapes" functions to give the document necessary organization, readability, and visual interest.
Sample #4A: Marked-up Employee Handbook
Sample #4B: Final Employee Handbook
Sample #5: Rhetorical Analysis
Last, I've included a rhetorical analysis of a document, which I completed for my Document Design class.
We were instructed to pick any kind of document, analyze in detail its design aspects, and offer suggestions for improvement. I used both research and my practical design experience to justify my comments about the organization, layout, and graphic choices within this small, local women's magazine.
Audience and purpose: Both my class instructor and the magazine designer were my audience for this analysis, written in memo format. Its purpose is not merely to critique the design but to offer easy, practical ways to improve the magazine and, as a result, entice more readers.
Sample #5: Rhetorical Analysis
