Rhetoric
The term "rhetoric" has many definitions and no simple definition can do it justice, so I will attempt to define it in terms of the MS-PTC program. Several of the MS-PTC courses dedicate significant resources to rhetorical writing. Most of the courses link rhetoric to the ability to write persuasively and adapt communications to specific audiences. Several examples that demonstrate rhetorical writing appear below.
Research Paper on the History of Copyright Laws (62KB PDF): A research paper that provides a historical investigation of copyright laws, starting with Guttenberg’s invention of the modern printing press and continuing through the file sharing software of the digital era. The research paper also touches on the enforcement/relevance of copyright laws in today's connected society.
Scoring and Learning Through the Net Program Funding Proposal (111KB PDF): A formal proposal, intended for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, for a program that promotes healthy physical activity and computer learning in underserved communities. Supporting PPT also available.
Various Roles of Independent Bloggers: For PTC 605 Elements of Visual Design, I maintained a visual design blog. This blog post describes how independent bloggers assume a wide variety of roles and compares how a blogger's responsibilities differ from someone else writing in a more traditional setting (e.g. a daily newspaper).
Rhetoric of Typography: In The Rhetoric of Typography, Eva Brumberger investigates the role typography plays in visual rhetoric (e.g. does typeface selection shape readers’ interactions with a document?). This paper summarizes Brumberger's research.