About the Writing Prompts

These writing prompts were conceived of as a sequence that highlights particular aspects of alternate reality games and the types of engagements and compositions that characterize them. By asking students to compose arguments in, and about, ARGs, I hope to draw attention to the key contributions ARGs can make to composition and rhetoric instruction.

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Writing Prompt 1: Propose a Multimodal Composition

“Let rhetoric be [defined as] an ability, in each [particular] case, to see the available means of persuasion.” –Aristotle, On Rhetoric, Book 1.

While playing World Without Oil we have seen a wide variety of approaches to using multimodal texts (those that combine 2 or more of the following: sound, images, video, print, etc.) to construct and present an argument.  In approximately 500 words, I would like you to propose or “pitch” your idea for a similar composition.

The goals of this assignment are:

  1. to brainstorm as part of prewriting;
  2. to concisely communicate your ideas;
  3. to consider the way different media convey messages;
  4. to consider the potential of multiple media forms to complement or enhance one another’s presentation of an argument.

For this proposal you will start with a topic you find familiar and interesting.  Based on the topic of your choice, choose a particularly important message and identify two or more specific media that, together, will convey your message most powerfully and persuasively.

Then compose a statement (posted to the class discussion board online) that describes your topic, message, and modes of communication.  Explain how the particular affordances of the media you have selected effectively engage with an audience, hold their attention, and communicate a persuasive message.  You are encouraged to support your claims here with examples from World Without Oil or any other multimodal text.  Be sure to provide links to the sources you use to support your argument.

Some ideas for compositions include:

  1. an online “web text” including resources for your audience;
  2. a recorded interview that connects to the concerns of your topic;
  3. a first-person account of your daily experiences “living without” oil;
  4. a slide presentation that informs or educates your audience on your topic;
  5. a newsletter.

Remember: because you are proposing a topic for, and approach to, future work, you should think of this as an argument. As such, while composing you should use the conventions we discussed earlier in the semester: strong claims with appropriate support, solid contextualization, and a clear (and logical) line of reasoning, etc.

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Writing Prompt 2: “Write” Your Multimodal Text

[Note: this assignment was originally given in the context of “Week 10” of World Without Oil. You can use the WWO Archive and "Time Machine" to go back to that point in the game.]

In [Writing Prompt 1] you introduced a topic, selected a message, and proposed a composition that used multiple media to convey that message.  For this assignment I would like you to expand upon that proposal and use it to add your voice to the growing list of contributions to World Without Oil. 

The goals of this assignment are:

  1. to explore the use of multiple media to construct authority and identity;
  2. to use available discourse technologies (or, “available means”) to compose an argument;
  3. to practice working with HTML by posting your composition to the web.

Starting with the proposal you submitted for [Writing Prompt 1], develop a “plan of action,” or “creative strategy,” for composing your assignment.  Then begin collecting the elements of your text.  You may have to use the tools we have discussed  (Audacity, GarageBand, an HTML editor, a camera, etc.) to record that material.  You may also consider looking for source materials online (by searching the creativecommons.org website, for example).  Make sure you have permission to use, and proper citations for, the elements you chose.

Some questions to consider:

  • How do you construct your authority and the authority of the composition?
  • What are the factors that may limit your audience’s ability to access the text and how can you accommodate them?
  • What does your composition say about who you are?
  • How does it reflect your experiences, voice, and interests?  How does it reflect the perceived interests or concerns of your audience?
  • What are the implicit and explicit messages your composition conveys?

Once you have a plan and all of the “pieces” of your argument, you can start putting them together.  By then end, you should have a file (or a link to a file) that we can post to the course blog and the WWO community.

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Writing Prompt 3: Examining Arguments and Player Collaboration

As we have discussed, player communities are “organically self-regulating” and “chaotic.”  Everyone has their own voice, opinions, and agendas to ARG play as well as particular aspects of the game that interest them most.  Players’ authorities and identities are constructed and presented on the message boards these community members use to interact with one another.  In an academic paper of approximately 5-7 typed pages in length, I would like you to choose a specific “thread” or conversation from one of these forums and provide an examination of the rhetorical situation(s) found in that thread.

The goals of this assignment are:

  1. to apply Lloyd Bitzer’s lessons on the “Rhetorical Situation;”
  2. to use close reading to identify and critique arguments;
  3. to examine how players construct authority;
  4. to identify and describe appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos.

Begin by searching for a thread where a vibrant and interesting debate has occurred (or is occurring).  You may want to choose a longer thread with more material to draw from, a shorter one that allows you to focus on a few messages, or anything in-between. 

Once you have identified the thread you want to discuss, describe the rhetorical situation you find there.  Using what we have learned from Bitzer’s argument and specific examples from the forum thread you’ve chosen, identify the situation’s “contextual spheres,” purpose, audience or audiences (be specific), the subject, text, writer, uses, and reception.    

Your findings on the rhetorical situation should inform the second part of your paper.  Choose one or more players who are “active” in the discussion on your forum thread and discuss their contribution to the ongoing debate.  Some questions to consider are:

  • How do players construct their authority on a topic?
  • How do players deploy appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos?
  • Which of the three (ethos, logos, pathos) seem to be most effective?  Why?
  • How do players respond to counterarguments, challenges, or (at the worst) the outright ignoring of their statements?

Some suggested Unforum threads: Metacortechs Puzzles (a good one for fans of The Matrix Trilogy), Perplex City Puzzles, LOST Experience (a good one for you LOST fans out there).

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Writing Prompt 4: Community Action Through ARGs and Other Serious Games

World Without Oil demonstrates the potential alternate reality games have for introducing large groups of people to important social problems. We have also read about and played with examples of other serious, persuasive games that use multiple media and procedural rhetoric to make a meaningful argument (the Howard Dean for Iowa Game, McVideo Game, Cruel 2 B Kind) and harness the “collective intelligence” of crowds.  In 5-7 typed pages, I would like you to describe a similarly “playful” experience that will help your audience to better understand a topic of concern.

The goals of this assignment are:

  1. to examine the potential impact of persuasive games;
  2. to demonstrate how procedural rhetoric can be used to argue a claim or set of claims;
  3. to consider the power of collective action;
  4. to reinforce the ability to use play and fun to confront serious issues.

Like any argument, your game must grab the attention of your audience and hold it.  Games usually accomplish this by being fun and interesting.  Your game need not be overly complex; however it has to involve enough activity to make the experience attractive to potential players.

You should include a description of the game, its goals, and its audience.  Feel free to include rules, sketches, diagrams, sample game elements—anything that you think will contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the game. 

Some questions to consider:

  • How will my audience access the game?
  • What skills or tools are needed to play?  How do these limit the involvement of some potential players?
  • What makes the game fun?
  • What do you hope players will learn from the game?
  • How do you hope to change or form opinions though the game?
  • What do you want to illustrate or highlight through game play?
  • How does one “win” or “finish” the game?  Can players “win”?

If you are at a total loss for ideas, you could also propose a “mission” that would be carried out as part of World Without Oil.  For this option, please make it clear at what point in the game you could see this “mission” being performed.