Description
Each group will create a web site on the assigned topic. The resulting web site should be a scholarly resource with bibliographic references to related print and web resources. Your individual contribution to the site will take the form of a research paper. You will also work with your fellow group members to produce a main page for your group site that includes: an introductory essay that brings together the insights of each group member's essay; a thorough bibliography of the larger topic; and links to the individual essays of each group member. (All of this group work can be done by email and in class.) The web site assignment (including Prospectus, Research Paper, and Group Web Site together) counts as 30% of your total grade. It is due in its final form on Tuesday, November 27.  Here is an example of the web site created by two previous WS 200 classes called Women on the Border.

Purpose
Creating the web site will provide you with an opportunity to explore a single topic in depth in the midst of a course that, of necessity, skims through the centuries. You will also acquire the technical skills needed to produce web sites, and you will hone the research skills you have already begun to develop in the process of completing your Research Report. Finally, your group's web site will make a significant contribution to the scholarly resources of the web.

Method
Soon after completing your Research Report, your group should begin researching and consulting on how to organize the topic and divide up work for the web site. Once you have decided on your contribution to the group project, you should begin researching it in every medium: reference works, articles, books, the web, even interviews if that's appropriate to your topic. Don't forget to consult Ruth Dickstein's Research Tips again to help you find resources. You should expect to be researching and writing throughout the rest of the semester so that the site your group creates is a comprehensive resource for the subject you have defined. Once you have decided how to organize the research and writing tasks, you will produce a group Prospectus, that is, a plan for what your web site will cover and who will be responsible for each part of the site. The Prospectus is due Thursday, October 4. It is worth 5% of your total grade for the course.

You will then complete a paper version of your own contribution to the web site (your research paper). This essay should be 8-10 double-spaced pages typed/printed (1600-2500 words or more) and should make use of at least 6 resources. At least two of those resources must be scholarly articles. Use the parenthetical documentation form of your choice. Here is a link to some online writers' handbooks, and here are some helpful tips on effective argumentation. This paper version of your essay is due Thursday, October 25, and counts as 5% of your total grade for the course. You will receive comments and suggestions on revising and developing your essay.

On Thursday, November 1, the class will meet in a computer lab to learn the mechanics of Web site creation. If you already know how to create a web site, I will expect you to help teach others. As you turn your essay into a web site, web resources should become hypertext links, and all documents in the group site should link appropriately to each other. You may add images and color at this point if you wish. You will also need to continue working with your group to develop the main page of the web site and to compile the bibliography. Remember that the bibliography can contain works not listed in each group member's Works Cited or References but that are pertinent to your group topic, nonetheless. The final version of the group site is due Tuesday, November 27,  and counts 20% of your total grade.

Note: Take care not to violate copyright laws with material you transcribe for your web site. You can assume that written material over 150 years old has become part of the public domain (i.e., no longer under copyright), but images (like paintings) tend to remain the property of the owner.

Evaluation

Group Web Sites and their component parts will be graded using the following criteria:

 

• Effectiveness and internal logic of the concept: Does it make sense? Do the various units seem compatible or appropriate to each other? Or does it look like half a dozen loosely-related essays slapped together? Does it replicate existing web sites, or is it a needed contribution?
• Thoroughness of research, including bibliography and links to related web sites.
• Excellence of argumentation and organization. Your contribution should demonstrate critical thinking  based on thorough grounding in the literature of your particular topic.
• Mechanics of English usage, spelling, punctuation, and web design.
• Visual appeal. In a visual medium, this is an important criterion. Your site should be easy to read and  navigate.
• Assessment of your contribution to the cooperative effort by your fellow group members. Near the end of the semester you will evaluate each other's contribution to the project using a specially-designed evaluation form.

 

The bulk of the grade you receive will depend on your individual contributions to the Group Web Site. An excellent site that shows the results of effective communication, cooperation, and group planning will raise the grade of everyone in the group. Sites that display a failure to communicate and cooperate may lower the grade of all group members.