I agree with Lindemann in that students often ignore the fact that each written work has a particular audience, and they assume that their only reader will always be their instructor. Therefore, today in my SIL workshop I decided to introduce the "communication triangle" and put it to work. The students were to tackle three different audiences/readers, but have the same subject/topic. The directions for the workshop went something like this:
Students are angry that Trump is our president and they have decided to have a walkout. Hundreds of students are going to protest and you will be one of them.
- (Friends) Post a picture and write a caption of the protest/walkout informing your friends to join you.
- (Grandmother/Aunt)
Your grandmother/Aunt just called because she saw that your school is walking out. In a dialogue, you must explain to your family member the motives behind such actions.
- (The Dean)
Write a letter to the dean of CSUDH explaining why it is important that he/she allows students and staff to participate in the protest against our president elect.
Nevertheless, this workshop did not go as plan! I was supposed to hit all three audiences and there was not enough time. I did not realize how long it would take them to target the first audience. The students took too long getting creative with their posts. However, it was very fun!!!! I was surprised to see that the students first did a sketch/outline and prewrite about what they were going to draw and write on the poster. The students wrote informal captions when speaking to their friends, and next week we will change the audience to a family member, so that they become a little more formal as we transition to the final audience member (the dean). Now that I think about the workshop, I can't help but wonder if I was using the communication triangle correctly, how would I know?
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