Writing to the World-Wide Web
Journal Assignments: Week #3
Replies should be posted to webclass@rpi.edu, the class' electronic discussion list.
1. If you have not already done so, articulate why you want to have a
homepage. What will its purpose be?
2. Using the search engines we discussed in class, find examples of non-RPI
websites which are primarily:
- pathos-driven (advertisements are a good place to start!)
- logos-driven (companies and corporations; scholarly arguments?)
- ethos-driven (relying on the reputation of the author)
Discuss your choices with clear examples of how they represent the ideas
in Mr. Hunt's presentation regarding styles of argument and persuasion.
(Do NOT feel constrained to use ads or my other suggestions.) Please don't
just surf for 37 seconds and say "oh that looks good" -- explain your
choices carefully.
3. Dr. Bush's article "As We May Think" predates the creation of the word
"hypertext" (by Theodor Nelson) by two full decades. However, you as an
audience have the valuable hindsight of Macintosh, Internet and WWW as you
read his ideas. Given that, in what ways was he "right"? What of his ideas
were off the mark? Do questions like these matter at all?
(Corrolary: Why are we reading "As We May Think" for W-WWW?)
4. (From Karen)
Go to the URL:
http://www.highfive.com/past_winners.html
This site is the list of past winners of the "High Five Award for Excellence
in Site Design." There are two sites I'd like you to look at:
- September 6 -- The Spleen
- January 10 -- 6168
When you click on the link for these pages you'll be taken to the High Five
site, where you'll find some information about why each site won an award.
CLick on the link from there and explore the site. Please look through both
of these sites and select one to critique. (There are lots of great sites
here for future exploration.)
Think about what Jeff Collins said about relevance, usability, and
control. How does the site you chose score? Can you apply these terms to your
chosen site at all? If these terms aren't appropriate, why did this site win
a design award? Are there other criteria one could use to judge how well this
site works?
Think about what Kevin Hunt said about logos, pathos, and ethos. What
is the rhetoric of the page you chose?
Do you like either one of these sites? Why or why not? Do you
personally think these sites are well designed?
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