REMIX: Remixing Your Concept Explanation
Remixing Your Concept Explanation
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Concept explanations regularly appear in genres and media besides the college essay. For example, Jonathan Potthast could have used information from his concept essay to propose that more money be devoted to researching the Yellowstone supervolcano, or he could have presented information from his essay using PowerPoint or Prezi slides. Instead, Potthast decided to remix a portion of his concept explanation on supervolcanoes as a poster that he could display for an information session in the geology department. (A remix takes all or part of a piece in one genre or medium to create a text in another genre or medium). He thought the poster would be an appropriate genre for the information session because it would enable visitors to get information about the destructive power of the Yellowstone supervolcano quickly, as they walked through the exhibits.
In the next section of this chapter, we ask you to craft your own concept explanation. After composing it as an essay, consider remixing it (or a portion of it) in another medium or genre or using it as part of an essay with a different purpose or audience.
CONSIDER YOUR RHETORICAL SITUATION
Purpose: The purpose of your concept explanation is to inform readers about your subject by answering their “So what?”question, showing how your subject is interesting or important. If you remix your concept explanation,which genre or medium would best allow you to explain the concept so readers would learn something and be engaged by the explanation?
Audience: The audience for your concept explanation essay was your instructor and other students in your class. Who would be the audience if you were to remix your essay in another genre or medium? What advantages would that genre or medium have in helping you grab and keep the attention of your audience?
Genre and medium: The genre of your concept explanation was the essay and the medium was text, delivered either in print or digitally. If you remix your concept explanation, what genre or medium would best help you achieve your purpose and reach your intended audience?