Choosing a genre; deciding on a delivery method

Deciding how to deliver your ideas is an important part in planning your project. First, you’ll need to think about your audience and purpose: Whom are you composing for—and why? When you’re mulling over how to deliver your ideas, you’ll also have to think about the support you plan to include in your composition.

When Alyson D’Amato began to plan her website project, she thought about the ways in which people would want to learn about her topic. She felt that a slide show presentation about brewing tea wouldn’t be too interesting and wouldn’t really fit her purpose, especially since most slide show presentations are designed to be delivered by a speaker. She knew she wanted people to be able to easily access and use her information, and she knew they’d probably need to go through the information on their own.

She considered creating a video and was excited about the idea of actually recording herself talking about tea and making tea, but she wasn’t sure how to include the recipes she wanted to share with her audience. To help organize herself as she considered different ways to convey the information, D’Amato created a table listing the pros and cons of different delivery methods.

D’Amato decided that a website would be the best way to share her ideas. With a website, she knew she could include written words and images, maybe embed video, and create an overall organization that would allow viewers to experience her site at their own pace.

Considering different formats, as D’Amato did, is an important part of your planning.

Sample student notes: deciding on a delivery method

Activity 12: Your understanding of collaboration

Activity 13: Your understanding of narrowing a subject

Activity 14: Planning support for your main idea

Related topics:

Understanding your own composing process

Collaborating effectively with others

Deciding on a main idea

Planning support for your main idea

Considering how to present or publish your project