Unit Four: Local Advocacy
Unit Overview: In this unit, we will take everything learned thus far and apply it to an academic research project in order to create an understanding of and participate in civic and academic discourse. Being able to communicate effectively within the academic world is essential to any college career while civic discourse allows a person to participate in a meaningful way within their community. This unit focuses on two major assignments: the annotated bibliography and the Wordpress blog. Unit Goals: By the end of this unit, students will be able to: • • • • Compile sources pertaining to a topic, including but not limited to academic, primary, or secondary sources. Conduct research that thoroughly addresses all sides of an issue. Advocate for a local issue through multiple formats including text and visual elements. Construct a Wordpress blog, as a group, which will advocate for a local issue, provide the reader with post from each group member regarding the topic, an “About” section, links to relevant organizations or information, and a group annotated bibliography.

Assignments: • Annotated Bibliography: Students will compile 5-7 sources related to their advocacy topic in a bibliographic format. This entails writing a summary paragraph (an annotation) of each source. • Group Wordpress Blog: Students will work in their assigned groups to make a Wordpress blog that advocates for the same topic as the research papers, using different methods of persuasion to convey their meaning. The requirements for this Wordpress blog are the following: 1. The blog must have a title that gives the viewer a clear idea of the topic. 2. Features an “About” section which summarizes the content of