MWRITNM Midterm Project Brief – Katrina Stuart Santiago

This project brings together the lectures on process writing and copywriting, both of which are in our Facebook Group Page. Make sure as well to watch the supplementary videos. As always, go back to the modules as your primary source.

Instead of one project for process writing and another one for copywriting, we are merging this together into one project that is a set of content cards or infographics. You are choosing an issue that you think is important or an advocacy that you hold dear. Once you have an issue or advocacy, the next thing you need to do is take a stand. Make sure you are clear about the perspective you’re taking when you talk about your chosen topic.

How do I pick a topic?

There are only three things to consider: (1) Is it relevant? Is it important to discuss this issue or advocacy at this point in time? (2) Is it current? Is it something that’s being discussed in the present? (3) Is it urgent? Is it information that few people know about, or is it information that has been drowned and disappeared into our social media feeds?

Remember that you will need to do research that you will base your content on. You are not doing direct quotes. You are re-writing credible data, to suit the infographic you want to put together on a specific issue. You are writing the copy on each of these cards, that are about your chosen issue or advocacy. You are making sure that the cards are interconnected, and are logically put together, into a process that allows your reader to understand the issue from your perspective.

NOTE that you are fleshing out this issue, tearing it apart into bits and pieces that allow us to explain how this issue has unfolded, or why this advocacy is important.

What if I cannot think of a topic?

If you are overwhelmed by the amount of information out there, and need some sort of direction, here are some options for you.

Real State of the Nation Numbers. Base source: http://bit.ly/RealSONA2020. You would need to update this, given that it was put together for the July 2020 State of the Nation. You also need to choose just a specific topic on this list because it’s close to impossible to do all this content on a 10-card infographic.

National Budget Numbers. Base Source: https://bit.ly/NationalBudget2021. Click on the excel sheet and you’ll find that it’s divided into four different sheets, depending on its particular focus. You can pick one, do more research on it, and flesh that out into an infographic set.

The Terror Law. Base Source: http://bit.ly/TerrorLawToolKit. This needs to be updated but might inspire you to do an update on what’s happening with the Terror Law. Currently, there are over 15 petitions with the Supreme Court requesting that it be reviewed and junked; the government has also already released its Implementing Rules and Regulations.

The 2022 Elections. Go beyond voter registration and move in the direction of voter education. What issues or advocacies do you think are important to think or talk about in relation to the coming elections?

You know your topic, and have your data. What next?

Now’s the time to start thinking of your copy. What are the best words you might use to sell what you want to say about this issue? Take note of the following:

Your audience is YOU. What would you say to get your peers and friends and classmates, people from your generation, interested in this topic? How would you sell the truth, so that they might stand with you on this issue?
You are being graded for both process writing—making sure that the cards are logically put together—and copywriting—delivering data, in the shortest, most concise, most creative way possible, that will keep your audience swiping left until the last card.
The Title Card and the Concluding Card / Call-to-Action Card are where your copywriting skills will be most displayed: the Title Card is the one that makes your prospective reader stop scrolling, and pushes her to swipe left. The Concluding Card is the one that will make your reader who has read all the cards move in the direction that you want her to: click a link, join an organization, learn more information.
Tone is important here. We are talking about serious issues, but how can we talk about these in a particular way that is positive, given that what we want is for more people to engage with this issue or advocacy? Your tone, as with all the writing you’ve done for class, needs to be appropriate and consistent.
Do not fall back on existing slogans or hashtags. Realize that particular uses of the same language already indicate the particular audience these are for. You are trying to get people on your side. Find that particular voice you can use to do that differently from how it’s being done.

You are also designing these cards. This doesn’t need to be complicated. The more important task after all is to get those words right. But you are being made to think about how it looks on those cards in terms of typography, color, and layout. Here are some questions you need to ask:

How much data do you put per card?
How does one card relate to the next one, how do all the cards look together?
How do the design elements on the card (typography, color, layout) contribute to the way in which the information is delivered?

REMEMBER: You are submitting 8 to 10 cards. With the first card as Title Card, and the last card as Concluding / Call-To-Action Card, you only really have 6 to 8 cards for content on your issue or advocacy. Make sure to use your space well.

I am overwhelmed. Where can I look for inspiration or good samples?

Here are some Instagram accounts that do their infographic sets well.

And if you need inspiration in terms of copywriting and design: Art Not Terrorism.

Deadline for the midterm project is June 28 2021, Monday, 9:00PM. ***