Dara Minglin

September 21, 2008

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Project 1 Final: Map to Identity

 Making a map of a place that has helped to define you seems

like a simple task until attempted. I spent several hours pondering

the people, places, and events which have impacted me the most

throughout my life. At first, I struggled horribly because I tried to

confine my life to one city, Kokomo. However, I knew that my

experiences through gymnastics and college had very significant

influences in my life and therefore should be included. Thus, I

began thinking of this map as a guide to tell the story of my life.

I started with the most significant place in my life, my home.

Settled in Kokomo, Indiana, my family and I have an average-sized

house surrounded mostly by cornfields and a few innocent

neighbors. My only sister was my best friend and our backyard was

our very own playground. I can’t help but to believe that our quiet

and isolated lifestyle was partially to blame for my childhood

apprehensiveness. It is for this reason alone I chose to place a fence

around the city of Kokomo to represent my comfort zone.

My sister and I, both, participated in gymnastics at a local

club in Kokomo for years but had reached a plateau with our

training. It was my mother who recognized our talent and love for

the sport and encouraged us to try a new club in Indianapolis.

Originally, I withdrew from the idea as I was experiencing anxiety

about the change. I knew I would have to work with a new coach,

make new friends, learn new skills, and on top of school, travel an

hour to and from practice everyday. Nevertheless, we made the

switch and I learned valuable lessons about discipline, time

management, perseverance, and hard work. More importantly, this

was my first glimpse of how stepping out of my comfort zone had its

own rewards. Since Indianapolis was such a big city, I wanted my all

my buildings in that area to appear larger than the ones in Kokomo.

I tried to make Methodist Hospital the largest building on my

map. This clinical site was the largest step in reaching my career

goals. I remember the hospital as a particularly intimidating place

big enough to get lost in for three days. Having a career in

healthcare was very important to me because my mother had been

diagnosed with breast cancer one year earlier. I put so many hours,

so much time and effort into my education there that I had a

newfound respect for every profession within the medical field.

Upon completion of the Radiography program I decided to

continue my education and pursue my Bachelor’s Degree at Ball

State University. College in itself has helped to socialize me and has

taught me to be more outgoing. I love that Ball State is like a

miniature city within Muncie filled with all kinds of students from

all over the world. Over the past few years it has become my home

away from home and will continue to have significance in my life

even after graduation.

The girl leaping off the page represents the gymnast that will

always be in me as I await the future. Soon to be married, I do not

know if I will stay in Indiana or if job opportunities will take me

elsewhere but I hope to keep gymnastics a small part of my life by

coaching on the side.

I found expressing these emotions and ideas somewhat

difficult with my drawing. It takes more thought behind each image

than originally anticipated which is why I found this part of the

project to be deceiving. For example, I wanted to show that

stepping out of my comfort zone was terrifying for me, especially at

the beginning. So I chose to color the “jump marks” to imitate

caution tape representing my hesitation. Each piece of this puzzle-

like map took careful planning and thought, but will hopefully

convey my rhetorical vision better.

 The map works rhetorically to show places that were

significant in my personal development but also to tell the story of

how that came about. It actually shows where I started and where I

have ended up because of my experiences. The size, 3-D shape, and

structure of the buildings add character and differentiate the places

that felt safe to me versus the places that intimidated me. Special

structures or details like the fence and caution tape jump marks

add the emotional aspect of the story to the map. Together, these

details facilitate comprehension of my main point which was to

show how stepping out of my comfort zone has made me a better,

more well-rounded individual.

I believe the details I chose to represent my apprehension or

anxiety communicated well to the audience as I received positive

feedback concerning my map. Some students mentioned that the

jump marks were helpful in reading the map as a story, following

each step as it occurred.

Overall, I am satisfied with how my map unfolded. I wanted it

not only to make sense in my mind but others as well and I believe I

have achieved that to the best of my ability. I decided to add a

couple names of cities where places were located just to be clearer

and consistent. The process, however, illustrated to me how

narrowly focused my life has been up to this point. I have also

realized the extent of change that has occurred in me since I have

made these changes in my life. Ironically, I still feel anxiety about

similar changes in my life today but past experiences have given me

the courage to accept new ideas and adjust to the future.

104 Project 1
Fall 2008
revised 9-17 See Step 4
Explication and Analysis of a Personal Map (p. 41 in Rhetorical Visions)
For this first project, you will be following up on what you’ve learned about rhetoric,
persuasion, and the power of metaphor to help us grasp a hidden reality. All of this will
be focused in an object of visual rhetoric. You will be
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Chapter 2 in the textbook will provide background teaching and an example of a similar
project. See especially pp. 38 and 39 for questions that might stimulate ideas as you
“invent” and “arrange” the map.
Step 1
Plan and create your map. Select a place in your life that is important to who you
are—can be your hometown (as in the chapter 2 example); can be your place of residence
on this campus; can be any place where you have lived or worked but the place you
choose has to be somewhere that has defined or is defining who you are—somewhere
that tells your story.
Your map should not only have personal significance for you, but it should communicate
this significance to an audience. As in the example on p. 44 in the book, it should say
something about the place you are mapping. In this way you will create a shared
rhetorical vision that will say something persuasive to your readers.
Make your map, using whatever technology you choose—draw it by hand and scan it;
use a draw program, for example, in Word; use a PowerPoint slide; or make a Web page.
Drawing by hand may be easiest and most effective. Do not use a published map, such as
Google Maps, Mapquest, etc. However you make it, it must be put into some digital
format for sharing. Scanning technology is available in the library and in many UCS
labs.
Step 2
Post your Project Plan. This includes 1) your map and 2) notes that talk about what in
the map you have included and why these details are important in your story (see pp. 41-
43). Push yourself to come up with at least 500 words of notes. Think along the lines of
the rhetorical triangle: some things to talk about include
• your intentions (rhetor)
• decisions you made about the map itself (text)
• how you want readers to receive it (audience).

Page 38 can help by offering questions you can answer for yourself and in your notes
(note: although the yellow box talks about a college map, you are not limited to this).
Due date: Sunday midnight Sep 14 in “Project 1 Plan” Discussion Group in BlackBoard.
Step 3
Share your plans to get feedback about your map and what you are saying with it. Do
this in the “Project 1 Plan” Discussion Group. Suggested questions to ask during peer
review will be given below. Follow instructions in the forum READ ME FIRST
message.
Due date: Wednesday midnight Sep 17
Step 4
Draft the final parts of your project, the explication and analysis. This is the part which
will mostly determine your grade. In this you will
• Explain how you came to create your map, what its parts are, and what the
components of the map mean. Also consider the following prompts:

o Try to sum up what you discovered about yourself through the notes,
review, and reflection process.
o Are you satisfied with how your map turned out? Why or why not?
o Was it hard or easy to express what you wanted to say about yourself
through the map? What would you change if you were to continue with
it?

• Analyze how the map works rhetorically—what its rhetorical vision is. Use
details of the map to explain this process. You might discuss
o How you tried to make an impact on your audience
o What was the most important idea you wanted to get across

o How your reviewers responded to your rhetorical vision and whether it

was helpful in your composing process
This explication and analysis may grow naturally out of your notes as you put effort into
giving feedback and thinking about the comments of others. See p. 41 for additional
suggestions.
Go back over your language carefully to edit out noticeable errors. Style and
language accuracy will make up half your grade. If you have time, you might take it to
the English Department Writing Center in RB 291 at http://writingcenter.weebly.com/
Project text should be 800 words at least—about the equivalent of three doublespaced
typed pages.
Due date: Sunday midnight Sep 21 in digital drop box
Questions to ask yourself during peer review.
• Is the map clear and understandable? Do the notes explain it enough?
• Does the map “tell” the rhetor’s story?
• What is its main point or rhetorical vision?
• Can you (as audience) share this rhetorical vision?
• Offer any suggestions you have to make the map more effective.