Editing Organizing and Governance in Online Communities (UW COM597 Winter 2025) (section)

== Assignments ==

Your assignments consist of two major projects: (1) weekly response papers and in-class discussion, and (2) a final research project. Your grade in the course will be assessed in the [[#Grading and Assessment]] section of this page.

=== Weekly Response Papers ===

This quarter includes 9 class sessions with readings (the tenth and final session will be devoted to final presentations). You must each write 9 response papers that address the readings for each day of class with reading. Response papers should be ''no more than'' 1,000 words (about two single-spaced pages). Please respect this maximum to manage your workload and others. So everyone will have a chance to incorporate them into their readings, response papers should be posted to our course website the day before (i.e., before 11:59pm on Thursday) so that the instructors and students can read and construct their responses on Friday.

Regarding content, response papers allow you to engage the readings by identifying common or conflicting premises, thinking through potential implications, offering political or cultural examples, posing well-supported objections, or outlining theoretical or critical extensions. Providing a short quote or two that directly engages the texts is often helpful. Please also pose one or two open-ended questions that may serve as jumping-off points for our in-class conversation. A good response paper will include minimal summarizing, at most, and focus more on responding to ideas. Justify your reflections with evidence from the text and beyond; for example, don't just say what you wonder about or find interesting without explaining why you find it interesting.

Turn in your response paper to Canvas by posting a new message on the appropriate [https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1808091/discussion_topics the discussion board in Canvas].

After you post your reflection, please read all of your classmates’ responses before class and ''briefly'' respond to a minimum of two of your classmates’ posts before noon on the day of class and nominate at least a question or two for discussion.

=== Final Project ===

For the final assignment, I want you to take what you've learned in the class and apply it to an original research project. I see this as taking one of several forms: (1) a detailed research plan/proposal; (2) a completed original research manuscript (i.e., a "submission-ready" draft of a journal article or conference paper, or some part of such a paper per arrangement); (3) a replication/revisit of an important and influential study; (4) something else as per arrangement with the instructor.

==== Final Project Identification ====

;Due Date: Friday February 7 @ 11:59pm
;Deliverables: Turn in [https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1808091/assignments through Canvas]
;Maximum Length: 1,000 words (~1 page double spaced)

You will submit an extended abstract and/or proposal for your final project. Because I understand that the most useful specific shape of this might vary, I'm happy to go back and forth with you on the details if you believe that a 1,000-word extended abstract that lays out the proposed work is not going to be sufficient or appropriate.

In either case, I will give you feedback on these write-ups and will let you each know if I think you have identified a project that might be too ambitious, trivial, broad, or narrow.

==== Final Deliverables ====
;Final Presentation Dates: Friday March 14 (in class)
;Paper Due Date: Friday March 21 @ 11:59pm
;Maximum paper length: 8,000 words
;Deliverables: 
:*Turn in a copy of the presentation before class (i.e., 1:30pm on Friday March 21) in [https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1808091/assignments the Canvas dropbox] ("Final presentation") 
:*Turn in a copy of the paper [https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1808091/assignments in Canvas] ("Final paper")

For your final project, I expect students to build on the final project identification assignment to describe what they have done and found. I'll expect every student to give both:

* A final presentation
* A final report that is not more than 8,000 words. I expect most will be in the 4,000-6,000 word range.

You will be evaluated on the degree to which you have demonstrated that you understand and engage with the course material, not on the specifics of your research projects. The very best papers will give us all a new understanding of some aspect of course material and change how I teach some portion of this course in the future.

Details on the presentation:

* The presentation content should be an overview and preview of your final project as described above.	
* Everybody will have 20 minutes for their presentation and the Q&A. I strongly suggest having your presentation be about 12 minutes so that you have about 8 minutes for feedback from your classmates. If you present for much less than that, I'm afraid conveying a clear sense of your argument will be challenging. If you present for much longer, there will not be enough time for Q&A. {{tentative}}