Learn more about the various ways in which humans can act in the 21st century. This presentation acknowledges traditional political activity such as signing petitions, as well as new media phenomena like crowdfunding. This material has been used to teach freshman writers about researching and composing proposal arguments. For instructors teaching proposals, major assignment suggestions for audience are included near the end. The content from this powerpoint could be applied to any teaching and learning context, in which audiences need to know more about accessing (and creating access) to resources.

1. The Researched
Proposal
Developing Plans of Action

2. Considering the Available Means...
● Legal Action
● Labor Action
● Commercial Action
● Policy Action
● Community Action
○ Geographic
○ Organizational (for and non-profit)
○ Familial
● Individual Action

3. Assessing Types of Action
● Your action depends on an assessment of at
least three factors:
○ Critical Mass
○ Leveraging Networks
○ Money
● The evaluation of factors should be adapted
to the problem you want to solve

4. Organizing for Mass
Objectives:
● To Raise Awareness about a new or controversial issue
● To Expand Group Demographics
● To Expand Membership
● To Attract Support for a New Organization
● To Maintain Network Size
Examples:
● www.all.org
● http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/index.php
● http://ippf.org/

5. Analyzing 'Mass Appeals':
Demographic Classifications
● Geographic Location
● Gender
● Age
● Able-bodiedness
● Race/Ethnicity
● Social Class/Work
● Sexuality
● Political Affiliation
● Educational Status
● Recreation
○ Fitness
○ Fashion
○ Travel
○ Hunting/Fishing
○ Volunteerism
● Lifestyles/Habits
○ Media Consumption
(TV, Music, Sports etc.)
○ Food Consumption (e.g.
Vegans, Health-
Conscious)
○ Spirits Consumption
(Wine and Beer
Drinkers)
● Modes of Expression
○ Artists
○ Scientists
○ Writers
○ Techies
○ Gamers

6. Leveraging Networks
Objectives:
● Save costs
● Expand networks (increase mass) with
shared goals and values
● Distributed governance
Examples:
○ http://www.futureofsexed.org/index.html
○ http://www.siecus.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewPage&pageId=514&parentID=477
○ http://www.thesca.org/
○ http://www.sierraclub.org/

7. Analyzing Network Characteristics
● History
● Social Language (jargon)
● Symbols: colors, clothing, insignia, branding e.g.
slogans)
● Rituals: Meeting Places, Times
● Governance: Who does what? Who has the 'power' to
maintain and/or transform the discourse community
● Demographics
● Intertexts
● Conversations
*Categories drawn from linguist James Paul Gee’s “Discourse Analysis”
Consider how each of these exemplifies values, beliefs,
ways of seeing the world.

8. Fundraising or Cost Cutting
Objectives
● Give critical mass an easy means of action
● Convince individuals or groups to donate
● Demonstrate cost-effective courses of action as a
persuasive strategy
○ Crowd-sourcing
○ Micro-financing (www.kickstarter.com)
○ DIY
Examples
● https://www.eff.org/
● https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Home
● http://opensourceforamerica.org/

9. Analyzing Resource Needs
● Where does the group meet?
● What supplies does the group use?
● Who designs and circulates materials?
● How much does information add up to (platform,
production, circulation)?
● Who fundraises?
● Who plans the group meetings?
● How much time do group actions take? (meetings,
voting, canvassing, canning, other communications?)
● Who informs the group about necessary action?
Examples:
https://www.charitynavigator.org/

10. The Internet Transformed Organizing
What are some of the ways in which the
Internet affects organizing?
○ Websites (including blogs)
○ Social Media (Facebook and Twitter)
○ Vlogs (YouTube)
○ How-To (Yahoo Questions, eHow, About.com)
○ Prosumer Sites (Etsy, Ebay, Amazon)
○ User Feedback (Yelp, Urbanspoon)
○ Micro-Financing (Kickstarter and Flattr)
○ Funds Transfers (Paypal)
○ Forums and IMC (Sparkpeople or YahooGroups!)
○ Archives (Wikipedia, Blake Archives, Doris Duke
Collection)

11. Legal Action
Most difficult to accomplish
● Law-making (e.g. THE LAW)
○ Involves representatives in both legislative and judicial branches
○ Need lots of critical mass for voting and public forums and petitions
● Law-suits (e.g. law)
○ Involves individuals
○ A law needs to be broken
○ Contestation over financial compensation needs to be sought
Note: a lawsuit may turn into law-making, for instance Brown Vs. Kansas
Board of Education, Voting Rights Act

12. Refresher: Branches of Government
Executive Branch: Ratifies laws, organizes departments that communicate with
congress (e.g. Department of Education), goes to war.
● Superpowers: Can Command Military Action or Dictate Foreign Policy
Legislative Branch: Passes laws, including the budget, civil rights matters,
appoints ad-hoc committees, approves appointees
● Superpowers: Determines where the money goes and Amend the
Constitution
Judicial Branch: Interprets the law, abides by constitutional regulations, has the
power to set new precedents
● Superpowers: Determines who gets locked up and who goes free, hacks
constitution--gives rights (or takes them away)

13. Congress: 535 (435 House/100 Senate)
http://www.opencongress.org
Judiciary: Supreme Court and 13 U.S. Circuit
Courts of Appeals, and District Courts
Executive: 15 Cabinet Departments, President,
VP, Chiefs of Staff, AG
Departments of: State, Justice, Labor, Treasury, Commerce, Transportation, Housing and Urban
Development, Health and Human Services, Education, Energy, Veteran Affairs, Interior, Agriculture,
Defense, Homeland Security
Gov. Facts: Their Critical Mass

14. Purpose of Knowing about Gov
● A Very Large Bureaucracy!
● Knowing the different functions enables you
to modify claims accordingly
○ Don't assume someone can resolve your problem
who doesn't have the power
○ Enables you to understand why major sweeping
change doesn't happen overnight
○ Identify parties responsible for making necessary
reforms and participating in reasonable debate over
their duties
○ Knowing you and fellow citizens' LEGAL rights and
recognizing when they are being infringed upon

15. Labor Action
Change in the Workplace is the next most
difficult...
● Depending on the size of your organization
and its culture
○ Right to Organize vs. Right to Work:
Living Wage vs. Privilege to Have Opportunity to
Work
● Depending on your role in the organization
○ Three types of work
■ For-profit
■ Non-profit
■ Entrepreneur

16. Commercial Action
What you buy matters...
● Individuals' consumer decisions represent a form of action
● Paper or Plastic? Neither..."I brought my own bag!"
● Fair Trade or Slave Made?
● Boycotting
● Organic or Non-Organic
● Buying Local, National, Global
● Energy Choices: Wind, Solar, etc. vs. Coal, Petroleum, Natural Gas
● Discrimination: Who's represented in commercials--'ethnic hair products,'
or think scandals like Paula Deen using the N-word, or companies pulling
ads from athletes engaging in 'bad behavior' (Michael Phelps’ bong
ripping)

17. Policy Action
These tend to apply to bureaucracies.
● These are top-down directives that get translated into
forms and statements--respect my authority!
○ Form(al) documents like
■ Memos: circulate policies
■ Contracts "honor policies, which include laws"
○ Lack an identifiable author: Boilerplate. "The
organization" inaugurates the document
● Depending on your role in an organization and its
governance structure, policies may or may not be an
appropriate response for expressing authority
● Exceptionalism is how people in this organizational
culture gain power

18. Community Action
Easier to accomplish practical proposals
● Address immediate problems
○ PTA meetings
○ Meals on Wheels
○ Habitat for Humanity
○ Serving Soup on Sunday
○ Writing groups at Domestic Violence Prevention for
abused self-mutilators
● Fundraise
○ Rock Out for Cancer
○ 5K for Anything
○ Canvassing your Block for Petition Signatures

19. Local and University Resources
● Student Affairs
○ Almost 1,000 Student Organizations!
○ Begin a new organization!
● Student Organization Resources
○ Information Packet
● Local Organizations
○ Centre Connect

20. Individual Action
● What we buy
● How we relate to our own bodies
○ What we eat
○ How we move
● Who we talk to and hang out with
● Who we have intimacy with
○ Dating
○ Marrying
○ Children
Remember: Persuasion is likely to occur in your everyday life with people who
already trust you. Arguments take place in intimate contexts, as well as ‘public
ones.’

21. A Sample Writing Assignment:
The Audience Analysis Portfolio
● Make a tentative argument outline: complete with a claim that proposes
action, reasons for proposing action, and tentative evidence
● Research three different audiences: sympathetic, neutral, and hostile.
Take notes.
● Choose a specific audience, and revise the outline to meet the
expectations of said audience. This will require you to identify and name
their discourse community. Consider how specificity and broadness can
work for and against you (e.g. Americans vs. College Students vs. Penn
State Students vs. Sierra Club Members vs. Gym Enthusiasts.)
● Write a reflective essay that addresses your choice. You should explicitly
state the criteria that affect your evaluations of demographics and
organization type. Furthermore, you should discuss how such an analysis
influences your proposed action, reasons, evidence, and tone.
Instructor Tip: Students could turn in each writing task as one major
assignment portfolio, or each could be evaluated as homework
assignments for a Proposal Argument unit.

22. Hello, My Name is...
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