In-Class Writing Prompt: Design 101

Step 1: This week you read a bit about design, but chances are you knew something about effective document design before you encountered Williams' CRAP principles. Let's put both old and new knowledge to the test in a short in-class "essay." First, view the Websites below. Then open up a Word document and analyze the designs of 2-3 of the sites you visited. While you can incorporate what you've learned so far from the CRAP principles, another effective way to analyze a document's design is to ask yourself "what works?" and "what doesn't work?" and "why is that?" Write up your analysis and then go to step 2.

Illinios Association of Teachers of English, Cyber Clan, Arngren, The Doctor is In, Havenworks, Price List, Direct Insurance

Step 2 Go to a site you visit frequently. Copy the link into your document and then explain the design: what works in this page and what doesn't.

Step 3 Be prepared to share your findings with the class

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