Final Project

Rather than presenting your material using the standard mode (e.g., as a Microsoft Word document), you will build a multiple-page, hyperlinked website instead. This gives you more flexibility in how you format and tailor your presentation, but raises some interesting questions as to how best to present your material.

Technical Requirements

Prof Vander Linden has prepared a sample website which demonstrates the technical requirements for your informational website.

You are responsible for the structural requirements outlined in the Dreamweaver project .

More requirements:

• An Image. Include at least one image. (An image on the main title page such as the one in the example qualifies.)
• A List. Include an ordered or unordered HTML list. (The list of pages on the navigation page of the sample website qualifies.)
• Hyperlinks. Include the following types of hyperlinks:
  • a hyperlinked table of contents
  • hyperlinks linking the pages sequentially (e.g., the "previous" and "next" links in the sample site)
  • a hyperlink to some external URL (put this on the Bibliography page so that it is easy for the grader to find)
  • extra credit: hyperlinks that link each of your reference citations to your bibliography page (you need at least five of these to get the extra credit)
• Text and Headers. Format your text and headers appropriately.
• Consistent, Good Formatting. Each page should use the same basic formatting (in terms of font, colors, spacing ,etc.). It is usually best to avoid using text that is: in all capitals or all bold; light colored on dark backgrounds; or rendered in unusual colors.

Content Requirements

You must have the following in your site:

• A title page, with your paper title, an image and identification information: your name, the class, the semester. If you wrote the paper for a different class originally, indicate the class and semester of that course, too.
• A main navigational page for the reader that gives your thesis statement and a hyperlinked table of contents
• Your title, name, class, and semester on each page
• A bibliography page with a standard format (e.g. MLA, APA) used consistently
• Set the HTML "document title" to something appropriate for all your webpages. See the DreamWeaver lab for instructions on how to do this.
• Be sure to block quote all long quotes. See the sample website for instructions on how to do this.
• Proofread and spellcheck your pages.

General Hints

You'll discover that hypertext provides some new capabilities for delivering information not present in traditional papers. As a general rule, however, never obscure the content of your paper with pointless bells and whistles. Use hypertext capabilities competently and only when appropriate; this will allow your readers to focus on the content, which is, after all, the point of writing and presenting the material.

Make sure you check your website online. Even if it looks good in Dreamweaver and in a browser from your H: drive, you must check it online as well. (There can be serious problems with your site that only reveal themselves after you publish the site on the web.) For this project, if it's not online, it doesn't exist!

We'll focus heavily on the quality of your presentation. Content, spelling, grammar and style will, of course, count as well, but the scales will be tipped in favor of your ability to deploy web presentation technology in an appropriate manner.

Submit!

Submit the URL to your informational website as your Moodle submission. Hand in only the URL, no files!