Week 1: Web Manifesto

ADD 103: Web Development Fundamentals
🎯 Learning Objective Alignment: HTML Structure (LO1) — "Use correct, semantic HTML tags to structure a web document."
⏱️ Time: 15m Study / 45m Project | 🏆 Points: 15 | 📅 Due: Sunday 11:59PM

Overview

In this first assignment you'll write your own Web Manifesto — a short personal statement about who you are, why you're here, and what you believe about the web. The content is yours. The goal is to practice writing valid HTML and setting up a proper project folder structure.

This is a pure HTML assignment. No CSS is required yet. Focus on using correct, meaningful HTML tags to structure your content.

🎥 Watch the Lesson

[VIDEO PLACEHOLDER]
Topic: HTML Basics & File Structure
(Embed Panopto/YouTube iframe here)

👀 Look & Learn: The File Structure

Every project in this course lives in its own folder inside the matching week folder. Each project folder contains an index.html, a style.css, and an images/ subfolder for any images you use.

For this assignment, your structure should look like this:

samples/
└── week_01/
    └── manifesto/
        ├── index.html      ← your work goes here
        ├── style.css       ← not used yet, but keep it
        └── images/         ← empty for now
Observations:
  • No Spaces: We use underscores (week_01, manifesto). Computers hate spaces in filenames.
  • Lowercase: We prefer lowercase filenames. It prevents server errors later.
  • Every project gets its own folder with this same structure all semester.

We use this structure for every project all semester. Getting into the habit now will save you a lot of headaches later.

💻 Project: The Developer Manifesto

Write a webpage that is your personal statement as a web developer. What brought you here? What do you believe about the web? What do you want to build?

Step 1: Set Up Your Folder

  1. Inside your course folder, open week_01.
  2. Create a new subfolder named manifesto.
  3. Inside manifesto, create index.html, style.css, and an images folder.

Step 2: Requirements

Your index.html must include:

  1. A valid HTML5 document structure (<!DOCTYPE html>, <html>, <head>, <body>)
  2. A <title> in the <head>
  3. At least one <h1> with your name or title
  4. At least two <h2> section headings
  5. At least two <p> paragraphs of real written content
  6. At least one unordered list (<ul>) or ordered list (<ol>)
  7. At least one use of <strong> or <em>

Step 3: Suggested Content

Not sure what to write? Try answering some of these questions:

  • Why are you taking this course?
  • What do you hope to build or learn?
  • What do you think makes a good website?
  • What's one thing that frustrates you about websites?
  • What's your biggest fear or challenge going into this semester?

You don't have to answer all of them — pick what feels meaningful to you.

Step 4: Check Your Work

  1. Save the file.
  2. Double-click index.html to open it in Chrome. Does it look right? (Plain text — no styling yet — is expected!)
  3. Validate your HTML at validator.w3.org and fix any errors.

🔍 Sample

A finished example is linked in the course files. Use it as a reference for structure and valid HTML, but write your own content. Your manifesto should be your voice, not a copy.

⛏️ Dig Deeper (Resources)

Want to go further with HTML?

🏆 Grading Rubric

Grading Rubric
Criteria Distinguished Proficient Emerging
HTML Structure
(5 pts)
LO1: HTML		 5 pts
Valid HTML5 boilerplate, correct DOCTYPE, title, and nested structure.		 3–4 pts
Structure is mostly correct but missing one required element.		 0–2 pts
Boilerplate is missing or severely malformed.
Content & Tags
(5 pts)
LO1: Semantics		 5 pts
All required tags present (h1, h2, p, list, strong/em). Content is genuine and complete.		 3–4 pts
Most tags present but one or two requirements are missing.		 0–2 pts
Content is largely missing or placeholder text remains.
File & Folder Structure
(5 pts)
LO: Files		 5 pts
File is named index.html, inside a manifesto/ folder with style.css and images/ present.		 3–4 pts
File is correct but folder structure is incomplete or naming is off.		 0–2 pts
File is missing, misnamed, or not in a folder.
Total Score: 15 pts