english book

Assignment

Introduction

In your final project, you will write a letter to Bergstrom and West about their book, and I will do my best to pass your work along to them.

As you work on this paper, please keep your audience in mind, and remember that you are writing from your perspective as a student and member of your communities.

Note: This assignment requires that you submit both an essay a self-reflection.

Assignment

Before you write

Think about how this book has or has not shaped your perspective of the media and how interesting you found the presentation to be. Then, using the research techniques you've learned, locate two stories from major media outlets that are important to you and that appear to be bullshit when analyzed through the techniques Bergstrom and West suggest.

Assignment Elements

This assignment has three parts

Bullshit Analysis (You will present an essay.)

· Write a letter to Bergstrom and West in which you discuss how useful you found Calling Bullshit and why you found it so. Be sure to write from your perspective and to integrate analysis of specific stories from the media to illustrate your points.

· Some suggestions: (You do not need to address these points in this order, but you should weave all of them into your paper.)

· Be sure to work from a clear thesis. It is fine to argue that you found some parts of the book useful and others less so.

· Demonstrate how Calling Bullshit helped you to analyze specific media stories. (You may need additional sources to provide fact-checking or context)

· Keep your perspective at the forefront. 

· You've spent a semester reading Bergstrom and West's book, I suggest you adopt a tone and level of formality similar to what they use in their book.

· You will need to develop an argument that runs no more than 1,000 words long. This word count does not include the other elements of the assignment or the MLA works cited page. You will need to follow the guidelines for MLA 8 citation.

Audience Analysis

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· Write a one-to-two-page analysis of your chosen community. Begin with the title "Audience Analysis".  The community you choose will be your audience so talk about what assumptions they will accept, what they will resist, and most importantly how you will appeal to them. Be sure to include some evidence. (Remember, we have talked about how to analyze an audience.)

Self-reflection (must be written)

Include a one-to-two-page page self-reflection. Attach the self-reflection as a separate page. Begin with the title "Self-Reflection"; then write at least one paragraph for each of the following points:

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· What went well in the final project?

· What one or two areas could use improvement?

· What you'll change in your writing process to focus on those areas of improvement?

Specifics

· Take a clear position on how useful you found Calling Bullshit

· Analyze specific media stories and integrate evidence to support your analysis.

· Write from your perspective.

· Your self-analysis should be at least 250 words long. 

· Conclude with a Works Cited page.

Suggestions for getting started

· Devote some time to prewriting before you sit down to draft the essay.

· Work from questions, not answers. If you explore something that you find interesting, you are much more likely to write engagingly

· Integrate sources, but do so thoughtfully. Make sure that each source serves a specific purpose in your paper. If you quote, make sure the quotation directly supports your claim.

· Stay focused. You do not have much space. A focused discussion of one element with ample supporting evidence and analysis will be more effective than a diffuse conversation about multiple features.