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Essay Assignment Sheet.docx

ENG 1201

Essay #3 – News Source Evaluation Essay Assignment Sheet

General Information about the Assignment

This multi-step assignment requires you to use the summarizing skills you used in writing your Summary and Critical Response assignment and apply them to multiple sources. In addition, you will complete a source tracking chart that I’ll provide and that you will use to write your next paper.

The first step in this assignment is to peruse several news outlets for a news story that interests you. Please track only one news event or story that appears in three different news outlets. Be sure the story is a hard news story - not entertainment or sports news. Because you need practice evaluating several different kinds of sources, please make sure you find a source that fits each of the categories below. Types of Sources to Track

1. If you have access to it, the first type of source is a print newspaper - this will require you to look at a printed paper each day for seven days. While this can seem time consuming, it is a valuable part of the assignment and helps you see how stories are organized and news is prioritized when printed on paper vs. online. If you do not have access to a print newspaper, please go to the newspaper’s website directly or use the Sinclair library databases.

2. The second type of source is a popular local news source (tv broadcast, printed source, or another type of media).

3. The third source is an online news source. This will be your second online news source if you did not have access to a print newspaper for #1.

4. The fourth type of source needs to be opinion-based. An opinion-based source or opinion-piece or editorial from a website like  The Huffington Post or  On the Media  (NPR) will provide one or more strong views on a single issue. These sources present arguments for or against an issue. If you cannot find an editorial each day, then you can compare editorial websites for this category.

Once you've found your four sources, keep track of how they report on the story each day for seven consecutive days by filling in the tracking chart. If there is no coverage of your story on one day, then note it. I should be able to find your sources easily. Please fill out the appropriate column/row for each day.

Reminder: Each of the sources you are tracking will appear in MLA format on your essay’s Works Cited.

The Writing Task

The second step for this assignment is to write your News Source Evaluation Essay.

Drafting Your News Source Evaluation Essay

After you've tracked your story, it is time to write a short, evaluative study of your sources. Your paper will be 2-3 pages, and in it you will present a claim about the quality and consistency of the news coverage you’ve been tracking. Please note that you aren't presenting your opinion about the story you tracked; instead, you are presenting your opinion about the COVERAGE of the story.

· Here are some key ideas for you to consider in writing your essay:

· Were you given accurate and ample information about this news event? How do you know this?

· Which news outlets and/or sources did you gather the most information from? Why do you think there is a difference?

· What specific criteria are you using to judge the sources? For instance, if a news article is answering the questions who, what, when, where and how, how do the sources fulfill those criteria?

· Instead of summarizing what has developed each day, step back and evaluate that information. How do the outlets differ in what they presented over the course of a week?

· As you begin writing, make sure your essay contains the following points:

· An introduction that explains your topic and your interest in the story. Why did you choose it?

· Your claim (thesis) that states the position you are taking about the story's coverage you tracked over the past seven days.

· A developed discussion that supports your claim. In other words, assume your audience is interested in the news story and you are writing to inform them about the coverage you've tracked. As you write, consider how you rank the sources. What are their strengths and weaknesses? Be specific -- make sure that the examples you choose support your claim.

· Move your paper toward a conclusion. Perhaps you want to structure your paper with the strong and weak sources contrasting one another. Or you might start with the strong and follow with the weak. Perhaps you find all the sources equal in terms of their coverage. If so, what similarities do they have? Finally, how can you offer your readers a new concluding thought so that they are thinking about the importance of understanding different kinds of coverage?

Formatting Instructions

· Final drafts must be typed in 12-point Times New Roman or Calibri font. The default setting in Microsoft Word is 11-point Calibri, so remember that you will always have to go in and change the font size when you begin to write something new.

· Make sure your essay double-spaced with one-inch margins. The default margin setting is already at one inch. However, you must change the spacing above and below the line.

· There is no separate title page, so in the upper left-hand corner of page one, you will type your name, my name (Dair Arnold), course number and section (ENG 1201.R07) and the date.

· Use MLA format for citing your news sources. This applies to in-text parenthetical documentation and to your separate Works Cited page.