6 page paper

COM 510 Final Project One: Research Paper Guidelines and Rubric

Overview The first summative assessment for this course is preparation of a six-page research paper that will demonstrate your media literacy skills. These skills are arguably more important in today’s new media environment than any previous point in history. As we navigate our complex new media environment, we all need the skills to make sense of the messages we receive, the ability to understand how messages are constructed, and be able to see how the meanings within messages can potentially influence content consumers. Development of the paper is supported by two milestones, which will be submitted in Modules Two and Three. This assessment will assess your mastery with respect to the following course outcome:

 Demonstrate advanced media literacy skills by researching, verifying, and effectively applying relevant, credible sources of information

Prompt In this paper you will deconstruct a media message of your choosing. This means you will closely examine an audio-, video-, or text-based news story of your choice. Note: It must be accessible online by your instructor (For example, a Huffington Post or New York Times article or CNN.com video). Through this process, you will seek to understand who created the message, who is the intended receiver, how the content was created, what values or biases are present in the content, and what hidden meanings might be present. You will complete original research and find a minimum of three sources to support your interpretations and arguments discussed in the following critical elements. You can fulfill the research requirement for the paper in several ways. One option is to find scholarly resources that support a claim you make in the paper. For example, you might argue that the author is biased. You could then include research about bias in news reporting. Another option is to research different persuasive tools beyond those provided in your class readings and use those sources to fulfill your research requirement. Another option is to research more information on media literacy to include in your discussion. Whichever way you decided to incorporate research is up to you; however, you must use credible academic sources (click here for more information on identifying academic sources) and use proper APA formatting style. Refer to your APA Publication Manual for more information about these elements.

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed in the research paper: 1. Introduction: Provide an introduction to your paper, specifically:

1.1. Provide an overview of the story you selected and indicate what type of medium is used to tell the story (video, audio, words). Answer the question, “What is here?”

1.2. Include a link to the news article you selected and describe the source of the story. Specifically, who created it?

2. Explain who you think is the intended audience. Is there a target audience (age, gender, race, occupation, religion, etc.)? What examples can you provide to support these observations?

3. Discussion: Provide a more in-depth exploration of, at minimum, the following issues, demonstrating your ability to effectively identify, use, and reference

credible academic sources to support your discussion. Additionally, you may choose to explore/discuss other components of the story that can be critically deconstructed. Discuss: 3.1. What is the author’s point of view? What are their values and beliefs that come through? 3.2. Is there any part of the story that is not being told? What is missing? 3.3. Identify other coverage on the same story that presents it from an alternate perspective. 3.4. What is the subtext of the story? What meanings do you personally take away from the article? How do your personal experiences, values, and beliefs

contribute to your understanding of the content? 3.5. Which persuasive tools does the author use to convince you to agree with his/her point of view?

4. Conclusion: Summarize your interpretations.

4.1. After deconstructing the article, was there anything that surprised you? Comment on anything that you found through close analysis that might influence a reader/viewer who consumes the content but might not have the same media literacy skills you are demonstrating?

4.2. Consider the implications of the article: Is your article harmful to society in any way? Does it perpetuate stereotypes? Privilege certain people? Overlook any people?

Milestones Milestone One: Topic Description In task 2-2, you will submit a link to the audio-, video-, or text-based story that you will deconstruct for this paper. In addition to the link, state the source of the article (e.g., New York Times, Huffington Post, etc.). In a few sentences, provide an overview of the story and your reason for selecting it. This will be graded Pass/Fail. Milestone Two: Annotated Bibliography In task 3-2, you will submit an annotated bibliography. The format should be an alphabetical list of complete citations to at least three sources you plan to use in your research paper, with a brief paragraph explaining the contents of each entry. It is suggested that before researching sources, you first review the critical elements and identify a few points you will discuss in depth. See the Final Project One, Milestone Two Guidelines and Rubric document for further details on the format of these sources. This will be graded separately using the Final Project One, Milestone Two Rubric. Final Research Paper: Final Submission In task 5-2, you will submit the final research paper. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the main elements of the final product. This milestone will be graded using the Final Project One Rubric.

Deliverable Milestones Milestone Deliverables Module Due Grading

1 Topic Description Two Graded separately; Final Project One, Milestone One Rubric

2 Annotated Bibliography Three Graded separately; Final Project One, Milestone Two Rubric

Research Paper Five Graded separately; Research Paper Rubric

Guidelines for Submission: Written components of projects must follow these formatting guidelines when applicable: Six pages, excluding title page and reference section, double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and APA format for in-text citations and for the references section. Your paper should include a minimum of three sources of information (journal articles, essays, etc.) that provide evidence in support of your interpretations. Each source should be properly cited and included in a list of references at the end of the paper. Instructor Feedback: This activity uses an integrated rubric in Blackboard. Students can view instructor feedback in the Grade Center. For more information, review these instructions.

Research Paper Rubric Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (90%) Needs Improvement (70%) Not Evident (0%) Value

Introduction— Overview

Meets “Proficient” criteria and the overview is supported with research

Provides a concise overview of the selected story, including the text type

Provides an overview of the selected story; however, significant elements are not included or the text type is not described

Does not provide an overview of the selected story

10

Introduction— Source

Meets “Proficient” criteria and provides additional researched and properly cited information about the company and/or author

Describes the source of the story, specifically, the company and specific author. Includes a link to the news article

Describes only the company or author as the source and not both. Discussion is vague and relevant information regarding the source is missing

Does not detail the source of the story

5

Introduction— Target Audience

Meets “Proficient” criteria and the description of the audience is specific and detailed

Explains the intended audience and provides examples from within the article to support argument

Explains the intended audience using examples; however, the interpretation is insufficient or not supported by examples

Does not explain the intended audience using supporting examples

10

Discussion— Author’s Point of

View

Meets “Proficient” criteria and the analysis demonstrates a nuanced characterization of the author’s perspective

Analyzes the author’s point of view, indicating the author’s beliefs and values

Discusses the author’s point of view, but the analysis is unclear or does not indicate the author’s beliefs and values

Does not discuss the author’s point of view

10

Discussion—Missing Aspects

Meets “Proficient” criteria substantiated with additional sources of information as evidence to support claims

Describes aspects of the story that are missing

Describes missing aspects or superficial discussion; however, information is unclear, absent, or incorrect

Does not describes aspects of the story that are not told

10

Discussion— Alternative Coverage

Meets “Proficient” and discussion is well-supported by many examples of alternative coverage

Identifies relevant examples of coverage of the topic that presents an alternative perspective

Identifies examples of coverage of the topic with an alternative perspective, but examples are not described clearly or are not relevant

Does not identify examples of coverage of the topic that presents an alternative perspective

10

Discussion— Subtext

Meets “Proficient” criteria and explains how these personal subtexts may be viewed in similar or different ways by other content consumers

Identifies subtext of the story, articulating how their personal context contributes to their interpretation

Identifies subtext of the story; however, the description is unclear or lacks information on how personal context contributes to their interpretation

Does not identify subtext of the story

10

Discussion—Use of Persuasion

Meets “Proficient” criteria and integrates information from credible, relevant academic sources (journal articles, essays, etc.) to support the discussion and interpretations

Discusses the persuasive techniques used, why the author may have selected this approach, and explores in depth why it may/may not be effective

Identifies persuasive tools used in the article, but explanation is missing or is inaccurate

Does not discuss specific persuasive tools used in the article

10

Conclusion— Comment on

Influences

Meets “Proficient” criteria and analysis is detailed and well- supported by examples or research

Provides an analysis of aspects of the article that could persuade a naïve reader to accept the viewpoint expressed, using specific examples

Analysis of aspects of the article that could persuade a naïve reader to accept the viewpoint expressed is insufficient or not supported by examples

Does not provide an analysis of aspects of the article that could persuade a naïve reader to accept the viewpoint expressed

5

Conclusion— Implications

Meets “Proficient” and summary is detailed, demonstrating in-depth research and analysis of media influence

Discusses implications of the article in terms of potential damage to society, perpetuation of stereotypes, or exclusion

Discusses implications of the article in terms of potential damage; however, key information is unclear, absent, or incorrect

Does not discuss potential harmful implications of the article

10

Articulation of Response

No errors related to organization, grammar, and style

Minor errors related to organization, grammar, and style

Some errors related to organization, grammar, and style

Major errors related to organization, grammar, and style

10

Earned Total 100%