Part I: Collecting Background through News Sources & Social Media*
A great place to start is with background on the topic, investigating “the reporter’s questions” such as the following. You do not have to answer all of the questions — choose those that are relevant to the topic.
____Who is involved?
____What happened? When? Where?
____What’s the story? What’s the event? What’s the issue? Who cares?
____What’s the background and history that readers need to know about?
____Why is this still controversial? What complex factors of power structure, economics, gender, race, and/or oppression play into this issue?
____ What do different sides say about what happened, or what the situation really is?
____ What is the “gray area” for you? What is unclear in this issue or case?
____ What is the social media presence of this issue? (Start with the hashtag)
____ What does this issue relate to the present moment? What’s being done now? What is the legacy?
*Make sure to include links to the source material you use. While you don’t need to create a References page for this (as it is a drafting/pre-writing exercise), you’ll want to identify where you got your information in case you use the info/source in your Annotated Bib or Research Essay. (USE THE SOURCE LINKS IN THE ATTACHED DOCUMENT)
