The final assignment in this course is a term paper on one of the issues/concepts that we have covered during the term, including online identity, theories of communication, the ritual vs. the transmission view of communication, communication’s role in self branding, the role of communication (particularly digital communication) in contemporary education, social media identities, news representations, and the controversy around the idea of “fake news,” just to name a few.
Students will come up with their topic and research questions over the course of the next two weeks, in consultation with the instructor and with the help of several workshops. The instructor must approve the topic and the research questions before students can begin the research and writing process.
The term paper will be due on the Sunday Week 12, before midnight.
Elements:
Title page: Students must use an APA template.
The academic outline: Introduction (hook, thesis statement); Body (“the magic of three”, three main points on both sides of the topic); Conclusion.
Critical thinking: Meaningful questions connected to the topic; underlying issues; a clear position.
Research: Academic integrity, every source must be acknowledged, and properly cited.
APA in-text citations
Editing: No typos, spelling errors. Avoid common mistakes: repeating words, lack of punctuation, clichés, colloquial words…
Writer’s voice: Unbiased yet with a personal point of view.
List of references.
Word count: between 1,500 and 2,000 words.
Minimum number of sources: five sources, including three peer-reviewed, academic sources, and two other media sources (which could include magazine articles, newspaper articles, online article, YouTube clips etc.).
