Semester Paper Instructions

Choose a text you're interested in$.$ A text can be any piece of media: it could be an album, a movie, a

book, a YouTube channel, a TV episode or series, a social media account$-$just about anything

media. Use the concepts we've covered throughout the semester to analyze that text in an $8$ to $10-$

page research paper.

At first glance, $8$ to $10$ pages sounds like a lot. However, the paper should be broken down into

smaller sections, and if you tackle one at a time, the project becomes easily manageable. Your paper

should have:

About a paragraph introducing us to your paper by previewing the most important ideas you'll

explore in the paper

No more than $1$ page describing your text

About $2$ pages describing the business behind the text. This can include, among other things,

some history of the medium, and you must explain the profit model supporting your text

About $2$ pages identifying and exploring the symbols embedded in the text

About $2$ pages explaining what is required to fully understand the text using each of the four

components of media literacy

About $2$ pages applying a relevant media theory to the text

About $1$ page repeating the most important ideas from your paper

In addition, your paper must

Reference and correctly cite between $5$ and $10$ scholarly sources PLUS your textbook and the text

you're analyzing. These scholarly sources can be found by using the Axe Library's databases as

well as

scholar.google.com. Librarian Ruth Monnier will help you learn to navigate these

databases, but if you need more help finding resources, you should visit the library and ask

another librarian for help.

Correctly use APA style. Help on this can be found by googling "Purdue Owl APA."

Include both an APA$-$style title page and reference page. Neither of these count toward the

required $8$ to $10$ pages.

Include APA$-$style page number and page headers on each page.

For many of you, this is your first big college assignment. If you attempt to do the whole paper at once,

you will not be successful. But if you instead make steady progress over the course of a month, you'll

be in a good position to succeed. Therefore, you'll use the following schedule:

Oct. $4$: Text selection due

Oct. $4$: In$-$class visit from librarian Ruth Monnier

Oct. $20$: Library assignment due

Oct. $27$: Introduction and business sections $(3-4$ pages$)$ due

Nov. $3$: Symbols and media literacy section $($about $4$ pages$)$ due

Nov. $8$: In$-$class visit from librarian Ruth Monnier

Nov. $10$: Theory section $($about $2$ pages$)$ due

Nov. $17$: Complete draft due

Nov. $1$: Final draft due