THESIS STATEMENT AND INTRODUCTION DRAFT

THESIS STATEMENT AND INTRODUCTION DRAFT

1 CCT 110: Rhetoric and Media Winter 2016 Profs. Nicole Cohen and Michael Dick Assignments Overview — Three Assignments 1. Essay Plan and Bibliography — due January 28 15% 2. Thesis Statement and Introduction Draft — due February 11, 10% 3. Term Paper (with reflection) — due March 17, 25% Choose One Topic for All Three Assignments These are the same topics you worked on for writing assignment #4 in CCT 109 this past fall. You do not have to work on the same topic, but you must pick one topic to work with for all three assignments in CCT 110. However, you are not allowed to reuse work you submitted for grading in CCT 109. You may use the same source material and build on the work you have done on this topic, but do not cut and paste, which constitutes an academic offence. Be sure to keep your graded copies of assignment #1 and assignment #2 to submit along with your term paper. Topic Options • Participatory media systems and developments in the legal and economic treatment of cultural and informational goods • Online social networking platforms and effects on social relationships • The relationship of user-generated content to the practice of journalism • The production of ICTs (Information Communication Technologies) and ecological sustainability • New media and surveillance society • The social and cultural impact of mobile technologies 2 ASSIGNMENT #1: ESSAY PLAN AND BIBLIOGRAPHY Due: January 28, in the first five minutes of tutorial Value: 15% Submission guidelines: Hard copy due in the first five minutes of tutorial. Your TA may have extra instructions for electronic submission. Please check for a note on your tutorial’s discussion board. Assignment Description: Select a topic for your final paper and construct a plan for your essay and a bibliography of sources you will use in your research. Answer the following questions in your essay plan (use the following five bold headings and numbers in your assignment to ensure you have included all the components): 1. Topic: State which topic you are selecting and describe what you know about this topic and what you plan to write about in your essay (include citations if you are drawing on research/scholars’ work). (1–2 paragraphs) 2. Research question: Design a research question based on your topic that you will answer in your term paper (what will your essay seek to find out?). Remember to keep your question specific and narrow enough to be answered in a 5-page essay. See “Narrowing Your Topic and Formulating a Specific Research Question” in Blau and Burak 4th ed p. 405 (3rd ed. p. 405). This research question is the question that your thesis statement answers. 3. My plan: Describe what steps you need to undertake to write the term paper assignment (read the description of the assignment below). Think through the process of writing an essay in detail and describe all the steps you are going to take. This will be your “plan of action” for getting your term paper written: try to be as specific as you can and think about including deadlines for each step you need to do (up to 1 page). 4. Essay outline: Include an outline for your essay, based on the research you have already done and plan to do. For tips on essay outlines, see http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/planning-and-organizing/organizing and https://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/EssayOrgOutStruct.html . 5. Bibliography: Include a preliminary bibliography in APA style of 6 peerreviewed, scholarly sources you will use for your essay. You may list the sources you used in writing assignment #4 in CCT 109, but you might find these are not relevant, in which case you should seek out more research as you refine your research question and narrow your topic. This assignment requires that you put work into conducting research (finding sources), reading the research and thinking about what your final paper will look like. For this assignment, you do not yet need to provide a specific thesis, but should be starting to think about one. This plan will be the foundation for your essay as you move toward writing your term paper and will allow your TA to provide you with feedback. 3 Be sure to take advantage of the writing supports available to you, including CCT 110’s dedicated writing instructor and the Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre (http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/asc/welcome/) as well as research support in the library. Details: • 3–5 pages, double-spaced (includes bibliography, no title page necessary) • Times New Roman, 12-point font, 1″ margins • No title page necessary. Please put your full name and student number on the top of your assignment, number your pages and STAPLE your assignment before submission • Spell-checked and proofread, free from typos • All research used cited in APA style (including in-text citations, any mentions of scholars’ research, and your bibliography) Note that the bibliography is included in the page count for this assignment. 4 ASSIGNMENT #2: THESIS STATEMENT AND INTRODUCTION DRAFT Due: February 11, in the in the first five minutes of tutorial Value: 10% Submission guidelines: Hard copy due in the first five minutes of tutorial. Your TA may have extra instructions for electronic submission. Check for a note on your tutorial’s discussion board. Assignment Description: Now that you have conducted research, narrowed your research question, and drafted an essay outline, you will draft two substantially different versions of an introduction to your essay, including a thesis statement for each one (in other words, you need two different thesis statements). Each version of the introduction and each thesis statement must be different. We will review how to write effective introductions and thesis statements in class and have provided you with effective examples in the course readings. Please make good use of them. We have also scheduled drop-in sessions at the Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre exclusively for CCT 110 students to receive help with this assignment (see syllabus for dates and times). The CCT 110 course writing instructor will also be available. The aim of this assignment is to assist you in developing your skills in writing essay introductions and in crafting effective thesis statements that provide a strong argument for your essay. Writing two substantively different thesis statements requires you to think carefully about effective ways to come up with arguments and how to frame your research for your essay. Your TA will provide feedback, and you will decide whether or not to use these introductions and thesis statements in your term paper or how best to revise them. Details: • 1–2 pages max, double-spaced • Times New Roman, 12-point font, 1″ margins • No title page necessary. Put your full name and student number on the top of your assignment, number your pages, and STAPLE your assignment pages • Spell-checked and proofread, free from typos • All research used cited in APA style (including in-text citations, any mentions of scholars’ research, and your bibliography). The bibliography is not included in page count for this assignment. 5 ASSIGNMENT #3: TERM PAPER (WITH REFLECTION) Due: March 17, in the first five minutes of tutorial (turnitn.com by 11:59 pm March 17) Value: 25% Submission guidelines: Hard copy due in the first five minutes of tutorial. An electronic version must be uploaded to turnitin.com by 11:59 pm on March 17. You must submit the identical copy to turnitin.com and must submit both components on time for the assignment to be considered on time. Please see your tutorial’s discussion board for turnitin.com access code and any further instructions from your TA. You must include your first two graded assignments with the hard copy of this term paper. Assignment Description: Taking into account the feedback you received on assignment #1 and assignment #2, write a 5-page research-based essay that answers your research question using a strong thesis – so, a research essay that makes an argument. The essay must use a minimum of five peer-reviewed, scholarly sources and contain an effective thesis statement. The essay will be graded based on its merits (research, writing, structure) and on how effectively you used the feedback provided on your first two assignments. In addition to the essay, include a short (1 page) reflection on how you built on the first two assignments and the feedback provided by your TA to arrive at your final essay. Also include any mention of course material (lectures, readings, additional assistance) that you used and that helped you in the writing of your paper. Details: • All work is your own. Remember to cite every idea, quotation, reference, or paraphrase from your research material. Failure to cite can result in a plagiarism inquiry (please consult the syllabus for information on the university’s penalties for plagiarism, which can include a suspension). • 5 pages , double-spaced plus a 1-page reflection • Minimum five peer-reviewed, scholarly sources (more is OK, you can include non-scholarly sources in addition to this minimum) • Times New Roman, 12-point font, 1″ margins • No title page necessary. Put your full name and student number on the top of your assignment, number your pages, and STAPLE your assignment pages • Spell-checked and proofread, free from typos • All research used cited in APA style (including in-text citations, any mentions of scholars’ research, and your bibliography). Note that the bibliography is not included in the page count for this assignment. • A 1–2 page reflection (see instructions above) • You must submit your first two graded assignments with the hard copy of this term paper.

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