Research-based written piece roughly 2000 words in length, speaking to a critical issue covered in class which addresses social media and networks.
You should make clear in this piece how you are thinking about both social media (what makes them social?)
and networks (what kind of network are you discussing and how is it constituted/built/maintained? What are its effects?)
Papers may be contemporary or historical in approach, but if historical please articulate why you think your chosen topic is relevant today.
Minimum of 6 academic sources (articles/book chapters), found through research in the library and online, to be used in this paper.
This paper should be written in an academic style with footnotes/citations.
Please make sure you are following proper citation guidelines.
Include a bibliography at the end and make sure you are following the appropriate formatting guidelines depending on the citation system you are using (MLA, please).
There are lots of great writing tips on this page, if you scroll down to “Writing Mechanics.” I also encourage you all to go to the writing center to have someone go over your paper at least once to make sure it’s good to hand in and all citations have been properly applied.
Tips
Please make sure you have an appropriate title for your paper. I find using a question is good – what question is driving your research and in what specific context, e.g. How does Social Media Affect Mental Health? A Study of Instagram.
Take the time to clearly explain all of your ideas without just skimming over them. Make clear to me why you think a certain thing and back it up with the research you have done. If you think you’ve done enough — write another sentence anyway elaborating.
Try to avoid grand statements, e.g. “everyone around the world thinks…” or “since the beginning of time…” – keep all your thinking clear and relatable and ground it in your research and your experience.
When you are done, read your paper out loud. This can help you identify how well your writing “flows” and where you may need to re-phrase things or tidy up your writing.
Get feedback! Come to my office hours, if you can.
As a reminder, when you plan your structure, consider following the bullet points I included in the proposal outline:
Introduction: what is the problem you are working with? why is it a problem and for whom? what’s at stake? why does this need to be addressed now?
Essay: what is my argument in relation to the problem? How does my research back-up my ideas? Do all my paragraphs flow and slowly build my argument?
In conclusion: what are the most important ideas to remember, what is my main point, what do I want my readers to remember?
Below I have attached an outline for this paper and the topic and some sources you can use. Make sure that the sources are 6 scholarly articles. I can also provide you with the feedback that the professor provided for me for the annotated bibliography, so you’ll know what to improve on for the research paper, let me know if you want me to send that!
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to let me know. Thanks!