Required Work

> Read this note about using TurnItIn.

The following assignments are described below:

  1. Weekly Reading Reports and Discussion Questions (WRR&DQ)
  2. Topic Presentation
  3. Book Review
  4. Research Paper

For point values, see the Grading page.

General Guidelines

  1. All assignments must be submitted to TurnItIn. Exception: Topic Presentation.
  2. The deadline at TurnItIn is always 11 a.m.
  3. Most assignments are due on a Monday. There are exceptions. Check the weekly syllabus pages to be sure about your deadlines. Example: Week 2.
  4. If you have a technical difficulty with TurnItIn, please e-mail me at that time. You must use ONLY the e-mail address that appears on this syllabus.
  5. All written work must comply with the formatting instructions. Exception: Topic Presentation.
  6. Points WILL BE deducted if you do not format your work as instructed.
  7. When a printed copy is required, it must be handed in on time and in perfect condition. Points WILL BE deducted if your printed copy is inadequate (for example, it is incomplete, or it is difficult to read because of poor printing quality).

1. Weekly Reading Reports and Discussion Questions (WRR&DQ)

The reports are short papers that summarize the reading assignments of the week. Your summary must accomplish two tasks: (1) It must convince me that you have read (or viewed) the assigned materials in their entirety. (2) It must convince me that you have given thought to the meaning and implications of the materials.

The length of a good report is 500-1,000 words, not including the DQs.

DQs: Each report must also include at least five (5) discussion questions about the week’s assigned readings. Put these at the end. Points are deducted if DQs are missing, redundant, or weak. (The DQs can be employed to convince me that you have thought about the meaning and implications of the materials.)

Points: A total of 12 WRR&DQs are due throughout the semester, each worth two (2) points. To give some leeway, only the points from your top 10 reports will be counted toward the final grade, so the total amount of points possible for the WRR&DQs is 20. No points will be counted as extra-credit points.

Point deductions: A full point will be lost if you do not include any DQs. A full point will be lost if the report fails to convince me that you read all the assigned material and thought about it in an intelligent manner befitting a graduate student. A full point will be lost if you write in a manner below par for a graduate student -- for example, if you have multiple errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation. Note, therefore, that it is not uncommon for a WWR&DQ to receive 1 point out of 2. I will not split hairs (or tenths of a point) on these papers.

Each WRR&DQ is due online at TurnItIn, a plagiarism checking tool. If it's not there by 11 a.m. on the day it is due, you get no points.

Check the assignments each week to keep up with the assigned readings. There is a separate Web page for each week's assigned work (see the Schedule for links). Your reading assignments for that week appear on that page, e.g., Week 2. The WWR&DQ due that day is about the reading listed on that day.

Follow the instructions for formatting your papers. I am VERY SERIOUS about this.

2. Topic Presentation

IMPORTANT: Make sure you read the detailed guidelines for this assignment.

Each student will be a topic presenter ONCE during the semester. Check the Schedule to see when you are presenting.

The topic presentations are 50-minute-long presentations related to the week’s reading assignments. Your topic presentation must include: (1) a PowerPoint, and also (2) a printed handout.

The goal for your presentation is to ADD TO and clarify the reading assigned for that day. Everyone has read the same thing, so IT IS NOT ADEQUATE to use only the assigned materials as sources of information for your presentation.

Your topic presentation must refer to at least three different Web sites and/or blogs related to the week’s reading assignment. Include the complete URLs for these references on the handout. If you do not have good references, you will not get an A.

During your presentation, use of other media such as DVDs is encouraged.

3. Book Review

> Read the sample book reviews here.

The book review is a 1,200- to 1,500-word review of a book that focuses on new communication technologies AND some aspect of democracy (including freedom of speech, privacy, an informed public, etc.). The book you select must be copyright 2006 or later.

The book must be approved by Professor McAdams one month before the review is submitted.

The review must include:

  1. An introduction;
  2. A principal argument section;
  3. An analysis section; and
  4. A conclusion.

Example book reviews are provided; USE those examples as MODELS for your own book review. In particular, follow the format for the heading at the top of the book review. YOUR review should have a complete heading EXACTLY like the examples. The review by Kennedy has proper references at the end, but some others do not. YOUR review MUST include references at the end. The reviews by Steyaert and by Baym are lively and really let us know what kind of book it is they are reviewing. The review by Baym is the longest, at 1,172 words. YOUR review must be at least 1,200 words long.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

> Your book review book selection is due (via e-mail) at 10 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 21.

> See Week 5 for the e-mail format! USE THE FORMAT SHOWN.

> The book reviews are due on Monday, Oct. 19.

4. Research Paper

IMPORTANT: There is additional information about this assignment.

The research papers are 3,000- to 4,000-word papers written in scholarly style on topics that are in some way connected to both new communication technologies and democracy. Your research paper must include:

  1. An introduction;
  2. A literature review (including appropriate theory);
  3. A conceptual methodology section (explained here); and
  4. A complete reference list formatted in APA style. (Do not include the reference list in the word count.)

Please follow the instructions for formatting your papers. Students must be prepared to discuss their research paper topics during the individual research paper meetings (Sept. 21-28) -- thus you should have a clear idea of your topic when you come to the meeting, and you should have already done some reading about your topic.

Doing the reading IN ADVANCE is VERY IMPORTANT. Your preparatory reading should be in journals such as these.

Note: Submit a copy of your research paper to TurnItIn AND ALSO bring a printed copy to class for me.

> The research papers are due on Monday, Nov. 23.

Conferences

There are some convenient academic conferences to which you can submit your finished research paper.

These conferences are very welcoming to graduate students. They offer an especially good opportunity for students who are in, or considering entering, a Ph.D. program in mass communication.

There might be travel money from the grad division!

2010 AEJMC Midwinter Conference

At Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Oklahoma, March 5 - 7, 2010. Paper proposal submission deadline: Dec. 1, 2009. Details: http://www.aejmc.org/_calls/midwinter.php

2010 AEJMC Southeast Colloquium

At the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, March 11 - 13, 2010. Paper submission deadline: Dec. 4, 2009. Details: http://jomc.unc.edu/images/documents/seccolloquiumcfp.pdf