Positive Effects of Citizen Journalism Custom Essay

The thesis of this assignment is the positive role that citizen journalism plays in media. I want the case study to explore how citizen journalism adds something that traditional media can’t. I will upload the

specifications of the essay.

Contribution Essay
76-101: Interpretation and Argument
Carnegie Mellon University
Spring 2014

The Assignment
So far you have summarized, synthesized and analyzed perspectives in a debate. You now know enough about the discourse of participatory media to join the conversation and write your own argument.

From your own work in this course, you must argue for your own position that responds to a question you have constructed. Your contribution will not stand alone. Imagine every author that we have read so

far—and perhaps one or two authors that you find on your own—standing in judgment of your position. It is your job to find allies for your position and to silence your position’s critics. The position that you

wish to argue is your decision. The number of sources that you will draw upon is likewise your decision (the minimum is 6).

Assignment Options
You have two different options for writing your contribution essay.

(1) Case Study Analysis and Evaluation. You may choose a particular case to test and evaluate the different perspectives that you have synthesized about participatory media. For example, you might

choose to analyze the role of participatory media in a particular recent political uprising or protest.

(2) Discovery. You may choose to write an argument for a perspective that you think is missing from the authors we have read so far this semester. One possibility might be to question whether claims

about the value of participatory media are premised on narrowly Western conceptions of democracy or on outdated models of media production and circulation. This kind of contribution essay demands that

you locate gaps in reasoning through your own synthesis and analysis of the readings we have done so far this semester. That is, in the words of Having Your Say authors Davida Charney and Christine

Neuwirth, you can “have your say on the state of a debate” in these instances: “when an important point is being overlooked”; “when you see ways to bring opponents closer together”; and “when a new

development might lead parties to rethink their positions” (p. 337).

Structuring Your Argument
Because your choice of topic will drive the structure of your argument, there is no fixed series of “steps” for this assignment. However, you need to consider the following elements in designing your essay.

? Pick a side to this debate. This means you need to form your own “main claim” about the participatory media issue. Tell your reader where you locate your own opinions within the overall debate

on participatory media. Whether you are carving out a position on a specific case or identifying a “gap” that seems to be overlooked in the debate as a whole, picking a side requires that you include the most

important critiques/counterargument of this position, so be sure to address your “naysayers.”
Confronting counter-arguments can persuade readers (1) that your view makes sense and (2) that your argument considers this critique and can acknowledge where its points have merit. But remember—when

you introduce rival hypotheses, you will have to be careful to take your reader through the steps in your logic for why it is not your hypothesis. What are the major reasons that lead you to your position and not

your rival’s position?

? Structuring for clarity: the abstract and subheadings. Your job as a writer is to make your ideas clear to your reader. To do this, prepare a “capsule” of it in the form of an abstract at the beginning

of your essay, before your introduction. The abstract gives readers a “big picture” view of the text to help direct the reading process. Further, help your reader navigate your text by “chunking” your essay into

meaningful sections that are separated and defined by subheadings. In this essay, your subheadings will be most effective when they forecast the main claim of the section. For samples of articles that have both

abstracts and subheadings, consult the websites of the undergraduate research journals at Stanford (http://surj.stanford.edu/) or University of Texas at Austin (http://texasurj.com/archive/). Consider also

revisiting Bruns and other authors from our course readings who have also used subheadings to “chunk” information for their readers.

? Your audience(s). Persuasiveness is a key criterion for this assignment. Direct this paper toward a university academic audience that is interested in issues related to participatory media as the

course has defined them. Some background or context is necessary for your reader to understand the significance of the question you’re exploring. And as always, you will need to explain for your readers

how you are interpreting and using particular authors in your essay.

Important Dates and Details (unless noted, all work is due to Bb, by beginning of class)

• Contribution Proposal due April 9
• Contribution Rough Draft due Wednesday, April 23. You must include an argument map of your outside academic source with your draft.

• Contribution Peer Reviews due Monday, April 28

• Final Draft Due: Wed. Wednesday, May 7. Be sure to complete and insert Acknowledgments, as well as your Revision Report at the end of your file, after your works cited list.

• The Contribution Essay should be 1750-2700 words, typed. It should include a Works Cited page, an abstract, and acknowledgments. As the syllabus states, you must hand in your drafts (both

rough and final) in electronic form via Bb’s safeassign in order to pass the class.

• For this paper, you are required to use at least one academic source outside of the course materials. Academic sources mean scholarly articles from peer-reviewed journals or sections of

appropriate books. This requires approval by me.