253 – Critical Writing Assignment
Worth: 15%, submit assignment ONLY through the course’s online Learning Management System.
Critical Writing Assignment:
Write a 300-400 word analysis of one (only one) media-specific concept (not a theory/an account of things that makes use of particular concepts) from Chapters 1 to 3 of the course textbook. Your submission needs to be written in standard essay form (no point form, use paragraphs, structure should be: thesis; development/body; conclusion. Also see below.). Ask yourself: how does the concept apply to that particular medium? What understanding do I gain through applying the concept? What are possible downsides or deficiencies to the concept I chose? To be more specific, your task is as follows in the next paragraph…
When writing this critical piece, structure it like an essay. This means, although you are not advancing an argument (as you would be doing in an actual essay), make clear in the introduction (or opening sentences) the focus of your assessment (ie, the medium you choose to examine). Then indicate why that particular concept has importance for what the medium you’re analyzing. Getting into the exposition portion of your piece (which entails doing some reading/researching of the medium you’ve chosen), develop on or discuss the details concerning the function/purpose and, in nontechnical language (ie, engineering terminology), the workings of the medium. To conclude your analysis, speculate on how and why the analysis may be expanded to account for other contemporary mediums. Note, all sources informing your analysis need to be from peer-reviewed scholarly works (Wikipedia is NOT a peer-reviewed source, however, academic journal articles are).
Note on research: Cite all your sources and include a bibliography with your assignment. You must only use the MLA citation style.
Note on writing: As with any form of academic writing, do not assume the reader knows about the material you are writing on
