News, and news sources, are critical to the way we see the world. How do we determine if a news source is credible and the information is both thorough and accurate? This assignment challenges students to compare online articles about the same criminal justice-related or ethics-related issue from sources that fall into loosely liberal and conservative websites and which show distinct differences in coverage. The assignment combines digital literacy (finding and identifying articles on the same topic from two discrete sources) and critical thinking (analysis of the impact that biased information may have on readers).
This is a two-part assignment. The assignment has an initial, ungraded, component (the outline) which requires students to submit, via the appropriate iCollege Dropbox, copies of the chosen articles together with a brief bullet-point outline identifying a minimum of three-points of comparison where the articles report essentially the same information, and a minimum of three-points of comparison where the articles report substantially different information. The outline will be reviewed to ensure that the sources are appropriate (e.g. Wikipedia is never appropriate) and that the student is on track for the final, graded component. The outline is a required element of the assignment, and failure to timely submit it will result in a grade of zero for the entire assignment.
The final version of the assignment is an expansion of the outline. In a narrative format, the student should briefly explain the subject of the articles, the areas of commonality, and the substantive differences in their coverage. The student should then address the impact that reading only one of the two articles might have on the average reader. Will the reader be fully knowledgeable about the issue? Finally, students should blend the information between the two articles into a complete and true explanation of the issue presented such that the reader is well and thoroughly informed.
Students should ensure that copies of the two comparative news articles are included as part of the assignment in both the outline and final versions, and not as attachments to a separate document, nor as links to websites. The easiest way to do this may be to combine the narrative and two sources into a single PDF file as opposed to a Microsoft Word file. Either format is acceptable, but only one file containing the analysis and the two sources articles should be uploaded to the appropriate Dropbox by the assignment deadline. Maximum length of the narrative version, not including the chosen articles, two (2) pages.
To reiterate, the outline and narrative versions must be submitted via the iCollege Assignments Dropboxes (found under Assessments, Assignments) by the beginning of lecture on or before the dates noted in the schedule at the end of this syllabus. Papers turned in after the noted time will not be accepted and no credit will be given. A grading rubric for the assignment is on iCollege. Failure to submit both ouline and narrative versions for either assignment will result in a zero (0) grade for that entire assignment. The outline version is mandatory, not optional.
