Quick Guide to a Successful RTF/Com 309 Paper

Quick Guide to a Successful RTF/Com 309 Paper

The Assignment (6-7 double spaced pages, not including bibliography)

To identify a communications technology or application of interest, to briefly present its development, and primarily to assess the social and cultural contexts of its development, uses, consequences, and possible near-term future. (Feel free to pick any Comm. Tech or application other than mainstream radio, television, film whose primary development has been during the 20^th century).
You must go beyond mere publicity (or denunciation). If you like the tech/application, then don't forget to credibly explain why some people would not like it. If you hate the technology, don't forget to credibly why some people think device/app is great.
Potential Topics- I hate suggesting things, since here is where your passion and creativity should be working. However, since this question is always asked, consider the impact of some specific digital technology on: publishing, news production, business, distribution (something about satellites, etc.), on individual control, privacy, etc. Something about the impact of advertising on the Internet. Impact on politics of a specific technology. A prosthetic device.
Major Consideration- Do not make your topic too broad! You cannot, for example, cover 'The Internet.' The Internet is made up of many applications and relationships. As with any paper, it is best to start focused, looking at a detail, and draw larger conclusions based on the evidence. It is easy to move from the specific to the general but not the other way around!

Content Issues

Consider the 'six fold analytic.' You are not required to use this. However it does raise key questions, which include:

Cultural Dimension. Are new groups formed? Are new symbols created? Are older groups and symbols displaced? How does 'identity' change?
Social Dimension. Who gains power, particularly economic or political power? Who loses power?
Media Ecology Dimension. What other technologies are displaced, retrieved, or 'reconfigured,' and how does this change society or culture?
Material Dimension. How and where is your medium or application made, by whom, and with what by products. The dimension might not be relevant to many papers.
Skill Dimension. What sort of people learn how to make, use, even teach about the new technology?

Technological Dimension

Remember this is a course about communication technology and society! There must be a dimension in your work that asks a question about some communication technology!

* Format

Title- Please include a title- so people can refer to your work and have a sense of what it is about!
Typed or WP- no dot matrix, handwritten. 12 pitch with 1 inch margins
No Cover Sheet needed. You can provide one, particularly if you want to include some goovy graphic, but generally there is no need to waste paper. A typed, stapled, page numbered document without a cover sheet is fine!
Remember to number your pages! Pages do get separated.
Page count does not include Sources/Bibliography

* Sources

Include at least 5-7 sources to substantiate arguments.
Can include online materials, interviews, etc.
Bibliography with consistent format: APA, MLA, etc.
Sources in Biblio. must be cited in text.
Don't just use books and articles taught in the course. You can use them, and they were chosen because they should be useful for a consideration of 'communication technology and society.' But doing some outside research is important as well. Surprise your audience!
Consider documenting your 'secondary' points. Some people have complained that they could not find enough material directly related to their 'topic.' That makes sense, since you are the one who is to be assembling the material on your topic! If someone else had done all the writing and research, then you wouldn't have to do all that writing! If you are writing about electronic mail, then you might look at a book on the plain, old fashion postal service! A point on cellular telephones might be made by looking at other articles on privacy! In our readings, Gergen writes about people having too many demanding 'personal' relationships. Gergen's insight might be a useful point in an article on cellular telephones!

* Thesis Statement/ Research Question (About 1 page)

This should frame the entire essay, giving readers a clue of what to look for in the evidence.

* Evidence (About 3-4 pages)

Examine and present evidence for at least 2 sides of issue/question.
What are the controversial points? Who holds which point of view?
Where might the different sides agree or disagree
Questions without answers are OK. These are known are rhetorical questions. Feel free to ask more questions than you answer! Part of the point of education is to alert you to issues, and for you in turn to alert your readers to what the important issues are.

* Conclusion (1-2 pages)

Don't forget to spend enough time evaluating evidence and making conclusions based on your own judgment (does not need to be in first person).
Connection with evidence presented should be very clear.

* Organization

* Spelling/Punctuation/Grammar

Use a dictionary and do not simply spell check. Consult a grammar/punctuation text.
Spelling and grammar do count.

'Pet Peeves'

Gross Generalizations- Avoid phrases such as "It's obvious that…" or "Everyone knows that…" If a writer keeps suggesting vague things that the reader knows, the reader will lose confidence in the writer. Instead of generalizations, consider asking more questions!
Avoid Ahistorical/Anachronistic- Place your study in a historical perspective.

Wrong- "People have always been fascinated with television and some are addicted to it."
Right- "Americans currently watch an average of 6 hours of TV a day and virtually all Americans own a television, according to a recent Roper report (Roper 1996).

Avoid using the word 'it' too much. Yes it is useful to use the word it to avoid redundancy. But see if you can find another word. The word 'it' often hides vague thinking. Writing and thinking are hard, and part of the struggle of writing is converting vague writing into something focused, evocative, and informative. Getting rid of as many 'its' as possible is usually part of the final rewrite.
Avoid passive construction. The problem is not a 'weak' sentence, but clarity. Getting rid of the passive, trying to name the 'agent' in an action, trying to give a name to the group or individual doing something is one of the major, but most rewarding struggles in good writing.
Avoid Unsupported Conclusions. For example avoid generalizing from your personal, culturally, and historicly distinct experience to all people.