Media Theory in the Digital Age

Learning Outcomes:
A.Critically examine the historical development of the academic study of media and communication, and key concepts, theories and perspectives 
B.Critically assess the applicability in the digital age of key concepts, theories and perspectives in the academic study of media and communication. 

1. Critically examine the historical development of the academic study of media and communication, and key concepts, theories and perspectives
2. Critically assess the applicability in the digital age of key concepts, theories and perspectives in the academic study of media and communication

The goal of this assignment is to investigate one of the theories taught in the module in greater depth, and discuss whether the theory is useful to explain media in the digital age. Students have to find scientific literature beyond the one discussed in class, critically discuss this literature in the context of the digital age, and derive a logical conclusion about the value of the theory. Students should also contextualize their argument by relating it to their personal experience or relevant news stories (preferably from reputed media).

Deadline and Submission: The essay has to be uploaded on Learning Mall Online NO LATER THAN on Monday, . Earlier submissions are welcome. The essay must be uploaded as Microsoft Word *.docx file format only! You should name the file as follows: COM403_Essay_YourStudentID.docx

Literature: The essay has to incorporate an appropriate number of academic references. Please only cite sources that contribute to the topic of the essay, and whose content you then discuss; don’t try to inflate your citation count with unrelated references. For every topic discussed in the module, you can find a folder linked on Learning Mall Online, containing relevant literature on this topic, which you can use as a starting point for further literature research. For example, you can do this by following up on the literature cited in the sources on LMO, or by searching for relevant keywords on Google Scholar or XJTLU Library Search.

Essay Structure: The essay should have the following contents:

• State the topic of the proposed research project, as well as the week it was taught in. Explain which theory you are discussing, and which phenomena of the digital age you want to investigate.
• Discuss the theoretical literature you have found – what does it claim, and how does it support these claims? Are there different / contradicting viewpoints in the literature? The goal here is not to cite as many papers as possible, but to discuss relevant papers in depth, extract relevant information, and connect them into a logical argument.
• Explain how this literature relates to the phenomena you are investigating. What does the theory predict about these phenomena, and do these predictions correspond to the facts (as you see them)?
• Contextualize the topic of your essay by discussing how it relates to your personal experience, to experiences of people you know, or reports and stories that you found in the media.
• Sum up the main points and state your conclusion – does the theory apply to the digital age phenomena of your interest or not? How does the theory explain them / fail to explain them? Could the theory be expanded or improved somehow? If you believe the evidence is inconclusive and the question cannot be answered in a definitive way, please state and justify this.
• Report the count of all words in the document body (excluding title page and references).
• List the references in alphabetical order and APA citation style (see the style guide on Learning Mall Online).

Writing Style: Please write in a concise, simple and clear style. Try to avoid overly long and complex sentences. Do not inflate the length of your essay with empty and redundant statements. Make sure the reader can follow the logical argument structure. For example, if a sentence follows logically from what you wrote before, indicate this by using phrases like “therefore”, “for this reason” etc.; if a sentence contradicts what was said before, you can use phrases like “on the other hand”, “other researchers claim that” etc. Structure your essay into sections, for example “Introduction”, “Conclusion”, etc.

Formal Requirements: The essay must be in English. Use the APA citation style throughout your essay. Direct quotations must be clearly indicated by the use of inverted commas and must include the source. Plagiarism and other violations of academic integrity will be penalised according to XJTLU guidelines. There are no requirements with regard to font, font size, line spacing etc., and a cover sheet is not necessary.

Marking Criteria: The essay weighs 40% of your total module grade. I will grade the quality of the literature review (50% of the paper grade), the quality of your argument structure and critical analysis (40%), as well as language quality, writing style, and references (10%).

The marking descriptors are defined as follows:

Literature Review:

• 0-10%: Very little relevant literature is discussed; relevant perspectives are not extracted from the literature; the literature is not discussed in the context of the digital age;
• 11-20%: Little relevant literature is discussed; relevant perspectives are only partially extracted from the literature; the literature is not sufficiently discussed in the context of the digital age;
• 21-30%: Sufficient relevant literature is discussed; relevant perspectives are extracted from the literature; the literature is discussed in the context of the digital age;
• 31-40%: Relevant literature is discussed in depth; relevant perspectives are extracted comprehensively from the literature; there is a sophisticated discussion of the literature in the context of the digital age;
• 41-50%: A large amount of relevant literature is discussed in great depth; highly relevant perspectives are extracted comprehensively from the literature; there is a sophisticated and deep discussion of the literature in the context of the digital age;

Argument Structure and Critical Analysis:

• 0-8%: There is little or no logical argument structure and coherence; no illustrative example or contextualization is given; no logical conclusion is drawn from the evidence; there is no critical and analytical treatment of the topic.
• 9-16%: There is only a rough logical argument structure and coherence; illustrative examples or contextualization are given but are not relevant; the conclusion is not logical; there is little critical and analytical treatment of the topic.
• 17-24%: There is logical argument structure and coherence; relevant illustrative examples or contextualization are given; a logical conclusion is drawn from the evidence; there is some critical and analytical treatment of the topic.
• 25-32%: There is a clear logical argument structure and coherence; relevant and interesting illustrative examples are given; a convincing logical conclusion is drawn from the evidence; there is a critical and analytical treatment of the topic.
• 33-40%: There is a clear and highly convincing logical argument structure and seamless coherence; engaging and highly relevant illustrative examples and contextualization is given; a convincing logical conclusion is drawn from the evidence, and own theoretical deliberations or proposals for future research are discussed; there an excellent critical and analytical treatment of the topic.

Language Quality, Writing Style and References:

• 0-2%: The language quality is very bad; the style is convoluted and confusing; citations and referencing are almost always incorrect.
• 3-4%: The language quality is bad; the style is sometimes convoluted and confusing; citations and referencing are frequently incorrect.
• 5-6%: The language quality is sufficient; the style is mostly fluent and clear; citations and referencing are largely correct.
• 7-8%: The language quality is good; the style is fluent and clear; citations and referencing are correct.
• 9-10%: The language quality is excellent; the writing style is concise, expressive and elegant; citations and referencing are flawless.