Mass Media and Society Research Paper

Mass Media and Society Research Paper

Mass Media and Society Research Paper Handout

What is the research paper all about?

In the research paper you should closely examine the interrelationship of media and society. In researching and writing this paper you should convey to your reader what you have learned about the interplay of these two forces: How media influences society and how society impacts media.

This paper satisfies the critical thinking portion of the course curriculum. The universities want to know you can come up with an original idea, support or prove that idea through research and then present it in a well-written and organized paper.

What should you write about?

We will focus on any one of these three recent and current events: the coronavirus pandemic, Black Lives Matter or the #MeToo movement.

Mass Media and Society Research Paper

You want to look at the way the media impacted society in any one of these events and/or the way the event (the pandemic or one of the two movements) impacted the media. For instance:

• ●  Has the media created fear and panic in its near-constant, wall-to-wall coverage of the coronavirus? Or did the arrival of a mysterious new virus command all available channels because of its ability to kill masses of people and decimate economies?
• ●  Do media messages about the protests simply publicize and amplify the Black Lives Matter movement through images and advertising? Or has the movement itself impacted media by launching a viral video and inspiring people around the world to mobilize into a massive revolutionary movement that forced powerful corporations to pull their ads and launch PR campaigns, and powerful politicians to finally acknowledge the need for police reform.
• ●  Did media create the intense interest in the #MeToo movement because of their stories of sex , power and a Hollywood A-lister’s spectaular fall from grace? Or did people around the world wrest control of the message overnight, sharing a simple hashtag more than 12 million times in a day, shining a light on gender-based violence that held hundreds of powerful men accountable, disgraced, jobless and imprisoned.

  The above is not a checklist of items to include in your paper. It is not meant to be exhaustive or exclusive. It’s just a springboard for getting you started, to create further examination. Your job is just to explore the media’s impact on the event and/or the event’s impact on the media. It’s as simple as that.

  What you DO NOT want to do is write a book report or a summary. You’re trying to prove your paper’s main point through research, not regurgitate factual info. So that means DO NOT write a mini biography, summary or chronology. Do write about impact.

  What else you need to know:
  Research​:​ ​This is a research paper, not an opinion piece or book report or summary or rough draft or

  collection of your thoughts on a topic. Your paper must​ ​have a clear, focused thesis that presents your paper’s main topic as a specific idea and then proves or illustrates it through research in an organized paper. Make a strong assertion in your thesis and then seek to answer or prove it through research. You

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do that by consulting multiple sources that deal with your topic/subject and bringing that information into your paper. Your thesis should take a strong position on whatever you’re writing about. The thesis is NOT a statement of fact. It is your take on the subject. So make a bold claim.

Sources​:​ ​You must use credible, verifiable sources. DO NOT use Wikipedia, Ask.com, About.com​ ​or any other such site on the Internet that solicits non-experts or allows the general public to edit entries. USE TRUSTED NEWS BRANDS AND SCHOLARLY SOURCES. You must use credible sources. If you’re not sure what constitutes a credible source, ASK ME! You are required to use ​at least​ five different sources other than the textbook. You can use the textbook in your paper, but it won’t count as one of the five minimum required. What sources you use are up to you, but ​they must all be credible sources.​ Use current material for research (within the last 5 years).

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Mass Media and Society Research Paper

You must cite a source at least once per body paragraph. Parenthetical references (at least one citation per body paragraph) should be formatted using standard MLA style. A link below to the Owl at Purdue provides info on how to properly cite your sources using MLA style.

Length: ​Your research paper must be 8 to 10 pages long, including the works​ ​cited page. It must be typed and double-spaced, using Times New Roman, 12-point font with a maximum of 1-inch margins all around.

Mechanics: ​Your paper must be well written, organized, well researched and largely free of mechanical errors. It must have an introduction. The introduction starts by discussing the subject in the broadest terms and then narrowing it down until it focuses on your specific research question/assertion in the thesis. For example, if you’re writing about the impact of photojournalism on war coverage, you can start off by writing about media war coverage in general then narrow your focus to war coverage via photojournalism.

Your paper must have a thesis statement, which is the sentence or two located at the end of the introduction that tells the reader exactly what the paper is about. Your thesis must have three parts: 1) a topic; 2) your position on that topic and 3) a plan of development, which is the two to four specific areas of exploration that will prove/illustrate/support your thesis.

No one has a great thesis just floating around in his or her head. You must develop your idea by thinking about it, writing your ideas down and crafting a cogent thesis that consists of a topic, position on that topic and plan of development.

Bibliography/Works Cited Page: ​Your paper must include a works cited page​ ​(a.k.a. a bibliography) using MLA style. Bibliographic entries should be listed alphabetically. Consult the Owl at Purdue using the link below to see how work cited pages should be formatted. If you are unclear about any of this, come to office hour.

Mass Media and Society Research Paper

The Owl at Purdue:

Research and Citation Resources
MLA Works Cited: Electronic Resources

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MLA Formatting and Style Guide In-Text (Citation) References

Some additional Resources:
Rules for Writers ​by Diana Hacker

College Writing Skills ​by John Langan
The Schauerman Library at El Camino College has an MLA Citing Sources Guidelines

document available online to students.
These are only four of many, many resources out there to help you with MLA style.

Content: ​You must be sure to provide specific examples to prove/illustrate/back up your thesis. They are outlined right in the thesis statement. This type of outline is called a plan of development. Use a plan of development in your paper. It will keep you focused and on point.

Also, papers must be written in the third person. Do NOT use I, me, we, you, us or anything else that mentions yourself. It is an academic paper and must be in the third person.

Lastly, ​do NOT fill your body paragraphs with your personal opinion, first-person accounts, or with what you’ve heard​ ​someone saying somewhere or what you think might be true simply because you said/thought/typed/Google searched/wrote it. ​You want to use your sources to provide proof that what you say is true or at least plausible. Remember that this paper is worth 100 points. That’s a lot in the grand scheme of things, so apply yourself accordingly.

If you’re not sure about any of this, ask me! I am here to help.

Mass Media and Society Research Paper