Issue Stances

Overview

use the example papers for course topics 

a paper on a topic of personal interest. You will select a specific social problem from “real life” and analyze it through the lens of course concepts and readings. There are two important elements to the final project:

• It must clearly connect several different topics from the class.
• It must clearly show how this class and its topics are meaningful by using them to analyze public information about a social issue through the lens of an expert in discourse studies
• (a) select a social issue you care about that affects people beyond yourself.
  • This does not have to be a national or international issue, it can be focused on a smaller community if desired.
    • In the paper, briefly provide context to the reader about the social issue and the messages about it that you are studying. This will probably require additional resources to provide an overview that is as objective as possible.
• (b) Locate public discourse about this issue from TWO different (credible) sources that convey DIFFERENT STANCES about the issue.
• News articles are probably the easiest find. Other options include press releases, letters to the editor, a website from a group associated with the group (in which case you will select one page of the website). 
• Discourse written about the issue can be written either by outsiders (such as the news), or from members involved in the issue (such as press releases, websites, letters to the editor, etc)  
• You will include the messages themselves (they can be uploaded as additional files when you turn in the paper, or added as appendices within the file of the paper) 
• Paper sections: 
  1. Introduction to the essay (1 paragraph)
  2. Introduction to the social issue (1-3 paragraphs)
  3. Description + Context of the messages (1 para/message)
  4. Compare/Contrast the discourse of the messages
  5. Analyze the effectiveness of the messages  + Conclude the Paper
  6. References Page
  7. Text of both messages included as addendums or additional files 
  8. Details for each section: 
  • Introduction to the essay  
    
    • 1 paragraph
    • You need a paper introduction conveying the purpose, interesting findings, and organization of the paper.
    • Write this paragraph LAST. 
  • Introduction to the social issue
    
    • 1-2 paragraphs
    • Briefly provide context to the reader about the social issue. This will require additional resources to provide an overview that is as objective as possible.
    • Aim for only one paragraph of pertinent context, this is not an in-depth history.
  • Description + Context of the messages
    
    • 1 para/message
    • include a brief overview of each message, why you selected it, and the message source
    • include the intended audience of the message and whether it was created in response to a particular event, moment, or opposing discourse.
    • find the "intended audience" by looking into the audience demographics of the message's source/publisher. 
  • Compare/Contrast the discourse of the messages
    
    • Describe the stances and two other specific discourse practices occurring in the messages
    • Compare AND contrast (Links to an external site.) the messages and the discursive practices used within them, including specific examples of each. Make sure each of these tasks (Compare, Contrast) are clearly done. 
    • Apply the information learned from an article presented in class and an additional academic source (other than the textbook). Ideally, this concept can be applied to both messages to help compare and contrast how they get their message across.
    • Alternately, use of these sources can instead appear in the analysis section if that makes more sense for your topic. 
    • This is likely to be the longest section of the paper, but doesn't necessarily have to be
  • Analyze the effectiveness of the messages + Conclude Paper
    
    • Anlayze the perceived effectiveness of both messages (consider the audience of each)
    • Based on what you’ve learned in this and other communication classes, assess which of the messages you believe is more effective in achieving its goal with its intended audience based on the discursive practices used within it. 
    • Make an argument based on the discourse in the messages, not based on personal opinion on the topic.
    • Use specific examples from each example to back up your claims about effectiveness.
      Concludes the paper, highlighting important take-aways, such as why this topic or these messages or stances *about* the topic matter. Consider how analyzing and assessing discourse is a useful skill in the world, not just class.