Download Flagging Weak Papers in Media Studies: Tips and Common Issues and more Papers Communication in PDF only on Docsity! LCC2400 Introduction to Media Studies Clara Fernández-Vara BIG RED FLAGS THAT GIVE AWAY A WEAK PAPER This is a list of problems I usually come across when correcting papers (and that lower your grade), along with some advice about how to solve them. Please read this before handing in your paper, so that you can write a better one and I can give you a good grade. Style - Incomplete / run-on sentences; repeating the same word several times in one or two lines. A very easy to avoid these problems is reading your paper aloud. - Not using the appropriate vocabulary that we’ve been discussing in class. We study the terminology of the field so that you can use it as a tool in your analyses. - “Tacking on” terms that we used in class without being sure of what they mean, or abusing buzzwords. Using incorrect terminology is worse than not using it at all. - Misspelling repeatedly, especially of terms that we see in class, or the names / titles that you’re using in your discussion. For instance, *Orsen Welles, *interpolate (instead of interpellate). - Don’t be too formal, trying to use an ultra-formal style, which has nothing to do with the way you speak and you don’t actually know how to use. - Don’t be too casual, writing as you write in a blog or a web forum – this is an academic paper, you have to use your own words, but being too casual usually entails being too fuzzy in your argumentations. Casual style also uses up more words. - Swearing. It’s not a good academic practice. It also denotes poor vocabulary. Remember: Medium (singular); media (plural). Discussion - Choosing two themes / subjects that are not related, which makes comparisons impossible. The comparison should be lthe core of your paper. - Starting your paper with an “origins” reference (for instance, the dawn of man, the beginning of time, the birth of media, the beginning of a certain medium). Do you really need to go as far back as that? Is it relevant to your paper? - Referring to “(our) society”, “(our) culture”, “people”, “human beings”, “mankind”, “everyone” / “everybody”. It sounds as if you’re over-generalizing, making statements that are too broad to really make any meaningful points. - Absence of concrete examples that support or demonstrate your arguments. Don’t write your whole discussion in abstract or vague terms Theories are usually abstract, it’s true, but they’re also easier to understand and demonstrate if you bring them down to earth with examples. - Lists of examples with no argumentation to explain them. Always account for your examples, a list of items does not prove a point.
