Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer:
Paper Instructions:

Reflective Essay on the Role Bias Plays in Online Reporting  
Quick Description of Assignment:  Write a reflective essay (minimum two and a half pages in length, not counting Works Cited page) of the effects that bias (both in publishers/writers and in readers) may have on the online reporting of (or commentary on) a current, controversial, socially-relevant issue. 

Detailed Instructions: 
In this relatively formal academic essay, you will reflect on ways that reporter bias may affect how socially-relevant news items are covered, reported, and commented on by reporters and news editors and pundits. You will also consider how (in interaction with reader bias) such news reports or commentary may be received by readers in ways that hinder (or perhaps in some cases facilitate) the progress of public debate over relevant social issues.  
To that end, you will write an essay that examines two such online texts (i.e., posted news reports or editorial commentary/opinions) that (1) identifies specific ways in which reporter bias appears to have influenced the composition of the texts and the presentation of each text to the public and (2) suggests specific ways that the effects of bias on these texts—in interaction with bias on the part of readers— may be coloring, complicating, distorting, obstructing, redirecting, or otherwise affecting (in negative or perhaps positive ways) the broader ongoing debate over this particular social issue, and (3) suggests ways that a more constructive public debate of this and similar issues might be carried out. You should assume that your audience for this essay is comprised of members of the general academic community together with informed and engaged members of society at large. 
Consult the assignment instructions for SWA5 above for guidelines regarding the selection of your two texts. 
The two texts will thus serve as "case studies" from which you can draw conclusions about how bias both in the producers of texts and in the readers/viewers of those texts may be influencing public debate of this controversial topic. In all of this, your immediate goal is to understand how the biases of text producers affects how information is shaped in those texts and how this information may be received by readers (whose own bias, again, affects how they interact with and receive the texts). Your ultimate goal is to draw lessons about the effects of bias from your two "case study" texts so that you can reflect on how as a society we might participate in more productive debate of controversial issues such as this one. 
When you are ready to synthesize your findings and begin drafting your investigative report essay, you will need to develop a clear thesis that provides your overall assessment of the role bias has played in the ways described above. Your thesis should also incorporate a preview of your conclusions regarding how our society might engage in more constructive public debate. 
This assignment is an academic essay, so your submission should have standard overall essay format and features, including an introduction, body, and conclusion. Here is a suggested overall format: 
o    Introduction: Orient readers to the topic and the purpose of the essay; briefly describe the nature, importance, and relevance of the controversial topic in view; provide any other necessary background information; and clearly present a thesis regarding the findings of your analysis (see above).  
o    Body: Clearly summarize the two texts selected for investigation (you might use a comparison/contrast approach to some extent here), focusing particular on those elements in the text that will prove helpful to your analysis; detail and document indications of bias in the texts themselves, and consider the ways bias may have affected the way these texts are received by readers/viewers; then broaden your discussion to explore the implications of these findings for the larger public debate of such controversies.  
o    Conclusion: Reemphasize your thesis again in view of everything discussed; emphasize the significance of your findings and leave your readers contemplating what other implications for society or for researchers there may be from these findings. 
Include both proper in-text citations and full citations (on the Works Cited page) for each of the two articles and for any other sources you may have used.  
IMPORTANT: Note what this essay is not:  It is NOT an argumentative position paper in which you yourself would take a stand on the controversial topic and argue for one side or the other. I repeat: You are NOT to take sides and try to persuade your readers that one side of the controversy is correct (or more correct than the other). This essay is, instead, an academic analysis of the two articles/texts in terms of the role bias plays in public debate, so the only persuasive element in your essay should be your attempt to convince your readers to accept your conclusions about the effects of bias, not about one or the other side of the controversy itself. Note that any student who submits an essay misconstruing this assignment as a position paper that argues for one side of the controversy over the other side will receive a failing grade for the assignment. 
Another friendly but firm warning: Plagiarism won’t be tolerated, so make every effort to integrate and cite quotations correctly and effectively, adhering to MLA 8th edition citation standards. Should a student commit plagiarism on this assignment, the assignment will automatically receive a failing grade, and the student will be reported to Student Developmental Services.  
Assignment Format and Length: 

The final version of the essay, which should possess a length of at least two and a half pages of text, should be formatted according to MLA 8 formatting style (please see the OWL's video on MLA general formatting standards for a helpful review). The Works Cited page does not count toward the minimum length requirement. 
Submit your completed MWA3 to the appropriate Dropbox folder on our D2L course site by the deadline listed for it in the Course Calendar.  


SWA6:  Research Topic Proposal and Working Bibliography 
Quick Description of Assignment:  Present a research topic and a guiding research question for Unit Four of the course and create a 12-item working bibliography of your selected topic. 

Detailed Instructions: 
Follow the following steps:  
First, select a general topic by perusing online sites for current news items related to important issues in society, politics, and science. For this assignment, your topic must be some controversial issue in one of these areas that is currently being debated by the members of our society and that has received substantial recent coverage in the news--it may but does not have to be related to the topic you investigated for MWA3. 
Next, consult scholarly research through the MTC library databases and/or Google Scholar in order to reach a deeper understanding of your topic and be able to better interpret the significance of whatever recent events may be fueling the continuing controversy over the topic. You are required for this assignment to choose a research topic regarding which a significant amount of relatively recent scholarly research (i.e., within the past three years or so) can be brought to bear. Keep track of the most interesting articles you find by recording in proper MLA format the complete bibliographical information for each (this is more than simply the URL); that is, begin compiling a working bibliography on your topic. 
Then, in light of what you've found is currently being discussed by scholars and considering what particularly interests you regarding your topic, narrow the topic as needed to make it suitable for a 4-6 page academic research essay.  
Finally, identify the primary research question that will motivate and guide your investigation of the narrow topic. Consult the relevant powerpoint presentation from class for information on how to formulate good research questions. 
For SWA6, you will submit the following information: 
•    State your narrow topic as precisely as possible in a single phrase. 
•    State your primary research question as precisely as possible in a single sentence. 
•    Provide a working bibliography of 12 promising sources related to your narrow topic. Note that at least 6 of these must be scholarly sources (typically, peer-reviewed academic sources or governmental reports that draw on academic research). Any nonscholarly sources used must 
still be from relatively credible sources (e.g., credible news agencies, respected advocacy organizations, and so forth). The bibliographical entry for each source must be complete (e.g., not merely the URL or a link) and must be formatted correctly in current (8th edition) MLA format for works cited entries. For this SWA6, do not include any annotations with the sources-just list the 12 sources themselves similar to the way you would on a Works Cited page. IMPORTANT:  To make it easier for me to see that you've fulfilled the assignment requirements, divide the sources into two groups: First list the 6 or more scholarly sources (preceded by a header, "Scholarly Sources"); then list the remaining sources that are nonscholarly (preceded by a header, "Nonscholarly Sources"). Finally, number each source consecutively (i.e., 1-12) so that I readily see you have provided a total of 12 sources. 
As always, follow basic MLA formatting guidelines and submit your work to the appropriate Dropbox by the beginning of class on the day it is due.