Planning

• Read the essay question carefully and understand what it is asking you to do– all questions have at least 2 sub-questions.
• Notice if the essay question is asking you to acknowledge the networked environment or the impact of commercialization.
• Read the literature extensively –you need at least 10 academic references in the essay.
• Let your answer/explanation/essay structure emerge from the literature.

Writing and Analysis

• Do not repeat the lecture notes – the lecture notes do not answer the essay question.
• Explain, analyse and make connections between concepts and theories – do not just describe; and nothing is ‘obvious’.
• The essay question should be answered based on your interpretation of the literature and the different theories – not based on your personal opinion.
• Combine information from many academic sources (books and journal articles).
• Use at least 10 academic references
• Avoid describing examples from the news in detail – this essay is about the discussion of the literature.

Structure

• Avoid long introductions – get to the point quickly.
• Do not divide the essay in sections with separate headings – this disrupts the flow and coherence of the discussion.

Common mistakes

• Limited evidence of reading and too much reliance on few sources
• Factual and theoretical inaccuracies
• Answering only half the question
• Misunderstanding the question
• Lack of clarity in the writing and the argument
• Assuming something is ‘obvious’ when it is not
• Inaccurate referencing
• Plagiarism and poor academic practice

Use reading from lecture 5

5. Explain the ways in which military and government control over the news media during war is reflected in news content; and discuss if and to what extent online media tools can limit this control.

Here, first you should explain the different ways in which the government controls the access of journalists to war zones (e.g. the embedding system or the pool system) and the reason why they do it. Second, you should explain how this control creates a biased and one-dimensional view of war. You could mention which voices/actors dominate and which voices/actors are excluded, how war is explained/framed etc. Third, you should explain if/how online news may be changing any of the above.