Essay Skills 1 Understanding the Essay Question 1231672542192145 1

8/13/2019 Essay Skills 1 Understanding the Essay Question 1231672542192145 1

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Essay Skills 1: Understanding the

Essay QuestionTECH1002 Studies in Media Technology

Andrew Clay

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Essay: What are we expecting you todo?• Before you begin the essay task, make sure

that you know exactly what you are beingasked to do

• We expect you to understand the question – Analyse the question

– Identify the information that you need – Raise questions or investigate ideas that your

essay can address

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What is the essay question obviously(explicitly) about?• What is the essay explicitly asking you to do?• One way to do this is to identify:

– The essay topic – what the question is generallyabout

– The essay focus – what the question is specificallyabout

– The essay instruction – what the essay wants youto do

– The essay viewpoint – some essays include aparticular point-of-view

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Explicit demands of the essay

Essay Title or Question Example:‘Convergence represents a cultural shiftas consumers are encouraged to seek outnew information and make connectionsamong dispersed media content’ (Henry

Jenkins). Discuss the current technologyof media convergence with reference tospecific examples of new media culturesand the relations between mediaproducers and consumers.

Topic Media convergence

Focus Media consumption and production

Instruction Discuss

Viewpoint Convergence is a cultural shift

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What is the essay less obviously(implicitly) about?• The essay is set to test your critical and academic

writing skills• We expect you to be able to have a broad

understanding of the topic and to be able to analysespecific examples

• We expect you to demonstrate some understanding ofthe theory and practice of media technologies

•We expect reading, research and to use standardacademic conventions of presentation (spelling,grammar, punctuation, references and bibliography)

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Implicit demands of the essayEssay Title or Question Example:

‘Convergence represents a cultural shiftas consumers are encouraged to seek outnew information and make connectionsamong dispersed media content’ (HenryJenkins). Discuss the current technologyof media convergence with reference tospecific examples of new media culturesand the relations between mediaproducers and consumers.

Academic standards Reading and research, organisation,structure, presentation

Understanding of subject area Engaging with the subject of new mediastudies

Theory and practice Thinking about the relationships betweentechnology and cultural change

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First Steps

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1. Look at the essay question and make a list of the key words,phrases, and ideas that you will need to think about

2. Identify the topic, focus, instruction and viewpoint (if any) ofthe question

3. Identify any other, less obvious or implicit things that theessay is expecting you to do

4. At this point it is useful to represent all this as a diagram, souse a mind mapping technique to visualise and organise yourfirst thoughts about the essay task – using pen and paperand/or electronically using software or online tools



Mind mapping

• ‘Mind -mapping can be a particularly powerfulvisual tool for shaping thought. The basicprinciple here is to note down the central topic or

idea in the centre of a piece of paper and workoutwards adding the points which flow from andconnect to it’(http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=193370 )

•Mind maps can be quite basic lines, shapes andwords or quite elaborate uses of drawings,symbols or images:

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http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=193370

http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=193370



• This mind map was drawn by someone writing anessay about memory

10Source: http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/file.php/1644/LDT101_2004i.jpg

http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/file.php/1644/LDT101_2004i.jpg

http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/file.php/1644/LDT101_2004i.jpg



Essay title

‘Convergence represents a cultural shiftas consumers are encouraged to seek

out new information and makeconnections among dispersed mediacontent’ (Henry Jenkins). Discuss thecurrent technology of mediaconvergence with reference to specificexamples of new media cultures and therelations between media producers andconsumers .

Analyse the Essay Question

1. Write the essay title in full in the centre of the page

2. Circle/underline key words

3. Draw lines from key words to sub-ideas/questions

Identify the explicit demands of the essay:

TOPIC:

FOCUS:

INSTRUCTION:

Identify the implicit demands of the essay

VIEWPOINT:

• An essay waiting to be mind mapped...



Essay title

‘Convergence represents a cultural shiftas consumers are encouraged to seek

out new information and makeconnections among dispersed mediacontent’ (Henry Jenkins ). Discuss thecurrent technology of mediaconvergence with reference to specificexamples of new media cultures and therelations between media producers andconsumers .

Analyse the Essay Question

1. Write the essay title in full in the centre of the page

2. Circle/underline key words

3. Draw lines from key words to sub-ideas/questions

Identify the explicit demands of the essay:

TOPIC: media convergence

FOCUS: media consumption and production

INSTRUCTION: discuss (explain / explore)

Identify the implicit demands of the essay

Reading and research, organisation, structure,presentation

Engaging with the subject of new media studies

Thinking about the relationships between technologyand cultural change

Convergence

A shift implies changewhat kind of change istaking place?cultural

shift

The conduct andsignificance ofeveryday life

What is convergence?

A key definition – EXPLAIN whatconve rgence is

consumersConsumption – atraditional way thatmedia is used – impliesa commercialrelationship?

new informationThe new of ‘new

media’? – related tochange, difference,novelty?

connectionsamongdispersed mediacontent The availability of media

on different platformsand different formats –

joined together by the

active consumer?

Henry Jenkins Who is he?Why is he writingabout convergence?In what context is hewriting about this

topic?

media

examplesbuild a main case study to develop argumentand evidence - 1 idea relating to production-consumption in convergence culture

newmediacultures producers

Production – the waythat media is made

relations A key thing to address

The examples should EXPLORE howconvergence is changing the relations

between producers and consumers ofmedia

The way that new mediais brought into everydaylife – see e.g.Marshall (2004)

VIEWPOINT: convergence is a cultural shift



Mediaconsumption

and productionMedia convergence

Mind mapping

• Once you have analysed the question andidentified the topic and focus of the essay titleyou can mind map them as key words:

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To begin mind mapping

• Write your main idea, word, topic, focus,question or whatever in the middle of the paper

• Draw a shape around it•

Underline or draw around key words• Draw lines away from the shape or shapes as sub-ideas, words and so come to mind

• Create new labels, colours, shapes, drawings,

symbols, words and link them together inwhatever way helps you visualise and organiseyour thoughts

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Online mind mapping tools

• Online whiteboard and mind mapping toolsare useful because they can be used forsharing or collaborating ideas

• Create user accounts to access additionalfeatures and to save and link to your workonline from the lab group wiki

15http://www.dabbleboard.com http://bubbl.us

http://www.dabbleboard.com/

http://bubbl.us/

http://bubbl.us/

http://www.dabbleboard.com/



What to do after analysing the essaytitle• Complete this week’s directed study task • After completing your analysis of the question make a plan (again

you can use an online whiteboard tool like Dabbleboard ) aboutwhat you have to read, research, the examples you need to look atand so on

• Use your mind maps to guide your reading and research as youstart to put all the parts of the essay together

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Other online whiteboard and mindmap tools

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Essay Skills 1 Understanding the Essay Question 1231672542192145 1