Course Attendance & Participation (10%, 100 pts.)

  • Attendance in class.
  • Preparation for class, in addition to the quantity and quality of your contribution to class discussions.
  • Miscellaneous in-class assignments or quizzes.

Format Guidelines For All Assignments [Formatting Example]

File format: PDF

File name: “Last Name First Name – Assignment Name” (e.g. “CannonKris-Sample.pdf”)

Document structure/format: Begin with a cover page (including pertinent information like the assignment title, your name, the course name and my name). Your entire document should be double-spaced and use a 12-pt. font.

Short Writing Assignments (45%, 450 pts.)

  • Students will complete 5 short writing assignments.
  • These assignments incorporate various tools and methods to help students develop new levels of proficiency when doing research about media industry studies and acquire information and resources for the research paper.
  • These assignments build upon each other to address how one company or product is situated within various media industries and/or industrial practices.
  • Students will be required to share information from some of these assignments during class discussions and workshops.

Mobile Application Proposal and Presentation (45%, 450 pts.) DUE on 12/12 by 12:00pm.

  • Students will work in groups to accomplish the following:
    • Create a 12-15 page proposal for an application that can be used on a mobile device. The proposal will include information about the product, the user-interface, industrial need/demand, target market(s), and sample customer reactions.
    • Collaborate in a polished and professional 10-12 minute presentation. This presentation will incorporate information from the project proposal but will require group members to streamline their ideas in a form similar to a sales pitch.
    • Submit 6 proposal assignments in preparation for the final submission. These assignments will require students to demonstrate individual contributions to research for the proposal and assess individual/group work dynamics.
    • Mobile Application Proposal Guidelines: PDF

Grade Breakdown & Criteria

A: 94-100%
(940-1000pts)
A-: 90-93%
B+: 87-89%
B: 84-86%

B-: 80-83%
C+: 77-79%
C: 74-76%
C-: 70-73%

D+: 67-69%
D: 64-66%
D-: 60-63%
F: Below 60%

“A” indicates truly exceptional work, which demonstrates command of concepts and theories, presenting them in a well-argued and logically structured manner. “A” work significantly surpasses the expectations of the assignment, is free of spelling and grammatical errors, and does not merely address the questions through a repetition of course material or lectures. It provides fresh, creative, and original perspectives with a unique voice, offering connections between the topic and broader issues and contexts. Superior research skills are demonstrated with relevant citations and quotations advancing the argument.

“B” indicates above-average work that clearly achieves the goals of the assignment, providing smart and solid analyses with thoughtful and organized arguments I expect any diligent student to be able to produce. “B” work offers some originality, contains few (if any) typos, spelling errors, or grammatical mistakes, and addresses most questions directly by citing specific materials from the texts and lectures to illustrate points being made.

“C” indicates meets the course requirements in an adequate fashion by addressing the questions without sufficient engagement with materials from texts or lectures. “C” work tends to recycle examples from discussion without providing connections to the analysis, contains unfocused, uncritical, or insufficiently supported arguments, and typically contains acceptable but awkward prose with various typos, spelling errors or poorly structured sentences that result in vague arguments.

“D” indicates work that is off-topic, poorly written, disorganized and, instead of the course materials, utilizes “personal experience” or inapplicable research materials or support (such as readings obviously applicable in other subjects or classes). In other words, the assignment shows little to no evidence that a student was paying attention in class, does not incorporate materials used in course readings or class discussion, and sounds like a summary or review of materials rather than critically engaged analyses. This type of work may also fall short or far exceed the page limits or time constraints for the assignment and typically contain many spelling and grammatical errors and/or show no signs of being proofread.

“F” indicates work that dramatically fails to meet the goals and expectations of the course. “F” work is incoherent, plagiarized, and/or never submitted.