ESL Teacher Reference Desk

Mass Media and Communication Course Outline

This mass media course is intended for university students whose major is mass media. With a bachelor degree in mass media students can gain the following skills and knowledge: journalism, reporting, production, marketing, public relations and politics.

Mass Media and Communication

Course Book

DeFleur, A (2000) Understanding Mass Communication. Boston: Houghton Mufflin (6th ed).

Additional Reading

1. Thussu, D (2000) International Communication. London: Arnold
2. McChesney, R and Herman, E (1997) The Global Media: London: Castles
3. Boyd, A (2001) Broadcast and Journalism. London: Focal (5th ed)
4. Harris, R (1994) A Cognitive Psychology of Mass Communication. NJ: Lawrence Erlbanm Associates Publisher
5. Curran, J and Gurevitch, M (2000) Mass Media and Society. London: Arnold
6. Cyberlaw Encyclopedia.

Recommended Websites

New media studies
http://www.newmediastudies.com/

How to start writing a good essay
http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/kapparis/esinstructions.htm

The mass media
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_media

Mass media in the USA
http://books.google.com.om/books?id=7HlxQgAACAAJ&redir_esc=y

Mass media definitions
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/mass+media

Mass communication
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_Communication

Tactical media
http://www.tacticalmediafiles.net/

Course Requirements

1. Attendance and participation is very important. For each missed class you will lose 5 points of total assessment. If you do not miss classes you will automatically get 10 points for participation and attendance. If you miss two classes, you will lose 10 points. If you miss three or more classes, you will continue losing 10 points for each missed class: points will be deducted from your examination test. However, instead of each missed class you will have an opportunity to write an essay of 1600 words. The topic of an essay will have to be approved by me. If the essay does not meet essay writing general requirements or if it is submitted too late, it will not be accepted. You must submit your essay before 24 December, Wednesday, 5 pm.

2. Oral presentation topic. Each student is required to make an oral presentation and contribute to discussions in class. Oral presentation should last approximately fifteen minutes plus about ten minutes will be devoted to questions-answers and discussions. Please send your bibliography/references to the following  e-mail address (write topic of your oral presentation on subject line; do not send references in attachment): algirdas@gmail.com.

Your oral presentation must meet the following requirements:

(1) Plan what to say. A forceful speech must be thought out beforehand. Write it but never read it.
(2)  Keep it simple. Resist the temptation to cram into a speech as many points as possible. Your audience will not be able to remember them all. Speak clearly and slowly. Do not hurry.
(3) Use visual means if possible.
(4) Take command. Show your audience who is holding the floor and deserve full attention. The speaker who tries to do the job sitting down abdicates authority. You must come out into the open. The audience wants to see as much of you as possible. They will then feel that you are confiding in them.
(5) Relax. Even an experienced orator such as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, admits: “I feel nervous on every occasion I have to speak.” But never let stage fright show. An audience feels sorry for a panic-stricken speaker to begin with; then listeners lose patience and interest. If you are too nervous, try to forget that it is you who is about to speak. Pretend it is someone else – a speaker you admire.
(6) Stand confidently. The most frequent question I get from students is: “What shall I do with my hands?” Take a pencil or a book and keep in your hand.
(7) Be friendly. Audiences are warm to amiable, happy-looking speakers. Begin with a smile. It switches on your audience, arouses their interest.
(8) Watch your timing. Audiences never forgive speakers who overrun and keep them from lunch. Twenty minutes is about the maximum time for your speech. If you cannot see a clock face, twist your watch round to the underside of your wrist for discreet time-checks. There’s a Latin proverb for the best possible advice on timing: Praestate dicete et tacete =“Stand up, speak up and shut up”.

3. Your essay must consist of 2000 words. The basis of a good essay is wide research, clear structure, coherent and consistent analysis of the problem, good examples/illustrations; no mistakes in spelling, grammar and syntax. Essays generally require you to include three main sections: introduction, body, and conclusion. Some longer essays may require the use of headings for Introduction and Conclusion, as well as for sections of the body, whereas shorter essays may not. (Do not use "Body" as a heading; use headings relevant to your own content). Check the specifications for every assignment you are set. Different subject and discipline areas may have different requirements.

The introduction should begin with the general issue and narrow down to the specifics of the problem you are discussing in your essay. Use the introduction to provide background information about the broad subject, identify the relevant problem or issue, and take the reader step by step to an understanding of why the specific focus you have chosen is relevant to that subject.
An introduction usually ends with some sort of statement of your focus (a focal statement or purpose statement). This statement tells the reader specifically what point you are going to make in your essay, and if possible how you are going to go about doing that. You may find it helpful to write the introduction last or at least revise it substantially after the main body of the essay has been written.

The body should follow logically from your focal statement and support it consistently. Use section headings where appropriate, if required. Keep referring back to the focal statement with each new piece of information you bring in, to ensure that it is relevant to the point you want to make in your essay.

The body is made up of a series of paragraphs. Paragraphs may be described as packages of information each beginning with a topic sentence. The topic sentence defines the content or topic of the paragraph, just as the focal statement for the essay defines the specific topic of the essay. The topic of the paragraph is then expanded with sentences which may develop the topic by providing examples, details, evidence or analogies.

Make sure the ideas flow clearly from one sentence to the next. Use illustrations and tables where they clarify your text or are more efficient than text. A broader concluding sentence for the paragraph may sometimes be provided to tie the information together and remind the reader how it relates to the focus of the essay.

Information in the conclusion moves from the specific to the general. The conclusion must not simply repeat information given earlier, but must synthesize the ideas in the essay to form a response to the issue raised by the essay topic：
(1) Restate the focal statement of the essay
(2) Summarize the main points of the supporting paragraphs as they are relevant to your synthesis
(3) End with a broader concluding statement about how the assignment question relates to the more general issues described in the introduction.

The general rule is that no new information should be brought into the conclusion: everything in it should follow logically from the information presented to the reader in your essay.

4. Your essay must be submitted in two ways:

(1) Hard copy printed on white A4 format paper, Font 12, Times New Roman, spaces between lines – 1.5 mm.
(2) By e-mail, with your name and ID number on the subject line; please include title page. Please e-mail only once.

Your essay must be submitted in both ways mentioned above on or before 24 December, (before 5 pm), but not earlier than 15 December.
Sample:

TITLE PAGE OF AN ESSAY (SAMPLE ONLY)

(12 blank lines)

THE ROLE OF NEWSPAPERS IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY

(10 blank lines)

Student: Your Name

Student ID Number:

Lecturer: Dr. Algirdas Makarevicius

(10 blank lines)

December 2014

5. Examination will cover topics which were covered in class, mainly according to the Course Outline (see Course Outline). Some important details will be discussed during the last class.

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