Instructions for Essay 3: Methods, Results, and Discussion
This will be the last half of your larger paper. You will write three new sections (Methods, Results, and Discussion), and combine this with the two sections from Essay 2, submitting everything in one document. The instructions for each section are below.
Revise your introduction
You can leave the introduction almost the same, but you will need to revise your thesis. For the Intro/Lit Review essay your thesis covered what the literature concluded about masculine or feminine identity in media. In this paper you will be testing that thesis by examining actual ads. As such, you need to add your conclusions about the ads to your earlier thesis about the literature. This should only be a couple sentences extra, but they are important sentences. So at the end of the introduction you should state what the literature said you should find, and then describe what you actually found when you analyzed the ads. For this particular assignment, please HIGHLIGHT this new thesis!
Methods
This section of the essay explains how you conducted your analysis. This will include discussing the magazine, how you selected the texts (the ads), and how you analyzed the ads.
Information about the magazine (1 paragraph, probably)
Cover the rhetorical situation (purpose/subject of magazine, demographic information about the audience, a brief discussion of how this is likely to influence the depiction of men or women). You should look up the Media Kit for the magazine, if possible, and explain what you find and why it matters.
Information about the ads (1 paragraph, probably)
How did you select them?
Where you trying to find ads that supported the literature? Were you trying to find ads that challenged it? Explain why you picked these specific ads.
Be sure to explain that you are seeking to test a hypothesis (the view of the literature)
How did you analyze them?
The method you will be using is rhetorical analysis. You’ll want to very briefly summarize how you examine the artifacts using this method.
Results
This will be most of your essay. In this section you’ll cover the actual analysis of the ads, which will support your thesis. The big question here is how to organize your paragraphs. There are several possibilities:
By characteristic: Have each paragraph focus on one characteristic of femininity/masculinity (for example, thinness, or aggression), with several different ads or elements of ads analyzed in each of the various paragraphs (NOTE: This is the approach I suggest!)
By ad: Thoroughly analyze each ad in one or two paragraphs.
By ad element: Have each paragraph focus on one element of several different ads (for example, text, pose, clothing, etc.). In this case you’ll likely need several ads per paragraph, though a single ad might be used in several different paragraphs (each focusing on a different element of the ad)
NOTE: You may want to use a combination of these approaches, particularly if you need to subdivide one topic.
NOTE: The number of ads you need will depend on how much you have to say about each ad,and your organizational structure
Discussion
This is the conclusion to your paper, though it will probably be more than one paragraph.
You must first revisit the main point of the paper. What were you expecting to find according to the literature, and what did you actually find when you studied the ads. Discuss any differences, and consider what they might indicate.
You should also discuss the larger implications and/or applications of those findings. There are many ways to do this, but you might, for example, discuss the effect on society, possible ways to address the issue, necessary future research, or other bigger consequences of your results.
Essay Requirements
Include the two sections from Essay 2: Introduction and Literature Review.
Include three new section headings (“Methods,” “Results,” and “Discussion”)
Revise the thesis in your Introduction (and highlight the new thesis)
Be at least 1500 new words in length (the combined length of Essay 2 and Essay 3 should be 3000 words or more. Please no more than 5000.)
Include at least five ads, all from one magazine.
It is very possible you may need many more than five
I must be able to see the ads as I grade. This means you can either include pictures of the ads in an appendix (after the Works Cited page), or you can give me a physical copy of the ads (photocopied or torn out from the magazine).
Be sure you have section headings (like the headings in this document) that identify each section of your paper (Introduction, Literature Review, Methods,Results, Discussion)
Follow either MLA or APA format
Continue to use the same format you used for Essay 2
Have a Works Cited or References page that includes all sources in your paper. This means all the sources from Essay 2, and also the new sources (ads) from Essay3.
The ads you use must be cited also! (add them into your existing references/works cited page)
Follow all format guidelines given in the syllabus
Combine this essay with Essay 2 (Introduction & Literature Review), and submit as one document
Please revise your thesis, and highlight the new thesis
Instructions for Essay 3: Methods, Results, and Discussion
This will be the last half of your larger paper. You will write three new sections (Methods, Results, and Discussion), and combine this with the two sections from Essay 2, submitting everything in one document. The instructions for each section are below.
ALL OF THOSE INSTRUCTIONS WERE FOR THE ESSAY
OUTLINE ESSAY INSTRUCTIONS WILL BE SENT IN THE “UPLOAD FILES”