Introduction to Academic Communication
TASK 1 – ESSAY PLAN [10 marks]
In a separate PDF file, you are provided with two texts (Text 1 adapted from: “It’s Only a Pastime, Really”: Young People’s Experiences of Social Media as a Source of News about Public Affairs, and Test 2 Adapted from: “Are pervasive systems of fake news provision sowing confusion? The role of digital media platforms in the productions and consumption of factually dubious content.”).
- Read both texts and identify arguments, ideas and evidence (including quotations) that are relevant to the essay topic. You can take your own notes as you read, highlight the information on the PDF or a combination of these strategies to identify the relevant information.
- Analyse the question and decide if you are going to agree or disagree with the statement in your essay.
- Complete the essay plan below by using the information from the Reading Texts.
Instructions
- Write complete sentences for the thesis statement and for the topic sentence of each argument
- Use dot points or short sentences to complete other parts of the plan
- Include the in-text citation details of the sources that you are using in brackets (authors name(s) and year of publication) next to the source information you are using.
- Your plan should be approximately 150-200 words in length
Essay question:
Social media facilitates the spread of fake news. Do you agree?
ESSAY PLAN TEMPLATE
Introduction
Provide background information and context.
State your thesis (your overall position) using a complete sentence.
Outline the arguments you will use to support your thesis:
Paragraph 1 — (Argument 1)
Write the topic sentence using a complete sentence:
Supporting sentences (explanations, examples, evidence):
Counter-argument:
Refutation of counter-argument:
Paragraph 2 — (Argument 2) – optional
Write the topic sentence using a complete sentence:
Supporting sentences (explanations, examples, evidence):
Counter-argument:
Refutation of counter-argument:
Conclusion
Re-state your thesis.
Re-state the argument/s supporting your thesis.
A concluding statement (refer to future implications, suggestions or recommendations for future research).
TASK 2 — ESSAY [40 marks]
Using arguments and evidence from your essay plan (Task 2), write a SHORT ESSAY of approximately 500 words in the persuasive analytical format to answer the following question:
Social media facilitates the spread of fake news. Do you agree?
Your essay should include:
- a short introduction
- one or two body paragraphs in the persuasive analytical format
- a short conclusion
- in-text referencing
Type your short essay below.
ESSAY: