MAS105 – Final Essay – Guide
Assignment Overview
The Final Essay provides an opportunity for you to build on the Outline you submitted in Week 7.
Unless otherwise advised by your tutor, you should address the same essay question as you did for
the Outline, but you may want to modify your approach or arguments in the light of feedback from
your tutor and your own reflection on the strengths and weaknesses of your argument.
Requirements:
• Final Essays must be 1700 words (plus or minus 10%, excluding references)
• Final Essays must address one of the set questions listed below (unless otherwise advised by
your tutor, you should address the same essay question for both your Essay Outline and your
Final Essay)
• Students must demonstrate a strong engagement with a range of the unit readings and a solid
capacity for pertinent independent academic research
• All sources must be completely detailed through in-text referencing and a reference list.
Research
Final Essays should include evidence of wide scholarly reading and significant independent
research. Broader reading within the disciplines of media, communications and cultural studies will
be highly valued.
Final Essays must include at least eight scholarly sources, including:
• At least three unit readings, including those mentioned in your specific essay question
• At least five academic sources through your own independent research (not from the unit
readings)
o At least two of these sources should be articles from an academic peer-reviewed
journal
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The three unit readings specified in each essay question enables you to not only engage with a
broad range of the set materials, but to also develop analytical skills to synthesize academic ideas
and sources in support of your argument.
Please note: Scholarly/academic sources may include peer-reviewed journal articles and books
published by a reputable academic publisher such as a University Press (speak to your tutor if
you’re unsure about a specific text). They should be situated in the disciplines of
media/culture/communication. Newspapers, wikipedia, online forums, blogs and non-peer reviewed
essays found online are not considered scholarly/academic sources.
Referencing
Full bibliographical details for the publications you use should be given through in-text referencing
and referencing list in Harvard style. A referencing guide is available on iLearn.
Please note: Every in-text reference must include a page number (in addition to the author and
date).
Argument
All the essay questions below ask you to “critically analyse” the claim or “critically evaluate” the
argument posed in the question. This means that you need to assess, deconstruct, and investigate the
claim/question posed. You need to construct an argument that outlines why you agree or disagree
with the claim. You must demonstrate why/how you have come to this argument, and provide
evidence that supports your argument (i.e. scholarly sources, unit readings).
Structure
You should utilise the feedback on your outline in structuring your essay. Generally, stronger
essays are structured thematically. That is, organised around the discussion of key ideas that
illustrate and support your argument. You should avoid structuring your essay around different
readings, as this will not show sustained attention to the development of your argument. You should
instead aim to synthesise the studied material in a way that supports your argument.
Essay Questions
1. For Jenkins, convergence is both a top-down corporate-driven process and a bottom-up
consumer-driven process. Your essay must critically analyse this claim and incorporate the
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work of Croteau & Hoynes (wk9), Andrejevic (wk10), and Van Djick (wk11) from the unit
readings.
2. Cyber utopians have argued that digital media and the Internet will break down national borders
and lead to more interconnected and democratic societies. Your essay must critically analyse
this claim and incorporate the work of Flew (wk3), Appadurai (wk4), and Flew & Swift (wk11)
from the unit readings.
3. “New media has changed the broadcast model of the audience. The network changes it further.”
Your essay must critically analyse this claim and incorporate the work of Manovich (wk1),
Thompson (wk2), and Andrejevic (wk10) from the unit readings.
4. McChesney argues that neoliberalism is a better term to describe what is often referred to as
globalization. Your essay must critically analyse this claim and incorporate the work of
McChesney (wk4), Hesmondhalgh (wk8), and Croteau & Hoynes (wk9) from the unit readings.
5. “The anxieties often expressed in the press, by the public and by politicians about the
vulnerability of certain viewers exposed to new media forms tell us more about moral panics
and inequalities of power than about “the effects” of the media”. Critically discuss this claim.
Your essay must incorporate the work of Thompson (wk2), Barker (wk7), Lessig (wk8) from
the unit readings.
6. Dwyer et al. argue that regulations to promote diversity and prevent the concentration of media
ownership remain necessary even as Australians gain access to online media. Your essay must
critically analyse this claim and incorporate the work of Hesmondhalgh (wk8), Dwyer et al.
(wk9), Flew & Swift (wk11) from the unit readings.
7. To what extent has a market model rationale, rather than a public service rationale, triumphed in
the Australian media landscape? Your essay must critically analyse this question and
incorporate the work of Hesmondhalgh (wk8), Croteau & Hoynes (wk9), and Andrejevic
(wk10) from the unit readings.
8. In Australia, professional journalists are accorded some legal protections known as shield laws
that protect their sources and metadata. Should these protections be extended to bloggers and
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citizen journalists? Your essay must critically analyse this question and incorporate the work of
Mackenzie (wk5), Dwyer et al. (wk9), and Meikle (wk12) from the unit readings.
Formatting
• No need for a title page. Write the essay question you are responding to at the top of the
page, with your name, student number, tutor’s name, and your tutorial information.
• Only use Times New Roman (12pt) or Arial (11pt) black font
• Ensure your entire document has 1.5 line spacing
• Reference list should be at the end of your essay, on a new page
o Don’t bullet point or number your references
o References should be ordered alphabetically, according to author surname
o No footnotes for in-text references
• List your word count at the end of your Final Essay (see above for what is included in the
word count)
• The use of headings is optional
Submission instructions
• The assessment must be submitted on Turnitin (through the relevant link in the
‘Assessments’ section on MAS105’s iLearn page) before the due date and time. The
submission link will open a week before the assessment is due.
• The first submission on Turnitin is final. Please check that you are submitting the correct
file.
• If there is a technical issue that arises during submission, you must email your tutor or the
unit convenor ASAP with a copy of your assessment attached.
Late submissions and penalties
• Assignments which are submitted late without a previously negotiated extension will incur a
5% late penalty per day (including weekends and public holidays).
• Extensions on the final version may be granted if Disruption to Studies is approved, or may
be approved at the convenor’s discretion upon receipt of appropriate documentation in cases
where Disruption to Studies may not be applicable. Please see the Disruption to
Studies policy: http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html.
• Please contact the convenor Dr Rachael Gunn via email BEFORE the due date if you have
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health issues and/or serious family difficulties that mean you are unable to submit one of the
assessed items by the due date. You may be given a short extension.
• Students with prolonged adverse circumstances or a pre-existing disability/health
condition may be eligible for ongoing assistance and support. Such support is governed by
other policies and may be sought and coordinated through Campus Wellbeing and Support
Services.
Support
There is a range of resources and services available for students to develop and refine their
academic skills. These include:
• WriteWISE consultations (follow the link on MAS105’s iLearn page)
• StudyWISE resources (available as a separate unit on iLearn)
• Consultations with a Learning Advisor (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/skillsdevelopment)
• Weekly workshops on specific skills (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/skillsdevelopment/workshop-calendar)
• MAS105’s Week 6 Guest Lecture by Dr Ian Collinson on Research & Writing
Students are encouraged to utilise these resources and services in-line with the feedback they
received on their Essay Outline and in developing their Final Essay.
Assessment Criteria:
• Understanding and critical engagement with key readings in the unit
• Comparison and analysis of key concepts in the unit
• Independent research within the discipline
• Use of research and reading to support a critical argument
• Organisation of argument including clearly addressing the question
• Clarity of communication
• Accurate and appropriate referencing
• Ability to reflect upon and utilise essay outline feedback
This Assessment Task relates to the following Learning Outcomes:
• analyse and critically evaluate key concepts in Media Studies
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• identify the ways new media technologies shape and are shaped by social, cultural, political
and economic processes
• distinguish between and evaluate various theoretical positions on media audiences, media
industries, regulation and policy
• undertake independent academic research in the discipline, including identifying and using
appropriate articles in academic journals
• communicate ideas using appropriate academic discourses, both verbally and in a range of
genres of writing, including abstracts and essays
Please see the rubric for a more detailed overview of how the learning outcomes will be evaluated
in this assessment.
