CATA 261 McGaan
Final Exam Guide - Sp. 2001
The final exam in CATA 261, Media and
Society, will consist of two essays for you to write. One will concern the news media, problems and
prospects; the other will be concerned with media effects and how
we should respond to the possibilities.
You will receive two or three specific questions for each essay at the
time of the exam. You will select one
from each category to write on. The
exam will be open-book, open-notes. It
will take place in the Trotter Computer Lab in the basement of Wallace Hall.
The purpose of your essays is to take a
position on the topic you choose and support it effectively and
convincingly. Think of this
assignment as if you were a syndicated columnist writing an opinion piece for
the editorial pages of a great metropolitan newspaper. You need to take a clear position in your
essay and you should provide a concise, organized, logical and WELL-SUPPORTED
case for your position. (I don't
especially care what side of an issue you take, but I will evaluate your exam
based on how clearly you state your position and how well you argue the
case.) You should make every effort to demonstrate
in your essay that you have been studying media principles, theories
and research for the semester. In
other words, cite information from the course as support for the points
you make in each essay. Each essay
should be no more than 3 typed, double-spaced pages long.
In planning for the exam, be aware that
the specific essay questions will deal with two or three of the following
issues.
News:
!
improvements that could be made in news writing and editing
!
improvements that could be made in news story selection and
theme
!
how consumers could Adecode@ the news more effectively
!
making the news unbiased and/or avoiding the adversarial
approach to institutions
!
ethical standards the news business is most in need of
improving
Effects:
!
the most important effects of media on individuals
!
the most important effects of media on society
!
Do media (esp. TV) harm children and what can be done about
it
!
Is explicit sex and/or violence in the visual media a
problem? What if anything should be
done about it?
!
Does media really have powerful effects on people and society
Final Exam: 1pm, Tuesday, May 8, Trotter Lab (LL WH)
last updated 4/26/2001