Com 310: Ethics

Tutorial Two Feedback

Updated :Wednesday, April 16, 2003

Here are some basic responses to the tutorials I have read so far. It seems that some of your don't know how to address the three phrases in the tutorial statement, so you're "winging it." That will NOT work. While you may understand part of what Postman is saying, you won't appreciate his arguments fully if you can't explain media as language, metaphor and how that impacts cultural content. The arguments and support are all in your book.

Here are some of the major problems that occurred in the tutorials:

1. Many of you did not even state the tutorial statement in the introduction of your paper! How can your write a paper when the thesis sentence is not even in the paper? Nor did you go back to in in your conclusion. The intro and conclusion should be bookends of sorts.

2. The tutorial should be structured around the three parts of the tutorial statement and have an introduction and conclusion.

3. Be sure to tell me WHY the statements you make are important. If our messages are defined by our media, why should I care?

4. The same is true in the "metaphor" paragraph. Why should I care? What is the point? Why does the metaphor matter? Define your terms.

5. Be sure to tie it all together. SAY what you mean. Don't beat around the bush. Be sure your arguments are logical and progressive.

6. You should be more than able to fill two pages with substantive arguments from Postman's book. But use your own words, don't fill the paper with quotations.

7. Remember you are graded on your writing, structure and clarity as well as the ideas you present.

8. Identify your terms. What are media? languages? cultural conversation? metaphor? cultural content? How are they all connected?

Good luck!

Dr. Mc

Hint: How do languages impact metaphor and how do both effect cultural content. The PROGRESSION is vitally important as is the SO WHAT? Why should we care?