CMNS 250: Popular Culture
Instructor: Shannon Page
Final Paper (20%)
Workshop Participation (5%)
You will be required to participate in a peer-editing workshop of a rough draft or detailed outline of your research paper. A detailed outline (see the attached worksheet) is due in class on November 18th. This is your opportunity to get feedback on your thesis statement, sources, use of evidence, and overall structure.
Paper (15%)
This paper is an individual assignment. Your final paper (including references list) is due on November 27th. Papers must be submitted as a typed, hard copy.
The paper should be approximately 1700 words in length and must follow APA or MLA formatting and citation guidelines throughout. The paper must contain the following elements:
Title page and References/Works Cited
At least 4 secondary sources (only 2 of which may be readings that we have done in this course). These sources should be scholarly in nature (if you are not sure what this means or have difficulty finding sources, see me for assistance).
A maximum of 2 primary sources (the pop culture examples that you will be writing about in your essay)
At least 8 total in-text citations
Assignments that do not include in-text citations will receive a grade of 0.
Should you require assistance with the research process or with narrowing down your topic, I am more than happy to provide guidance.
Information on MLA and APA can be found here: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/
General information on writing research papers can be found here: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/658/01/
Research Topic
Your research paper will be an in-depth exploration of a pop culture phenomenon or case study (a company/industry, television show, film, music video, song/artist, video game, trend, etc.). You will analyze this case study in relation to ONE of the topics/theoretical approaches that we have studied in class.
Possible theoretical approaches/course concepts:
Audience reception (Stuart Halls theory of Encoding/Decoding)
Deviance and social order
Globalization of popular culture
Panopticism and control (Foucault)
Queer Theory (Judith Butler)
Hegemonic cultural practices
Remember that no matter what course concept or theoretical approach you choose, it MUST be related to a specific case study or example. This is not optional. Your paper should engage fully with both the case study, class concepts, and sources that you have found in your research.
RESEARCH PAPER OUTLINE
Introduction
Hook:
Background information/Context:
Thesis Statement:
Road Map:
Body Paragraphs
Paragraph 1:
Topic Sentence: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
First supporting point:
Evidence:
Analysis:
Second Supporting Point:
Evidence:
Analysis:
Paragraph 2:
Topic Sentence: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
First supporting point:
Evidence:
Analysis:
Second Supporting Point:
Evidence:
Analysis:
Paragraph 3:
Topic Sentence: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
First supporting point:
Evidence:
Analysis:
Second Supporting Point:
Evidence:
Analysis:
Paragraph 4:
Topic Sentence: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
First supporting point:
Evidence:
Analysis:
Second Supporting Point:
Evidence:
Analysis:
Paragraph 5:
Topic Sentence: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
First supporting point:
Evidence:
Analysis:
Second Supporting Point:
Evidence:
Analysis:
Feel free to add more paragraphs on a separate sheet of paper, if needed!
Conclusion:
