Instructions:
The midterm exam will be a take-home paper between 3 and 5 pages long. This paper will provide in-depth analysis and synthesis of 2 or more news articles. At least one of the articles must be one that we discussed in class. Your paper should have a thesis and an argument thread supported by evidence; any summary elements should make up a small portion of the paper rather than the entire thing.
This paper will be submitted on blackboard and MUST be in by the due date as stipulated on the syllabus. It should be in Times New Roman font, with 1.25” margins, double-spaced. The heading should be no more than 2 lines.
You will have at least two citations for this paper, maybe more. For this paper, APA and MLA format are preferable; Chicago is also ok. If you don’t know how to cite things, please do some research on your own. If you use material from outside sources without attributing it, you risk a 0 for your assignment due to plagiarism. Note that APA/MLA/Chicago formatting applies only to citations. All headings must not exceed 2 lines (even though, for example, MLA papers usually have a 4-line double-spaced heading). Any statistics or specific information in the write-up must have an in-line citation that references the works cited section.
Here is a short powerpoint to clarify some common plagiarism mistakes:
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