FOLLOWING+THE+NARRATIVE+ARC

=This is a 2-week unit designed to let you practice recognizing and analyzing elements of rhetoric in the media. (Timeline and paper assignments outlined below.)=

=== 1. Choose a news story from the last few years that was sensationalized in the media and that captured our attention for at least several days, possibly weeks or months. For example, it may involve terrorism or a natural disaster; misbehavior by a corporation, politicians, police, or a celebrity; a financial, drug, or sex scandal; an arrest or trial; or any case where people's civil rights have been violated. ===

=== 2. Begin by searching for articles or news broadcasts that initially broke the story. Find 2 from the first days. Be sure you are using well-respected, credible sources, such as major newspapers and TV stations. Let these 2 first sources be "just the facts" of the story. ===

4. Now, look for 2 articles that were published in the final days of the story's media cycle. These will involve some sort of closure on the event.
=== 5. Create a timeline -- either visually or using bullet points -- of key events in the main unfolding of the story. Include dates, key players, and key pieces of information. This will be the first page of your project. ===

=== 6. Once you understand the details of the story's narrative arc, now it's time to find __3-4 opinion pieces__ that make commentary about the person or events. Look for 3-4 essays that show a range of reactions over time, and that represent multiple political and social perspectives. Most likely, as new revelations came out in the media, people felt compelled to respond on blogs and in essays, so refer to those dates as triggers for more action on social media and op-ed pages. ===

=== 8. Now, you will write a 2 page essay in which you analyze the rhetoric used by commentators and what their PURPOSE was. Show how each writer or speaker tried to persuade the public to believe their point of view by using these rhetorical strategies. Connect the writing of the opinion pieces to the information released in the news. Did certain evidence or happenings trigger new kinds of rhetoric? Were there moments during the story's arc where the "tide" shifted in where the public's sympathy lay? What groups with what agendas had a loud presence in the reactionary online presence? ===

=__ Writing the response paper to your media story __=



== Purpose of essay: to show some of the important responses to the news story as it unfolded in the media == == Due date: By Monday, Jan. 4, 2016 for full credit (40 points). Essays received after this date will lose 10% of credit (4 points) each day they are late. ==

=== Your essay must: ===

=== - be between 1-1/2 and 3 pages in length, double spaced. (Aim for 2 pages.) === === - make clear connections between the timeline of the story's events and the responses. === === - be well organized, using paragraphs with transitional topic sentences. === === - use a chronological format, addressing each piece in the order in which it was written. === === - show how different views emerged as the story played out and new developments occurred. === === - include rhetorical analysis from 3-4 different opinion pieces. All must be written by professionals and come from credible sources. === === - use complete and correct internal citation formatting, as practiced in your "This I Believe 2" essays. === === - include a combination of quotes, paraphrases, and summaries of findings in the online sources. === === - end with a conclusion paragraph that SUMMARIZES your findings and makes some claims about the public response to this news story. Was this story a "game changer" in some regard? Did it lead to policy changes or to a shift in the way we look at these types of occurrences? ===