Mock Feedback

Sharpening
your arguments

Well done.
 Overall
• Everyone clearly knows a lot about the
material
• Some good structuring
• Clearly understood the question

• Need to use more specific examples

• Need to draw on theories in arguments
 Using Real Examples
• A simple example:
“An example of free speech in the media are blogs and sites
like Twitter.”

• A proper example:
“Sites like Twitter support free speech by providing a voice
for people around the world who are usually not heard.
This was clear during the controversial Iranian election in
2009 where citizens used the site to communicate to the
world about the violence and oppression that was
happening.

• Specific Events
• Rough Dates
• People Involved
 Key Theories – Who to Quote
• Dan Gillmor We Media – “From A Lecture to a
Conversation” - Citizen Journalism

• Charles Leadbetter – We Think – Pro Ams –

Open Source

• David Gauntlett – Media 2.0

• Aleks Krotoski – Virtual Revolutions – 25% of

the world has internet access
The Internet is not the World Wide
Web
• The Internet began in the 50s and was
controlled by the Government. It is not
democratic or even a form of media.

• The World Wide Web which began with

Tim Burners Lee in the late 1980s was
where EVERYONE could contribute, is a
form of media and a potentially democratic
thing
 Structuring Arguments
• Introduction – What is your key argument? What
are the key areas that you need to discuss?
Define Key Ideas

• Point 1 – Example – Link to Main Argument

• Point 2 – Example – Link to Main Argument
• Point 3 – Example – Link to Main Argument
• Point 4 – Example – Link to Main Argument
• Point 5 – Example – Link to Main Argument

• Conclusion - Summarise - What do your

arguments prove? – discuss future implications?
 Structuring Arguments and
Linking Paragraphs
• Make sure arguments follow a logical order.

• Take 5 mins in the exam and plan the order of your

response.

• The First sentence of the your argument should have

something to do with the last sentence of the previous
one.

• The Introduction/Conclusion should be about the whole

argument.
 Structuring Arguments –
Past/Present/Future
• In your answer consider including paragraphs about how the question
is:
– A product of the past
“Traditionally the media has….”
“Before the development of….”
“This issue originally started….”

– Reflective of the present

“This problem is clearly evident today in…”
“The best contemporary example of this is…”
“In modern society this issue…”

– Suggests about the future

“The implications of this current trend…”
“This could lead to….”
“If this continues….”
“The future of the media…”
 Question 3 – How New is ‘We
Media’
Must Have:
• Defined We Media – Dan Gillmor’s Definition
• Talked about the Past – How the media used to be.
• Decide when We Media began

Could Have:
• Used Journalism as a case study
• Looked at the early internet to decide “We Media Began
when…”
• Looked at how traditional media could have been a
“conversation not a lecture”
 Question 4 – Is Media in 2010
Democratic
Must Have:
• Defined Democracy
• Talked about Free Speech/Right to Vote and how to applies to the Modern
Media
• Talked about traditional Media as well as New Media

Could Have:
• Connected We Media as a form of Free Speech
• Connected We Think as a form of Voting
• Piracy issues in the modern media make it undemocratic
• Talked about the Digital Divide 25% of world pop. Have access to the
internet
• Talked about Digital Economy Bill Threatening Internet Neutrality/Online
Democracy
• Talked about censorship online for example China
• Talked about online ownership – New Power Elites – Eg Google.
 The Next Few Weeks
This Week/Next Week
• Disrupted by Exams
• Improving Case Studies
• Talking about Question 1 on the exam

The Following Weeks

• Refining arguments for Question 2 – We
Media Revision