MDIA1090: Media Culture & Everyday Life Last Modified on: Tuesday, 12 March 2024 1
SUMMARY of INFORMATION
Title: Assessment 3 – Final Essay
Weighting: 50%
Assessment type: Essay
Length: 2000 words (+/- 10%. It does include the in-text citations but not the list of
references at the end.)
Submission requirements: Submit via Turnitin (link will appear) by the due date and time.
Due: 22nd April 2024 @ 9am (Monday morning of what would be Week 11)
ASSESSMENT DESCRIPTION:
For the Final Essay assignment, you are required to select one (1) of the essay questions below. In your response
to the question, you must research and critically examine the main concepts and the core argument(s) related to
the to the way we explored these issues in the course.
HOW TO COMPLETE THE ASSESSMENT:
You must locate at least three (3) academic research papers that explore your selected topic from the
perspective of media and everyday life (i.e. they are from relevant academic journals in the discipline of media
studies and refer to and draw on the scholars and the concepts we discussed in this course). You should
demonstrate your engagement by working with the central concepts and ideas from the lectures and readings in
order to critically evaluate the relationship between media and everyday life implicated by your selected question.
Essay Questions (Choose only one (1))
1. What media practices do consumers of news utilise when encountering 'fake news', and what
insights do these practices provide into our current news habits and civic engagement? Have
we really entered a 'post-truth' era?
2. Explore the ways users interact with algorithms on platforms such as Instagram, Tik Tok and
Facebook. Critically analyse the power dynamics and media practices around how individuals
leverage their understanding of social media algorithms to shape and curate their online
experiences.
3. In what ways are professional media practices increasingly a form of affective labour? What
does this mean for people working in the media sector?
4. Are fandoms productive? Explore the specific practices of fans on social media and analyse the
ways they create value for both 'producers' and 'consumers' in the context of participatory
media.
MDIA1090: Media Culture & Everyday Life Last Modified on: Tuesday, 12 March 2024 2
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES addressed in this task:
CLO1 Explain and implement foundational concepts in media studies.
CLO2 Critically analyse and examine the social and cultural dynamics of media technologies and their uses in
everyday life.
CLO3 Execute skills required in scholarly inquiry, specifically: critical thinking, analytical reading and writing,
independent learning, and intellectual autonomy.
CLO4 Implement preliminary skills in research and information literacy.
How you will receive FEEDBACK for this task:
• Students receive Grade out of 100 and Feedback in Grademark inside Turnitin inside Moodle
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
• Demonstrate a deep understanding and ability to apply academic theory and concepts in the analysis of
media and everyday life
• Be able to research your question using academic sources appropriate to the study of media and
everyday life
• Be able to express your ideas clearly in writing in a manner that engages the reader.
• Be able to reference your ideas using the UNSW Harvard in-text referencing style.
Criteria &
Weighting
Fail (<50) Pass (50-64) Credit (65-74) Distinction
(75-84)
High
Distinction
(85-100)
Understanding Student does not
engage with
and/or
misunderstands
issues
and concepts from
this course
related to the
question
Student raises
related issues
and concepts but
has difficulty
identifying the
critical
dimensions of
them raised by
the question
Student can
identify the
critical dimensions
of the
issues and
concepts from
this course raised
by the
question
Student
commands the
critical
dimensions of the
issues and
concepts from this
course
raised by the
question
Student fathoms
the
critical
dimensions of
the issues and
concepts from
this
course raised by
the
question
Research Student is not able
to identify
appropriate
academic sources
that focus on the
connection
between media
and everyday
life and the
application of
these ideas is
lacking.
Student can
identify
appropriate
academic sources
that focus on the
connection
between media
and everyday
life but the
application of
these
ideas is lacking.
Student can
competently
identify and
apply appropriate
academic
sources that focus
on the
connection
between media
and everyday life.
Student can
insightfully
identify and apply
appropriate
academic sources
that focus
on the connection
between
media and
everyday life.
Student can
innovatively and
critically apply
appropriate
academic
sources that focus
on
the connection
between media
and
everyday life.
Writing The student does
not express
their ideas
effectively in an
The student
generally
expresses their
ideas
The student
competently
expresses their
ideas in an
The student
articulately
expresses their
ideas in an
The student
eloquently
expresses
MDIA1090: Media Culture & Everyday Life Last Modified on: Tuesday, 12 March 2024 3
Criteria &
Weighting
Fail (<50) Pass (50-64) Credit (65-74) Distinction
(75-84)
High
Distinction
(85-100)
intellectually
engaging
manner.
effectively in an
intellectually
engaging manner.
intellectually
engaging
manner.
intellectually
engaging
manner.
their ideas
effectively
in an intellectually
engaging manner.
Referencing The student does
not
understand and or
fails to
apply a critical
dimension to
the rules and
procedures of
academic
referencing. This
may also mean
that the student
has committed
plagiarism,
intentionally or
not.
The student
generally
understands how
to apply the
rules and
procedures of
academic
referencing though
the execution may
be lacking
in a key aspect of
this.
The student
competently
applies the rules
and
procedures of
academic
referencing though
it may
contain a handful
of errors
in execution.
The student nearly
perfectly
applies the rules
and
procedures of
academic
referencing with
only one or
two errors in
execution.
The student
perfectly
applies the rules
and
procedures of
academic
referencing.