No 4 ESSAY STRUCTURE PLAN (it is a guideline only)

© Dr Andrea Baker

Here is a draft structure for the Research Essay:  

Rough draft of the word count of 1500 words for the paper
Includes questions (framed as signposts) designed to help you write your
essay.
 
Title of your paper Genre of journalism?  Please choose a topic from Week
6-12.
 
Central argument of the paper? (approx. 100 words)
(This is an hypothesis, as you are trying to prove or disprove a problem
statement).
Why did you choose this argument?
Why is it important?
What is aim and rationale of the paper?
 © Dr Andrea Baker

Literature review (approx. 500 words) (this is secondary research because it has

already been done)
Which readings from the unit did you choose?
What kind of article were they? (The readings are classified as 3 types: i)
Straight literature review; or ii) Empirical study based in original data; or iii)
Journalism article from the industry.
Why did you choose these readings? What did they do? What did they find?
 

Research methods (approx. 200 words) (this is secondary research because it has
already been done)
Looking at the unit’s readings which have empirical studies, what research
method did they use? (textual analysis, news framing; quantitative (surveys,
content analysis) or qualitative (interviews, focus groups)?
What were the pros and cons of the research method they have chosen?
Do you think these research methods in the studies worked? If so, why? Or
why not?
© Dr Andrea Baker

Your analysis (approx. 600 words) (this is primary research because you analyse
the readings and give you own voice and view on the topic)
This section is your deeper analysis of the readings you have chosen to build
your argument on.
This deep analysis can be framed around 3-4 key points, which reflect in the
key readings and how they help or hinder your argument .
Each key point can be discussed in an paragraph.
 

Conclusion (100 words)

Summing up, what did your paper set up to achieve? and did you do that?
What is the key message you what to leave the reader with?
How will your essay make a mark on journalism studies?
 

The 10 References from the unit are not included in the word count.