MLA 8TH FORMAT
Please pick a news story that happened in the last two weeks
I know in the directions it says 4 but she will take three as long as it’s a good essay. Thank you
Twenty-five years ago, all one had to do to find out what was going on in the world, was to pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV for the evening news. Through career print reporters or network correspondents, consumers expected and arguably received reliably sourced and reported stories on current events. But today, with the explosion of news and social media sites on the internet, it’s becoming more and more difficult to discern what’s reliable and what been referred to as “fake news.” With the purported sum of human knowledge only a Google-click away, how can you tell what’s true or not when the “truth,” some people believe, can sometimes be as reliable as the weather?
For this essay, you will concentrating on Internet searching to see how various news sites deal with the same issue, and how viewpoints can be skewed by opinion. Some news sites are considered “bias-neutral”, where other sites tend to lean toward a more progressive or conservative agenda. Your first step is to search for a current and POPULAR news story –one that’ll be covered by all the news sites–as a popular story will be widely reported and easier to find several different viewpoints. Your news story must not be older than the date this essay was assigned.
STEP ONE – Search for a news story described above on one of these “bias-neutral” websites ONLY: CNN.com, ABCNews.com, BBCNews.com. You only need one article from ANY ONE of these sites. Try to go broad, as you’ll have a better chance of finding more coverage. DON’T choose stories from the Opinion or Editorial pages as these stories, by their very nature, are biased.
STEP TWO: Search for another news story covering the same event on one of these sites ONLY: FOXNews.com, MSNBC.com, breitbart.com, Slate.com. Again, you only need one news story, but it’ll need to cover the same event as you’re covering in Step One. The same rule for Opinion pages above applies. (You can tell Opinion or Editorial stories as they’re usually placed under that header on the site.)
STEP THREE: Read both stories and compare and contrast, using your own analysis, the third source (see below), and the CRAAP test as a gauge (remember, the CRAAP test is not a source, but a tool). Who makes the better argument and why, and who tells the story more fully and with less bias? Keep an eye out if any viewpoint skews from one extreme to the other.
KEEP IN MIND – You don’t necessarily have to agree with what the writers are saying. You’re only going to determine who tells the story with less bias. The object is to persuade, whether what they write is convincing enough to change opinion, and score high enough on the CRAAP test to be reliable.
ABOUT THE THIRD SOURCE – In addition to your two news stories, pick either one (1) of the two (2) fact-checking sites in the Week Three, Tuesday folder: Factcheck or FAIR.. Use the criteria listed in one (or both) of the sites to analyze your news stories for accuracy and bias. Or use their search to look for your exact news story for analysis. You don’t need to find your news story on these sites. Use criteria in each site article and apply your own critical thinking to determine bias and accuracy. Your sources should ALWAYS back up, add to, or contrast your own analysis.
This essay is longer, at 4 – 6 pages (doubled-space). Your thesis, at the beginning of your essay, will be which news coverage of the SAME news event tells that story more accurately and with less bias. The essay must follow MLA 8th guidelines for formatting and citing, including an MLA 9th Works Cited on a separate last page. The essay must have THREE (3) sources, one from each news story you’re comparing, then a third from one (or both, if you want) of the two fact analysis sites (FAIR.org or FactCheck.org) using the fact-checking principles in these sites as a basis for your analysis. You must refer to ALL three sources in your essay. DUE SATURDAY, June 11, by 10:00 PM.