A contained idea in three parts Main Point Body/Evidence Conclusion
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PARAGRAPH STRUCTUREMain Point Deconstruct the Paragraph The healthy competition that bred newspapers to flourish in the 20th century has given way to a new franticly paced competition to beat out opposing news organizations at any cost. Media Convergence has led journalists to favor speed over accuracy, and pressured them to be “first and wrong” instead of “second and right” (Saltzis and Dickinson 224) In turn, this affects the quality of the news we, the public, receive, and further shows the declining ethical standards of media in America. The need to publish quickly is a direct result of competition between Internet news organizations and the shortened news cycle of the Information Age. (“Media Convergence” paragraph 8) Deconstruct the Paragraph The healthy competition that bred newspapers to flourish in the 20th century has given way to a new franticly paced competition to beat out opposing news organizations at any cost. Media Convergence has led journalists to favor speed over accuracy, and pressured them to be “first and wrong” instead of “second and right” (Saltzis and Dickinson 224). In turn, this affects the quality of the news we, the public, receive, and further shows the declining ethical standards of media in America. The need to publish quickly is a direct result of competition between Internet news organizations and the shortened news cycle of the Information Age. (“Media Convergence” paragraph 8) Paragraph Structure (Advanced) Paragraph Structure (Advanced) Any sub-reasons you need. Deconstruct the Paragraph [Reason]: The healthy competition that bred newspapers to flourish in the 20th century has given way to a new franticly paced competition to beat out opposing news organizations at any cost. Media Convergence has led journalists to favor speed over accuracy, and pressured them to be “first and wrong” instead of “second and right” (Saltzis and Dickinson 224). In turn, this affects the quality of the news we, the public, receive, and further shows the declining ethical standards of media in America. The need to publish quickly is a direct result of competition between Internet news organizations and the shortened news cycle of the Information Age. (“Media Convergence” paragraph 8) Paragraph Structure (Advanced) Any sub-reasons you need. Contextualize the Evidence (i.e. introduce it: where you found it, who said it, any necessary background, etc.). Provide the Evidence (data, stats, quotes, examples, paraphrases). Paragraph Structure (Advanced) Any sub-reasons you need. Contextualize the Evidence (i.e. introduce it: where you found it, who said it, any necessary background, etc.). Provide the Evidence (data, stats, quotes, examples, paraphrases). Paragraph Structure (Advanced) Contextualize the Evidence (i.e. introduce it: where you found it, who said it, any necessary background, etc.). *Should be done each time you are introducing a source for the first time in a paper. Should contain: Author(s) credentials that make author(s) relevant to speak on topic A general summary of the contents of the source. Usually a sentence before the actual sentence containing the evidence that introduces the context of the evidence. 11 Paragraph Structure (Advanced) Contextualize the Evidence (i.e. introduce it: where you found it, who said it, any necessary background, etc.). Example: “In his survey study ‘Television Violence and Violent Crime: An Aggregate Analysis’, Steve Messner, a professor and sociology researcher at Columbia University, conducts a statistical survey to study the relationship between violent crime rates and TV violence exposure among a set audience.” Usually a sentence before the actual sentence containing the evidence that introduces the context of the evidence. 12 Deconstruct the Paragraph [Reason]: The healthy competition that bred newspapers to flourish in the 20th century has given way to a new franticly paced competition to beat out opposing news organizations at any cost. [Evidence]: Media Convergence has led journalists to favor speed over accuracy, and pressured them to be “first and wrong” instead of “second and right” (Saltzis and Dickinson 224). In turn, this affects the quality of the news we, the public, receive, and further shows the declining ethical standards of media in America. The need to publish quickly is a direct result of competition between Internet news organizations and the shortened news cycle of the Information Age. (“Media Convergence” paragraph 8) Paragraph Structure (Advanced) Any sub-reasons you need. Contextualize the Evidence (i.e. introduce it: where you found it, who said it, any necessary background, etc.). Provide the Evidence (data, stats, quotes, examples, paraphrases). Explain or Interpret the Evidence (make sure the reader will understand it). Deconstruct the Paragraph [Reason]: The healthy competition that bred newspapers to flourish in the 20th century has given way to a new franticly paced competition to beat out opposing news organizations at any cost. [Evidence]: Media Convergence has led journalists to favor speed over accuracy, and pressured them to be “first and wrong” instead of “second and right” (Saltzis and Dickinson 224). [Explanation]: In turn, this affects the quality of the news we, the public, receive, and further shows the declining ethical standards of media in America. The need to publish quickly is a direct result of competition between Internet news organizations and the shortened news cycle of the Information Age. (“Media Convergence” paragraph 8) Paragraph Structure (Advanced) Any sub-reasons you need. Contextualize the Evidence (i.e. introduce it: where you found it, who said it, any necessary background, etc.). Provide the Evidence (data, stats, quotes, examples, paraphrases). Explain or Interpret the Evidence (make sure the reader will understand it). Relate the Evidence to your Claim. Deconstruct the Paragraph [Reason]: The healthy competition that bred newspapers to flourish in the 20th century has given way to a new franticly paced competition to beat out opposing news organizations at any cost. [Evidence]: Media Convergence has led journalists to favor speed over accuracy, and pressured them to be “first and wrong” instead of “second and right” (Saltzis and Dickinson 224). [Explanation]: In turn, this affects the quality of the news we, the public, receive, and further shows the declining ethical standards of media in America. [Reasoning]: The need to publish quickly is a direct result of competition between Internet news organizations and the shortened news cycle of the Information Age. (“Media Convergence” paragraph 8) How many sentences? Any sub-reasons you need. (1-2) Contextualize the Evidence (i.e. introduce it: where you found it, who said it, any necessary background, etc.). (1-2) Provide the Evidence (data, stats, quotes, examples, paraphrases). (1+) Explain or Interpret the Evidence (make sure the reader will understand it). (1-2) Relate the Evidence to your Claim. (1-2) Try It Out With A Short Example (from “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”) The Net’s influence doesn’t end at the edges of a computer screen, either. As people’s minds become attuned to the crazy quilt of Internet media, traditional media have to adapt to the audience’s new expectations. Television programs add text crawls and pop-up ads, and magazines and newspapers shorten their articles, introduce capsule summaries, and crowd their pages with easy-to-browse info-snippets. When, in March of this year, The New York Times decided to devote the second and third pages of every edition to article abstracts , its design director, Tom Bodkin, explained that the “shortcuts” would give harried readers a quick “taste” of the day’s news, sparing them the “less efficient” method of actually turning the pages and reading the articles. Old media have little choice but to play by the new-media rules. A Short Example (from “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”) [Reason:]The Net’s influence doesn’t end at the edges of a computer screen, either. [sub-reason / intro evidence:] As people’s minds become attuned to the crazy quilt of Internet media, traditional media have to adapt to the audience’s new expectations. [evidence:] Television programs add text crawls and pop-up ads, and magazines and newspapers shorten their articles, introduce capsule summaries, and crowd their pages with easy-to-browse info-snippets. [intro to more evidence:] When, in March of this year, The New York Times decided to devote the second and third pages of every edition to article abstracts , its design director, Tom Bodkin, explained that [the evidence:] the “shortcuts” would give harried readers a quick “taste” of the day’s news, sparing them the “less efficient” method of actually turning the pages and reading the articles. [explaining/interpreting the evidence:]Old media have little choice but to play by the new-media rules. Paragraph Length Remember that you can (and should) write some longer paragraphs. The pressure to fill news holes as a result of the 24/7 news cycle has also led to an alarming trend. An increase in Schlock reporting, a habit of reporting irrelevant celebrity news instead of pressing world issues, has flooded the media. A conflict of interest has developed between what Americans want to hear about and what the media has to offer. Investigative reporting is not as prevalent as it used to be; in fact, news is becoming more dictated by PR representatives than by journalists, who simply respond to press releases that are given to them. Studies show that 90 percent of all the news that is reported has drawn information from news releases dictated by PR departments (Vivian 285). This could be attributed to the increased workload that each journalist is trusted with due to the added responsibility convergence brings. If you give a journalist more than one thing to focus on, you are automatically diminishing the quality of each project because they can’t focus all their attention on completing a single task (Quinn 34). Quinn further elaborates on his fear that an increased workload will negatively affect journalists’ ability to function, “journalists could get so busy providing content for multiple platforms that they simply do not have the time to reflect or analyze,” (37). Convergence’s pressures are pulling journalists in too many directions and the integrity of the profession is suffering. (“Media Convergence” paragraph 11)
