Comparison-Contrast of Local and International Coverage of the Same Current Event Project Overview Students in developmental and college-level composition courses often write comparison/contrast essays as one of the writing modes they study to develop both their writing and critical thinking skills. When given the freedom to choose their own topics, first-year writing students will typically write essays comparing familiar subjects such as mp3 players to CD players, comparing prepaid to monthly contract cell phone plans, comparing two water-splash parks, comparing McDonald’s and Burger King, or comparing college classes to high school classes. While these topics are clearly relevant to their experiences and certainly allow the students to meet the basic goals of the assignment, writing teachers would generally prefer that their students move out of their daily experiences and think a bit more critically about topics that would give them a broader perspective. Students, however, are usually not comfortable with the topics that seem most interesting to writing teachers. The principle of proximity taught in journalism courses might serve writing teachers well in assigning topics. As watchers of local television news know, there is almost always a "local" angle to any story. In this RWLO, the students will be examining perspectives on a current event in a local paper in the United States and a local paper just across the Canadian border. The students will use “real-time data” in the form of coverage of current events in online newspapers. While this RWLO can be adapted to compare any local newspaper's coverage of an event to any other media's coverage, this RWLO is specifically aimed at Niagara County Community College students, who live minutes from Canada but very often have no idea of the very different perspective of world, national, and local/regional events just across the border. Using the websites of the Buffalo News and the Toronto Globe and Mail or the Niagara Gazette (Niagara Falls, NY) and Niagara Falls Review (Niagara Falls, Ontario), students will find articles posted on the same event on the same day. They will critically analyze the articles to find differences and similarities in the coverage. 1 Student Learning Objectives Upon completion of this RWLO, the students will be able to locate contemporaneous written coverage of the same event in at least two regional newspapers using the websites of the newspapers to access the articles, analyze the articles for differences and similarities in content, organization, underlying assumptions of the writers, tone, intended audience, and international/national/local perspectives, organize their analyses in an appropriate comparison-contrast format, write coherent comparison-contrast essays, and document their two articles in MLA format. 2 Procedure Time: Approximately 100 minutes (two fifty-minute class periods) in class and four to six hours outside of class for completion of the paper. Materials: Internet access A grammar/rhetorical handbook that discusses organizational patterns for comparison-contrast essays and MLA documentation Prerequisites: Prior study of MLA format and documentation Prior experience with peer response Prior experience outlining and drafting essays Implementation: This RWLO can be used either in a classroom equipped with a computer for each student, as an online assignment in an online or hybrid course, or as an out-of-class assignment to be completed individually or in small groups. Steps: Session 1: 1. Have students read about the three basic organizational patterns of comparison-contrast essays in their grammar/rhetorical handbooks in preparation for the first class period. 2. Discuss those three patterns and their strengths and weaknesses at the beginning of the first class period: similarities-differences, subject-bysubject, and point-by-point. 3. Model the search process on a projected computer screen using the actual sites in the assignment to find two articles on a current event of general interest. 4. Review the MLA citation format for websites. 5. Assign the two example articles as readings for the next class period to ensure that students can access the sites and search for articles. Alert students to watch for articles for their upcoming assignment. 3 Session 2: 6. At the beginning of the second class period, discuss the two articles. 7. Brainstorm a list of possible points of comparison and contrast for the two articles as a group. 8. Outline a point-by-point sample essay. 9. Review the "Student Directions" section of the RWLO with students. 10. Allow at least 20 minutes at the end of the second class for students to begin their searches in class. Their first assignment is to print the articles for presentation and approval in the next class period and to complete the two works cited entries for the articles. Students will complete the written portion of the assignment in stages: a presentation and approval of their articles (in the form of a works cited page), an outline, a draft of the essay for peer response, a global revision, and a final copy for evaluation. 4 Content Material Assignment: Comparison and contrast of news coverage of current events in local newspapers in the United States and Canada Student Directions: Using the websites of the Buffalo News and the Toronto Globe and Mail or the Niagara Gazette (Niagara Falls, NY) and Niagara Falls Review (Niagara Falls, Ontario), find articles posted on the same event on the same day. Complete the two works cited entries for the articles to turn in (homework score). Critically analyze the articles to find differences and similarities in content, organization, underlying assumptions of the writers, tone, intended audience, and international/national/local perspectives. If you note other similarities and differences, feel free to go beyond this list. Outline a point-by-point analysis of the two articles' similarities and differences to turn in (homework score). Write a rough draft of your comparison-contrast for peer response (two homework scores—one for having a complete draft for the peer response and one for peer responding to a classmate's draft in writing) Globally revise the draft based on the peer response and then edit at the sentence-level. Spell-check and proofread the final copy (for a paper score). Referenced URLs: The Buffalo News: http://www.buffalonews.com/ The Globe and Mail (Toronto): http://www.theglobeandmail.com/ The Niagara Gazette (New York): http://www.niagara-gazette.com/ Niagara Falls Review (Ontario): http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/ 5 Assessment Students will receive four homework scores and a paper score for the five assignments completed in this RWLO. (The average of the students' homework scores counts 10% of the overall course average in ENG 101, and the average of six essay scores counts 50% of the overall course average in ENG 101.) Works Cited page (homework score): scored 0-100 based on the correctness of the format and content of the two works cited entries and the format of the works cited page itself. (Students will have studied MLA documentation prior to this RWLO.) If the articles chosen are inappropriate for a comparison-contrast analysis, students will be given guidance and a chance to attempt the assignment again. Extensive comments to aid in revision will be provided on the works cited page. Outline (homework score): scored 0-100 based on the correctness of the format of the outline, the quality and depth of the points of similarity and difference included, the quality of the writing in general, and the logic of the organization of the points in a point-by-point analysis. (Students will have studied outlining prior to this RWLO.) If the outline is completely inappropriate for a comparison-contrast analysis, students will be given guidance and a chance to attempt the assignment again. Extensive comments to aid in revision will be provided on the outline. Rough draft (homework score): scored 0-100 based on the timeliness and completeness of the draft for the peer response. (Students will have studied drafting of essays prior to this RWLO.) Peer Response (homework score): scored 0-100 based on the depth, clarity, and helpfulness of the written responses to the peer response prompts provided as part of the peer response process. (Students will have studied techniques of peer response prior to this RWLO.) Comparison-Contrast Essay in the Point-by-Point Format (paper score): scored 0-100 based on the scoring guidelines for evaluation of essays used by the NCCC English Department (distributed and discussed in class prior to this RWLO). 6 Links to Course Competencies This RWLO could be successfully adopted for the following courses: ENG 099 (Writing Workshop—developmental), ENG 101 (Writing I—college composition), and ENG 145 (Journalism), among others. Specifically, this RWLO meets the following course competencies in ENG 101: To develop greater competence in the writing process, from arriving at a subject through producing a well-organized essay in standard written English. To encourage independent, critical thinking and analytical reading. To familiarize students with the use of information sources, research techniques, the proper use of source materials, and the proper methods of MLA source documentation. To improve computer literacy. To improve global revising, editing, and proofreading skills and to develop a sharper focus on the details of good writing. 7 Supplementary Resources Instructional advice on organizing comparison-contrast papers: http://www.uwf.edu/writelab/handouts/comparisoncontrast.cfm Other Toronto newspapers: o The Toronto Star: http://www.thestar.com/ o The Toronto Sun: http://torontosun.com/ Instructional advice on citing websites in MLA format: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/09/ 8 Recommendations Recommendations for Integration: This RWLO would work in the latter half of any composition course. Knowledge of MLA documentation, outlining, drafting, and peer response techniques are assumed, so it would not be recommended early in a course. The pairings of newspapers/media could be adapted to any region. Back-up: This RWLO could be done with less current printed articles in a library subscribing to such pairings of newspapers or other media. 9