Sample Term Papers

Due to popular demand, here are two sample term papers from previous semesters. Please note the following:

1. I have omitted section one from both papers so as to not give away the answer to that part of the assignment;
2. Neither paper is perfect, and I don't vouch for the content of either. These are samples for those who are really struggling to understand what the paper should look like. 
3. You should follow the actual assignment outline in writing your paper. This year's assignment is slightly different from previous assignments, so if you only follow these samples (and not the actual assignment requirements), you will fail. So READ the ASSIGNMENT. 
4. Don't be stupid and plagiarize from either of these papers, or from anywhere else. Plagiarism means failure. And cite your sources. 

Email with questions. Or come to my office hours. 

Careful what you say about your employer online...

Ars Technica is reporting a crazy story out of Abu Dhabi: A US citizen who works in the UAE as a helicopter mechanic was arrested in Abu Dhabi for disparaging his employer via a Facebook post. Thirty-three year old Ryan Pate of Belleair Bluffs, Florida, is accused of slandering his employer, which is illegal in the Emirates:

He wrote in December about his superiors at Global Aerospace Logistics being "backstabbers." He left Florida to return overseas, pack up his stuff, and quit his job. Police called him to come to the station, and he was arrested last month.

Pate has a March 17 trial date and, if convicted, could be sentenced to five years in jail. 

Commercial Speech Prezi #2 (False advertising)

Commercial Speech Prezi #1 (Corporate speech)

Symbolic Expression Prezi

PDF here. 

Test I Grades are Posted

Record time, no? The testing center must have been working extra hard today. Visit the grades page to see how you did. Remember, you will need your confidential J3060 ID number to find your grade. Please store this number somewhere safe as you will need it throughout the semester. Posted grades reflect a 9 point curve (added to every test), plus any extra credit you earned. The highest score on the test pre-curve was a 91. Combining my two classes (100 students total), 22 students scored between a 90-100, 22 scored between an 80-89, 31 scored between 70-79, 11 between 60-69 and 3 below a 60. The zeros reflect students who missed the test entirely. There were no substantial variations between the two classes, either, FYI. 

Congrats to those who met or exceeded their expectations. To those that didn't, don't panic. The Professor is here to help! 

Reminder (Tue-Thu students): No Class on Thursday

I'm presenting at the International Studies Association convention. Please, please take the morning and work on term papers!! Will see you next week!

Test tomorrow is still a go, as long as GSU is open. But be SAFE.

Hi Tuesday/Thursday Folks: I'm receiving lots of emails and figured it may be helpful to post here for all to read. GSU has announced a "delayed opening tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 11am." That is also the same time we are scheduled to take the first exam of the semester.

I don’t have a lot of wiggle room in these situations, and if school is open at 11:00 AM (as is planned), then I will be giving the test as planned.

All of this said, I would never want any student to take a risk by driving in truly difficult weather. So, if you don’t feel safe getting to campus in time for the 11 am exam, then we’ll work out a make-up (see syllabus for make up policy). I will ask any student who requires a make up exam to provide verification of their address, so I can know that there was a legitimate reason for skipping the exam. This is to say, if you live on campus, or near campus, or near functioning public transportation, or your commute is one we would consider otherwise safe, you should plan on being here tomorrow @ 11am.

Again, your safety is my absolute and primary concern. Hope this is helpful, and I hope you all are warm and dry! I biked home from campus tonight. Wouldn't recommend anyone else try that!

Need Motivation to Study?

Somewhat unrelated to media law, but entirely related to your lives and the importance of finishing your degree, is this story:

Last month’s federal jobs report showed a rock-bottom unemployment rate of 2.8 percent for workers who hold at least a four-year degree. The overall unemployment rate is 5.7 percent...“Presumably, these educated workers are the most productive in our information economy,” wrote Guy LeBas, a financial analyst with Janney Montgomery Scott, in a report Bloomberg Businessand other media outlets cited. “At some point in the coming year, we’re going to risk running out of new, productive people to employ.” Anthony P. Carnevale concurred with LeBas. As director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce and a top expert on the labor-market returns of degrees, Carnevale has long railed against dubious arguments about the payoff from college being overrated. “We’re headed for full employment” of bachelor’s-degree-holding workers, he said.

This is to say, the best way to secure a good job is to graduate from college. So study! Own this first test! If you have trouble, come see me so I can help! Let's get you graduated!

T-minus one week (or less) until our first test!

A couple of helpful tips: download the lectures sooner rather than later go going here and saving the audio files to your computer or mobile device. This will avoid any last minute problems with Dropbox. 

Study!! Better to be over-prepared than under prepared. Use your notes, the book, and my lectures to try and triangulate your notes on each item on the study guide. 

If you have questions, get in touch. I was lonely during my office hours today, but that's okay. I'll make time with anyone who wants to meet before the test. 

When you take the test next week, pay attention to detail. Read questions carefully, and multiple times. You will have plenty of time. This class is about the law, and, thus, linguistic precision matters A LOT. So, please, pay attention to detail. 

Also, please bring a #2 pencil to next week's test. Need motivation? I've got you covered.