Digital literacy has become an important topic in both academic and non-academic settings. What is digital literacy? Why is it important to have digital literacy? What are some tools we can use to evaluate the credibility of online articles or websites we use? In this unit, we have been exploring these questions by reading, writing, and discussing the topic in depth.
How to avoid plagiarizing by using quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing
Grammar: Noun clauses, direct quotes, indirect quotes
MLA in-text citations
Prompt: Write an essay evaluating an article or a website about a topic you are most interested in investigating. Using at least 3 aspects of the CRAAP test, make an in-depth analysis of the credibility of the online source youve chosen and make a final determination on whether or not the online source passed or failed the CRAAP test. In your analysis and evaluation, do not simply answer the questions from the CRAPP test. Instead, go deeper by explaining why the questions you are asking in your evaluation are important to test the credibility of the source. You must use 2 quotes or paraphrases from the online source you are evaluating and in-text citations following MLA guidelines. The essay is worth 15% of your final grade. It must be submitted on Canvas using Turn It In.
To develop your essay, make sure you understand the readings we have covered and choose your source wisely.
Your introduction needs to have an interesting hook to catch the readers attention, background information to introduce the topic of Media Literacy (What should we be aware of in Media Literacy?) and specify your source and the topic, and a clear thesis statement that outlines the topic and provides a purpose for the essay.
Your body paragraphs should begin with a clear topic sentence with a controlling idea that introduces the aspect of the CRAAP test you are using to evaluate your source. You will need to integrate two different ideas using direct speech (quotations) from the article/website you have selected. One way to do this is to bring up a certain idea brought up in the article, and then use that point as a basis of analysis for an aspect of the CRAAP test. This way, your analysis will be built into your writing (think quote sandwich). Remember, youre not simply answering the questions from CRAAP test; explaining why the questions you are asking in your evaluation are important to test the credibility of the source. You should reference the Media Literacy Article as well.
Your conclusion will summarize your findings and determinations, and lay out an argument for why the aspects you used in the essay are a valid way to determine reliability. You should make a statement about the importance of Media Literacy and how readers can protect themselves against fake news and yellow journalism. You can also give your opinion about the topic here.
