UTS Journalism: Professional Practice and Culture

Major research essay

40% of total mark
2500-3000 word final essay
Due date: Friday 9 June

Students are expected to demonstrate their capacity to synthesise the material studied during the semester and to apply it as appropriate to a research project by:

• formulating a research question;
• carrying out research that can address the question adequately
• presenting the research and analysis in written form using the conventions of academic presentation.

The research and essay should be on one of the following topics:

• an analysis of a piece of professional practice by yourself or some other person working in the arts/media/cultural industries

• a case study of a specific artistic/cultural/media profession with respect to the impact of social, economic and/or technological changes.

The topic for the essay is to be approved by your tutor after negotiation and discussion in class and in UTSOnline. The final topic is to be confirmed in UTSOnline with a Topic Outline, including an indicative list of references, by Week 7 (Friday 28 April), and the essay is to be submitted by Friday 9 June.

The project should include the following elements:

• a discussion contextualising the theoretical perspective you have adopted within in the range of perspectives discussed this semester  (approx. 700 words)

• an empirical account  (approx. 1000 words)

• an analysis of the situation in the light of one or more of the theoretical perspectives discussed during the course  (approx. 1000 words)

Learning Objectives

Assessment for all work in Professional Practice and Culture is done within the set learning objectives o f the subject. These are:

• to acquire a critical understanding of professional practice in socio-cultural production, and contemporary debates about the activities of some of the key professions;

• to apply some of the major scholarly approaches to researching and thinking about the role of the professions;

• to contribute constructively and critically to face-to-face and online discussions of the subject matter of the course;

• to produce written work for assessment that demonstrates a critical knowledge of the major scholarly debates in this subject area.

Assessment Criteria

Your work will be assessed for the quality of its:

• scholarship (knowledge of the relevant academic literature);
• rigor, adequacy and insight in the empirical account;
• ability to apply theoretical critique to empirical phenomena;
• effective use of written sources;
• clarity and strength of the argument presented
• presentation of written work (references, bibliography, literary style)

All written work lodged in hardcopy for assessment must be typed (A4, double-spacing, 3 cm right margin), properly referenced using the Harvard style and have a full bibliography attached, and with a coversheet on the front. Your bibliography should be alphabetical and include all the resources that you've consulted.