Critical investigation tutorial 02/12/16

Introduction – lay out argument, define primary text(s) and any secondary/historical texts. What does ‘media coverage’ mean? Present your angle/hypothesis. 200 words. 

Section 1 – Historical context / past media coverage of political events. 1975 and 1992 – that should work well. Consider 1997 too (especially since there is a lot out there in terms of New Labour and media coverage, spin etc.) 300 words.

Section 2 – Statistical analysis of voter behaviour and media influence. Academic research and set out the conditions which the referendum then took place in. 250 words.

Section 3 – During the campaign. Textual analysis of primary texts. Deconstruct newspaper front pages etc. 400 words.

Section 4 – Post-referendum. Did anything change? Focus on youth. 400 words.

Section 5 - Effects theory and research. What impact does the media have on audiences in political campaigns? Are young people part of this or excluded? Bias etc. There must be loads of both academic texts AND Guardian/MM articles that explore this issue. This is a crucial section to demonstrate academic strength of essay. 500 words.

Section 6 - Future of this debate. Are young people getting more power/influence as a result of new technology? Are newspapers / influence of media on the decline? Fake news. Facebook. How might future election campaigns be fought? Trump etc. 400 words.

Conclusion – sum up your argument, snappy ending please! 150 words.


Next steps… update/finish your plan based on this tutorial. You don’t need to stick to the above by any means but hopefully it has at least clarified your thinking and provided a potential structure that will be easy to follow.

I need to have a quick read of your opening paragraph when it’s written but otherwise you are good to go.

This essay has great potential – the key is making sure there is a strong media focus throughout. The sections on effects theory/research and new technology should be particularly good.

Publish this tutorial to your blog with your next steps as usual.


Next steps

• Improve on essay plan with modifications
• Focus more on academic research
• Catch up on notes and quotes
• Media Magazine and academic articles from google Scholar