D1.4: Assignment - Research Report - Cultural Comparison Research - Instructions

This paper would take the form of an argumentative Research Report, incorporating instructor and peer feedback on the research proposal poster, which means that students should go beyond a mere one-to-one summary or application of the concept/theme and the film or TV series under consideration and must instead advance and support an original argument about the chosen cultural (media based) artefact film or television show that is grounded in the reading(s) they have selected.

This Research Proposal report should include:

A title and subtitle.
An introduction, culminating in a carefully crafted thesis statement.
One or more paragraphs that unpack (at least) one specific scene from the student’s chosen film, episode, or music video and marshal -- i.e. refer directly to and/or embed in their paper -- specific arguments raised in the readings to buttress the student's reading and support their thesis statement;
A conclusion, which may include further/future avenues of approach to the question(s) raised.

Quality of Content

Non-Academic sources: Avoid using non-academic sources as newspapers, popular magazines, blogs, marketing brochures and websites that present self-developed material, as these references may not be valid and reliable for academic quality reports.
Outdated Sources: Avoid using outdated source. Unless you quote a seminal work, you may wish to consider using sources published within the past five years (2018-2022). As a rule of thumb, allow for at least 85% of the academic sources used to be sources published within the past five years, while the remaining 15% could represent seminal work as well as non-academic sources.

Format, Citation Style
Document Format: The Research Report should be formatted as per this template.
Citation Format: All citations must adhere to the APA Publication Manual(i.e., APA 7). Verify that all citations of references meet APA citation format especially if you are using a citation software such as EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley or similar program
- Language: The RP should be written in fluent English.
- Academic tone: Write as direct and as compact as possible. Every word, sentence or statement needs to be informative for the reader. Avoid using jargon, informal/casual language, idiomatic expressions, or cliché in formal writing. Tone
- File Format: Assignments must be submitted in MS Word (. dox format only). Any other format will not be accepted.
- Font type: Times New Roman
- Font size: 12 for the main body with exceptions for the Title page and the Headings if any.
- Page numbers: All pages should be numbered consecutively.
- Line Spacing: Single space
- Spell Check: Spell check the entire document before each submission. Do not relay on WORD automated Spell check. Read carefully typographical error as well as content included in images that could be identified by the Spell check feature.

Check list points

Use of the Research Report template found in the link under D1
Word Counts, excluding appendices and reference list should be between 2300-2500 words.

Quality Indicators and guiding notes

Writing Format and Style
Argument development
The Research Report is written in predominantly active voice without slang, euphemisms, or anthropomorphisms.
The Research Report is written in fast tense.
Referencing and references adhering to APA
Ensure there is a match between the in-text citations and the reference list.