- How To Write A Media Analysis Essay
- Introduction example
- Thesis Statement
- Organising Body Paragraphs
- How to conclude
How To Write A Media Analysis Essay
Media analysis essay requires one to understand the landscape of the media that guides them in the presentation of certain critical issues. The media analysis essay can work to identify messages, framing of messages, and also improving an existing issue. The essay should take into consideration pieces of media coverage over a certain period of time. These pieces of coverage are often in major daily newspapers, broadcasting outlets, and magazines. There are various steps to write a good media analysis essay.
The first stage of writing a media analysis essay is to develop certain search terms. One identifies a list of search terms that help to zero in only articles that discussed a certain topic. The irrelevant topics are therefore excluded from the essay. For instance, if the media coverage was about the Government not concerned with Low-Wage Workers, the first search term would be ‘Low-Wage Workers.’ This will direct one to various news outlets that have the information about Low-Wage Workers in the country. During the search process, the media coverage on the topic might be varied. The writer, therefore, samples out the most suitable and relevant information to use for the analysis. The student then establishes the top sources of news which have credible information for use in the essay writing.
It is important to have an introduction of an essay that lets the reader understand the main discussion covered in the essay. This includes giving detailed and background information about the topic of discussion. In the analysis of coverage on Low-wage workers, the essay can have the following introduction.
Introduction example
“The media broadcast has largely failed to cover the information on Low-Wage Workers even when the government of the day is not concerned. Consequently, most people who access news via television and newspapers are not aware of challenges facing the low-paid workers in the economy. In addition, most organisations that are ready to help the employees do not have sufficient information on certain specific things to offer. This essay will analyse media broadcast of information about employees who receive the lowest income.”
Thesis Statement
Still under introduction is the thesis statement. The student should have a complete thesis statement at the end of introduction for the media analysis essay. The statement guides any reader on the information covered in main body of the piece of writing.
For instance, the thesis statement can be:
“Close analysis of media coverage on Low-Wage Workers is necessary to supply information to various organisations and individuals of concern for the benefit of all employees.”
Organising Body Paragraphs
There are different ways of structuring the paragraphs depending on genre and size of analysis document. However, the main objective of the information in the paragraphs is to present sections of the essay, analysis of the functioning of the sections and how the various parts constitute the thesis statement. One way is by the chronological structure which is the most straightforward technique. This technique should be used with reason to make the essay more effective. For instance, in the analysis of a photo in a newspaper, the chronological approach enables the writer to give insights in an order similar to the viewer of the image. The author should be careful in dealing with a document having a narrative by use of the chronological technique. This is because the writer can easily make a plot summary which is not the main objective of the analysis essay.
Another way of structuring body paragraphs is by the use of the spatial technique. This approach covers sections of the essay in an easy way the eye can scan through. The guidelines to spatial approach include left to right and top to down structuring which is the natural way of reading and scanning in countries that use English as a language of communication. Another guideline is by the use of lines which give directions of the eye to follow in the process of scanning.
In addition to the above techniques, another approach is by use of persuasive appeals in structuring the essay such as logos, ethos, and others. This technique enables the essay writer to persuade readers through logic and emotions. The student should only use persuasive appeals approach if they understand how it functions since there is a challenge of deviating from the main objective of the essay.
How to conclude
The conclusion of media analysis essay should restate the main ideas and issues covered in the body paragraphs and their importance, restate the thesis statement and also highlight further research necessary in completing efforts given in the analysis.
For example in the analysis of low-wage workers, the conclusion can be as follows:
“It is a challenge when lowly-paid employees do not get full coverage in daily media broadcast because this is a platform where most people access news. Individuals and organisations wishing to assist the employees should make more efforts in ensuring the stories receive full media attention. There will be more motivation among the people to take action and change some factors if the media changes the style of covering the topic under discussion.”
