Issues in Cultural Political Economy uses a course blog as a platform to provide a repository of weekly seminar reading and to give students the opportunity to practice their academic writing skills.
The task is simple: read one academic article/book chapter and write a short and punchy blog that reflects on what YOU (as the author) took away from the reading. In other words, focus in on the key 'take away messages' that you found the most interesting from the reading. Do not simply provide notes about the reading by simply reporting what the author said in the article, take one more step and articulate what you think was interesting about what the author wrote, or you could disagree with what he/she/they said.
The content of your blog post should be between 500 to 800 words and include:
- A brief summary of the article, or what we call an 'abstract'
- A clear statement of the main point(s) you found most interesting, compelling or challenging (no more than 3)
- Conclude with some reflections on how this article fits with the week's topic, the overall ICPE module, or what you learned in modules on your degree. Just one reflection, not all three.
Once the text is written, insert an image or two to make it interesting.
You can also embed other content to elaborate on key points in the text. For example, How to write academic summaries.
Why bother making a good post for the module blog?
(1) you need to practice your academic reading and writing skills before your first essay is due - writing good notes or summaries will not get you a good grade;
(2) you will present it in class and you don't want to bore everyone;
(3) knowing how to make a good blog post is an important skill - most graduate recruitment jobs are to manage blogs/social media accounts.
A step-by-step guide:
Step One: read the article/book chapter/policy document and take detailed notes
Step Two: Provide answers to the following questions: what is the article about? What evidence is used to make this point? What is most interesting? What is controversial?
Step Three: Put some work into your intro – is it intriguing/engaging/different? Find images that relate directly to topic covered.
Step Four: Always use specific examples from the reading and Link to recent research or media coverage (if appropriate) hyperlink any relevant terms and ideas (from wikipedia for example)
DO NOT simply provide your notes on the reading - engage the subject matter in what that has not been written about over and over again – or have something really fresh and surprising to say about an old theme.
DO NOT simply provide your notes on the reading - engage the subject matter in what that has not been written about over and over again – or have something really fresh and surprising to say about an old theme.
Advice for good blog posts:
The best posts are on a specific rather than huge and wide-ranging topic. For example, don't write "The state of neoliberalism", do "How much of neoliberalism can I see?"
Avoid a soap-box sermon, instead engage your classmates by asking questions for them to consider
Avoid a soap-box sermon, instead engage your classmates by asking questions for them to consider
Quote people with differing points of view.
Avoid jargon and acronyms.
Avoid jargon and acronyms.
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