Observation Essay: describe the behavior of commenters, English homework help

OBSERVATION ESSAY (1000-1500 words/3 pages)

For this observation project, I am asking you to observe, over the course of at least two days, and describe the behavior of commenters on a controversial web article of your choice. You can choose which online magazine or forum post you would like to observe; the only requirements here are that there must be an associated article to read (of a sufficient length and on a topic relevant to the class theme), and your article must take up a controversial topic: your article must have at least 10 comments on it at the time you select it. If your essay has over 100 comments, you should skim through a good portion.

You might try looking for articles on subjects we might encounter in this class–media/tech and gender, #blacklivesmatter/#alllivesmatter, hacking news, gamer culture, ISIS and social media. I’m sure you can think of many more!

You will both offer a contextualization of the comments by summarizing the content of the article you are working with, and describe the key features of the comments and comment stream. See below for more information and pointers, as well as full requirements.

Please note that the Internet can be a disturbing place, and you will find people expressing extreme views in many cases. This project will offer you a way to see or understand something new about how ideology works, about how people interact when anonymity is at least possible, how technology mediates our relations with other people, and even how we ourselves are blinded by our own unexamined beliefs. I encourage you to look at an article or two (and comments) from a variety of perspectives and sources you would not ordinarily encounter, as that will give you some valuable information about what is notable in the article and comments you ultimately select.

Sample web magazines or blogs (note, you may have to locate and press the “show comments” button!):

  • Your observation essay opens with a statement of your topic and a brief but accurate summary of your web article. Be sure also to include information on when it was published, where it was published, and who wrote it.
  • Your essay describes the comments posted in general, using only minimal “direct quotations”, and identifies any interesting patterns. How do people respond to this topic? What do they focus on? How do they reply? Do they seem angry, happy, annoyed? What kinds of comments do they offer? Useful? Destructive? Do you notice any trolling? Any argumentative fallacies? 
  • Your essay DOES NOT include everything you notice, but a chosen selection of the most interesting and relevant observations.
  • Your essay has a thesis of its own that identifies a significant unifying pattern in the comments and ties it to the article itself.
  • Your essay observes details about phrases, key words, argumentative strategies, length, time of response, and other relevant details that can help you describe or support your thesis.
  • Identify the commentators you discuss by their usernames. (see below for works cited format)
  • Your essay organizes observations in a logical way that moves clearly and with purpose from one paragraph to the next, indicated with meaningful transition sentences.
  • Your essay concludes with a paragraph that summarizes the most important observation you make that seems to tie other observations together.
  • At the end, your essay includes an MLA-style works cited entry for your web article. It will be your job to look up how to do this.A Listserv, Discussion Group, or Blog PostingEditor, screen name, author, or compiler name (if available). “Posting Title.” Name of Site.   Version number (if available). Name of institution/organization affiliated with the   site (sponsor or publisher). Medium of publication. Date of access.A TweetBrokaw, Tom (tombrokaw). “SC demonstrated why all the debates are the engines   of this campaign.” 22 Jan. 2012, 3:06 a.m. Tweet. 
  • Purdue Writing Lab (PurdueWLab). “Spring break is around the corner, and all   our locations will be open next week.” 5 Mar. 2012, 12:58 p.m. Tweet.
  • MLA posted guidelines on their website (Links to an external site.) for how to cite a tweet on a Works Cited page. Begin with the user’s name (Last Name, First Name) followed by his/her Twitter username in parentheses. Insert a period outside the parentheses. Next, place the tweet in its entirety in quotations, inserting a period after the tweet within the quotations. Include the date and time of posting, using the reader’s time zone; separate the date and time with a comma and end with a period. Include the word “Tweet” afterwards and end with a period.
  • Salmar1515 [Sal Hernandez]. “Re: Best Strategy: Fenced Pastures vs. Max Number   of Rooms?” BoardGameGeek. BoardGameGeek, 29 Sept. 2008. W eb. 5 Apr. 2009.
  • Cite Web postings as you would a standard Web entry. Provide the author of the work, the title of the posting in quotation marks, the Web site name in italics, the publisher, and the posting date. Follow with the medium of publication and the date of access. Include screen names as author names when author name is not known. If both names are known, place the author’s name in brackets. Remember if the publisher of the site is unknown, use the abbreviation n.p.
  • Here’s how to create works cited entries for comments! (Via OWL Purdue)