Media essays are essays about aspects of the media, such as Internet, television, music and even technology, and how those media alter and affect our everyday lives. A media essay is typically written with MLA style guidelines, and while media essays allow for a more personal writing approach, all personal insight should be based on a thorough understanding of the subject. Media essays serve to enlighten their intended audience, whether by warning of the potential pitfalls of the subject at hand, or by teaching new ways of using the media to make our lives better. Here's how you can write effective media essays that are contemporary and informative.
Instructions
1. Select a topic that is current and applicable to the widest possible audience. You might write an essay about webcams and how webcam users give up their privacy in favor of letting complete strangers into their personal lives via the cams. Such a topic would relate to a large audience on a number of levels.
2. Outline and focus your article. Open a notebook and jot down ideas for structure. Make notes of the resources you will use to support your essay. In the case of the webcam essay, find webcam users online and email them requesting to interview them by email. Decide what your position is on the subject and determine how you will balance your opinions with the facts you present.
3. Write an introduction that gives a brief history of the media you're writing about, state what your essay will discuss and let your audience know what you believe your conclusion will be.
4. Analyze and interpret the subject matter of your essay in the body of the article. Cite any resources in the appropriate style guidelines you're writing to, whether this is MLA or APA. You can use a free reference chart if you are unsure about all of the formatting details (see resources). Include quoted material from sources familiar with the media technology you're writing about. Well-placed quotes can strengthen your essay.
5. Summarize the article in your conclusion and reiterate the information. If you feel the paper supports your initial observations, summarize the core proof in the conclusion of your article.
