This assignment is worth 25% of your Project 1 grade. Therefore, you need to take a little more care with this assignment and take the time to do it carefully. Please see the assignment sheet if you have questions. 

When we are interested in a topic, we are often attracted to social media posts about the topic. While there is a lot of misinformation and disinformation on social media, social media can be used for our research—particularly as a starting point.

This activity has two main goals that are intended to improve your research and rhetorical skills. First, you will practice fact-checking a social media post. Second, you will practice using that social media post as a starting point for finding more information. 

Step 1:

Find a social media post or text about your approved research topic. In this case, social media will be defined as any interactive site (one that allows you to comment, like, or share). Try to pick a post that is relevant to the part of your topic you are most interested in. For example, if I’m interested in gun control, specifically as it relates to mass shootings on school campuses, then I would want to find a post about guns, mass shootings, and schools. (Note: if it’s a series of posts—such as a threaded Tweet or a Tik Tok with multiple parts, you may discuss the entire series.)

Step 2:

Share a link or screenshot of your chosen social media post and then analyze this text or series of texts. Please write at least 250 words. I have provided some guiding questions for you, in order to help you write an effective analysis.

Step 3:

Pick a few claims (facts, statistics, arguments) made in the social media text and fact check that information. Find a reliable source that either confirms or disproves that information. Use the following link as a checklist to help you make sure that your source is reliable. (Links to an external site.) 

1. Share the link to the text you found as a result of your investigation (not the social media post, but the source or sources you used to fact-check the claims). Remember, I’m looking for at least one good, reliable source on your topic.  Provide the author and title of the text.
2. Then explain what you found. Use the following link for some guiding questions.

Grading Criteria: 

• Does the student choose appropriate texts to discuss? (4%)
• Does the writer how in-depth engagement with their chosen social media text, including thoroughly addressing the provided guiding questions? (5%)
• Does the student adequately fact-check their social media source and find a reliable source on the topic? (5%)
• Does the writer address what they learned from this exercise, including answering the provided guided questions? (5%)
• Does the writer make specific references to the text(s) for support? (3%)
• Is the writing is organized and polished showing evidence of audience consideration, and an effective proofreading and editing process? (3%)

Approves Topic: The Ban on Abortions