With our exhibition deadline of 12:00 on the 6th of December, attention turns to the digital essay which is due by midday on Monday 13 December.
Final galleries
We will make a copy of the boards at 12:00 on 6 December and use that copy to begin reviewing them. We are looking forward to seeing it in all its curated glory!
Digital essay
We are sharing some pointers below that we think capture some of the discussions we are having on the final assignment Miro board, which is here. We will be back on the Miro board all this week but we ask that you ask any questions you need answered (tagging James and I with @) by Thursday 9 December so we have a chance to answer anything the Friday after.
Coming up with an essay topic
We expect you have already moved beyond this stage, nevertheless we’ll repeat the importance of choosing an essay topic that is directly relevant to the EDC course and will give you an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding. You are not, though, expected to create an essay topic that covers all the course themes: that would almost certainly mean you would be unable to go into sufficient critical depth. So find something quite focused, and that interests you. Most of you have done this so well done.
Length
The idea of a word count does not translate very well to a digital essay, however please try to keep your written, spoken, or media commentary to around the 2000 or so word mark. There is no fixed amount of digital content you can or should include, however do bear in mind that when including sound, images or other material that they should be there to help support your different ideas: if they don’t add anything to the exposition of arguments or the overall effect, they probably don’t need to be there.
Choosing a medium
As we have been discussing a bit on the Miro board for the final assignment, you might find it helpful to think about a medium that will help to represent the knowledge you want to convey. Is there a format that you think will particularly help to explain the subject matter or your arguments? It might even be the case that the medium or genre become part of the argument itself? This is clearly something many of you are exploring already so well done there.
We would also say that, based upon past experience, it is much better to select and then stick to a single medium rather than trying to produce your essay across a range of different media. Therefore, if you opt for a video, you should probably avoid also producing an accompanying slide presentation as this would likely dilute the overall effect and might end up being confusing for the viewer/marker/James and I.
Scope
2000 words or so really isn’t very much in which to respond to an essay question, therefore take care to avoid covering too many topics. We don’t expect you to cover every single aspect of cyberculture (or community culture, or algorithmic culture), but instead want to see you go into critical depth in a quite focused way. General guidance here is you can never be too precise with these sorts of digital essays. One argument or position well made is better than two or three than aren’t being argued with sufficient depth.
Creativity and criticality
Don’t feel that as this a piece of summative assessment the imaginative approach that has characterised your work on this EDC course this semester should be left behind. There is definitely scope for working creatively with the essay, just as long as you combine that with a clear critical edge. Take some inspiration from your classmates here as there are some great ideas bouncing around that Miro board.
Defining terms
Please do take time to demonstrate your understanding of any terminology, concepts, theories or other ideas that you refer to. When it comes to marking we can only give credit to what is in the digital essay, rather than any understanding you have demonstrated during tutorial conversations or within the exhibition. This feedback is applicable to really the entire programme, though!
Using the literature
You will almost certainly want to draw on the literature we have been using in the EDC course, however you should also be looking to extend beyond that. Your ideas will be more persuasive when you draw on relevant and peer-reviewed literature to support them.
Referencing
Although this exercise asks you move beyond the conventional written essay, it is still important that you draw attention to the published scholarship that has informed your thinking. For instance, if you are recording a spoken commentary you could cite the author/date as you refer to a piece of work. In the case of a more visually-oriented approach, this author could be reproduced on the slide, website or elsewhere. Please also take time to include a reference list somewhere in the essay.
If you find referencing a bit tricky, you might wish to make use of the Cite Them Right resource which you can access for free as an Edinburgh University student. In fact, Cite Them Right suggests how to reference a wide range of different kinds of material. You will find a link to Cite Them Right on this page of the University website, alongside some more general information about referencing.
Copyright
Please do think about copyright and use conditions when preparing your digital essay. Your approach will perhaps need to be a little different to that in the exhibition where we have sought to gather together and reflect upon content published on the web. Within the digital essay there is likely to be a greater emphasis on using this work to deliver your own arguments and ideas. Therefore, before adding an image or piece of sound to a video, website, presentation etc, please check that copyright allows you to do so. Please also take time to acknowledge the author/source of that work just to make clear that you are not claiming this to be your own work. This information from the University offers some useful guidance on where you might find visual and audio content, and how you might establish whether you are entitled to use it.
Submission
Please submit your assignment via the Moodle site (you will need to log in with your student credentials), no later than midday on Monday 13 December.
Marking
We will be marking all of the essays therefore when composing your work, consider keeping an eye on the marking criteria for the exercise. Scroll down here to see what these criteria are.
Feedback
Within 15 working days of submitting the digital essay you will receive from us, via email, feedback comments, a grade and a percentage score for the digital essay and your work on the exhibition.
Thanks all!
Michael and James