Case Study Analysis Papers: Over the semester, we will discuss a variety of examples for the concepts we are talking about. During the semester, you must write two analyses and reflections of an application of the concepts from journalism, marketing, or entertainment in these examples. Thus, for each case study, you are essentially analyzing how that example illustrates that you are learning in class. Each paper should analyze a different case study.
Analyze each case study (either one you are aware of or from the list provided) to answer the following questions:
a) what was done and by whom
b) what digital communication technology(s) was used and how (at least 3)
c) what was the effect of the use
d) how what was done relates to what we have discussed in class.
You cannot write about any of the case studies we analyze together in class. You should have at least one illustration to clarify the case studies: illustrations can be visual, audio, and/or video. Each paper should be 750-1000 words long. You must cite course material to explain your analysis. Use APA or MLA style for in-text citations and the reference list.
You can find ideas for case studies below. Here is the PowerPoint with my example of an analysis of the television series Heroes: Case Study Analysis Papers (attached)
When writing your papers, keep the following rules in mind:
- Use concrete rather than vague language.
- Use active voice whenever possible.
- Avoid overusing there is, there are, it is, it was, etc.
- Don’t use two negatives to make a positive without good reason.
- Use consistent grammatical form when offering several ideas.
- Word order can make or ruin a sentence. If you start a sentence with an incomplete phrase or clause, it must be followed closely by the person or thing it describes.
- Place descriptive words and phrases as close as is practical to the words they modify.
- Avoid sentence fragments.
For these two analysis papers, you cannot write about any of the case studies we analyze together in class. Examples of campaigns that could be analyzed are found below — but almost anything you engage with on a daily basis could provide an example.
- The Walking Dead
- Robocop
- Red 2
- X-Men: Days of Future Past
- Elysium
- USA Today
- The Silent History
- WTF with Marc Maron
- Geico
- WGN
- Lay’s Potato Chips
- Mountain Dew
- New York Times
- The Guardian
- Washington Post Social Reader
- CNN iReports
- Fox News uReport
- Open Salon
- The Daily Beast
- National Public Radio
- The Avengers
- Magnum Ice Cream Bars
- Friskies
- Bounty
- The Hunger Games
- Daring Planet
- Archer
- Serial
- Girls with Slingshots
- Escape Routes
- My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
- Tron: Legacy
- Heroes
- Lost
- Sherlock Holmes
- Half the Sky The Game
- Coca-Cola
- Radiohead
- Bjork’s Biophilia
- Lady Gaga
- Greenpeace
