It is important to get comfortable with all of the resources in your campus library. Think about a book you love that was turned into a movie (e.g., The Hobbit, The Hunger Games, or a book from the Harry Potter series). Search your library catalog to find a print copy of the book, an audiobook version, a translation of the book in a language other than English, a DVD or a soundtrack from the movie. Use a newspaper database to find movie reviews or interviews with the author.
Choose a national current event. Carefully read about it in two places:
On your favorite news Web site (e.g., www.cnn.com).
In a traditional national newspaper (e.g., the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Christian Science Monitor, or USA Today). A library will have these newspapers, or you can find them on the Web.
In a Word document, compare and contrast the differences in the way the event was described by the online news site and traditional national newspaper you chose.
Are the authors’ names or other sources provided?
Do you find clues that indicate the authors are taking a biased stand in reporting? If so, describe these clues.
For whom do you think the authors were writing (who is the intended audience)? For example, were they writing for any reader or for people of a certain age or educational level?
Were the facts presented the same way by both the online source and the print source? Explain your answer.
Did one source include more details than the other? If so, explain your answer.
Did the authors include their sources? If so, what were they?