Political Communication Issues: Reflective Journal and Essay

For the first journal log, you will identify an issue in political communication that you may encounter in your own professional practice and is related to one of the unit topics. Reflect on your own analysis of the theory and arguments from the topics covered throughout the unit that relate to your issue. For example, if your issue is about how election campaigns are focused on personality rather than policy you may focus on the readings from Week 8: Politics, Personality and Celebrity. Or your issue may be how to
 
The second journal log builds on your first journal log to reflect on how your analytical skills are progressing. Discuss how your personal understanding of the issue and theory has developed. For example, what have you found most challenging or rewarding about creating a problem-solving strategy. Consider what you have learnt and how you can use this new knowledge in the future. Or you can choose to reflect on a different issue that you may encounter in your workplace if you want to explore other topics within the unit.
Submission for this assessment is via the CloudDeakin assessment dropbox and feedback will be given in time to help you improve for the next assessment.
Reflective journals are personal records of students’ learning experiences. The purpose of the journal is to encourage you to relate the theory taught in the unit to your own observations and experiences. It aims to help you become more aware of how you approach new information and ideas in your professional practice. Another goal is to give you more insight into how you learn so that you can develop new problem-solving skills. Reflection on how you analyse is particularly useful when problems arise in political communication given its public and fast-paced nature - it's better to think before you Tweet! Here is a useful link that explains more about how to write reflectively: http://www.deakin.edu.au/students/studying/study-support/academic-skills/reflective-writing
A good journal log would:
1. Describe a political communication issue
2. Reflect on your own observations and experiences of that issue
3. Explain your analysis of the theory and literature on that issue
4. Conclude what you have learnt
2. Essay

This assessment expands on your identification of an issue in political communication. Firstly, outline your issue in more depth and justify why it is an important one to consider. Secondly, critically analyse the theories and debates about what has been said about that issue. Thirdly, based on the literature and theory, argue why your approach would be best to solve the issue. This assessment requires referencing throughout the essay to support your facts and arguments. At least 10 references would be considered adequate for this word count.
A good essay:
1.Starts with an introduction that defines the political communication issue and clearly outlines the structure of your essay and what your argument will be;
2.Demonstrates your understanding and engagement with the literature (you should cite and reference at least 10 academic sources). You can also use some media sources to illustrate your points.
3.Provides a thoughtful discussion and critical analysis of the theory and debates about the topic before stating your own position;
4.Is clearly written, formatted and referenced