Final Paper Overview
Over the course of the semester, you will research and write an approximately 4000-4500-word essay on how a popular text from the past (e.g., book/book series, movie/movie series, TV series) would or would not change if the characters had one or more of today’s mobile communication technologies (e.g., smartphone, Apple Watch, Snapchat).
For example, imagine if Romeo and Juliet had smartphones? You would write a paper citing relevant academic research on mobile phones, apps, and devices as evidence for how the story of Romeo and Juliet might be altered. You would also use your discussion about Romeo and Juliet to make a bigger point about mobile communication. In your paper, your argument will be based on evidence from published social scientific research in peer-reviewed journals, and your essay will reflect mastery over a topic of your choosing regarding mobile communication and its relationship to society, culture, and/or politics. Think of this paper as a mix between a communication studies literature review and an English or film class paper. In preparation for the final paper, you will turn in 2 shorter written assignments—a proposal and an annotated bibliography.
For each assignment, anonymized samples from students in prior classes have been posted to Canvas.
Tips
• In order to identify academic journals (and find relevant articles), you will need to start by doing a preliminary literature search. We will review how to find and evaluate high quality research literature in class. I’m also more than happy to make suggestions if you make an office hours appointment with me.
• The more literature you read (or the lack of literature you find), the more likely you will make small adjustments to the scope of your topic. This is a good thing to do early on because it also allows you to make more targeted recommendations in your final paper.
Overview
Throughout the semester, you have worked on developing expertise in a topic related to mobile communication through creatively critiquing and reimagining a text from popular culture, grounding your analysis in research evidence. In your Annotated Bibliography, you identified, summarized, and critiqued research evidence in a specific body of literature. For your Final Paper, you will incorporate previous
assignments and feedback, and prepare a paper that consists of the following components:

1. Title Page
2. Introduction
3. Body
4. Conclusion
5. References
6. Title Page
   • On the Title Page, please include a) your name, b) a title for your paper, and c) a word count (excluding References).
7. Introduction (~500 words)
   • Identifies your chosen popular culture text from the past
   • Provides initial overview of the text’s main plot, premise, and if relevant, impact on popular culture
   • Identifies why this text deserves/is well suited for adaptation
   • Identifies the mobile communication technology/s chosen to reinterpret the text
   • Includes a thesis that:
   o Makes clear what would and would not change if the characters had one or more of today’s mobile communication technologies (i.e., not everything about the text need be changed radically)
   o Makes a broader argument about mobile communication and its relationship to society, culture, and/or politics (incorporating relevant
   themes, theories, and/or concepts from the course)
8. Body (~3000-3500 words)
   • Overall
   o Organize your review by common themes (e.g., similar methodological or theoretical approaches, psychological effects, types of social media, etc.), and arrange them such that your Literature Review builds logically from beginning to end.
   • Research Literature
   o Overall, your paper should incorporate at least fifteen (15) academic journal articles, book chapters, or books. You may spread these 15 across the Introduction,
   Body, and Conclusion. o Do not take up too much space providing every detail of the cited literature, only the most
   relevant aspects to that part of the argument.
   • Adaptation
   o Provides: Specific details about the text (e.g., plot points, lines of dialogue); Evidence of “close reading”; Obvious connection between text, thesis, and citations.
   o Highlights any similar technologies used by characters in the text;
   Compares and contrasts these with the affordances of your chosen mobile technology/s.
   o Body of paper is structured (with headings) into key sections; Each section builds on top of the other to argue your thesis.
   • Media
   o Incorporates at least three (3) images/video that advance the paper’s argument.
   o Image/video are not self-explanatory; Full explanation provided and incorporated in the body of the essay (e.g., “In Figure 1…); Includes caption for photo.
   o Caption includes a citation (if you found the media on a website or took a screengrab from a movie/TV show). If you made the media (e.g., a pretend screenshot of conversation), note that in the caption.
9. Conclusion (~250-500 words)
   • Reiterates thesis and summarizes body.
   • Describes broader questions/ideas the essay was intended to provoke; Explains why people who study mobile media and communication technologies should care (even if they aren’t intimately familiar with your chosen popular culture text)