*I highly recommend you print this page, read it early and often. This is a blueprint for how to write a good paper.

If you are nervous about your writing skills, why not seek help at one of Rutgers' Learning Centers? They offer private and group tutoring in writing. http://lrc.rutgers.edu/index.shtml

Magazine Comparison Paper

Basics of the project

For this paper you will compare a popular, mainstream magazine for women with a parallel kind of magazine for men. This semester the 2 magazines must be the February 2006 issues of Cosmopolitan and Maxim. Not British Cosmo, not Cosmo Girl, you must get the American versions of Maxim and Cosmo.

Your paper will present an ARGUMENT about what the mags show us about gender roles and expectations in this society today.

Above all, make sure your paper answers the following questions:

1. what are the major topics and preoccupations of each mag?
2. what do the mags show us about gender assumptions, stereotypes and roles in our society today?

How Long? Length of paper: 7 to 9 pages, minimum, (typed, double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font, one inch margins) (The paper may CERTAINLY be longer than 9 pages if you wish, but please no papers over 12 pages without permission from me. If the paper is less than 7 full pages it will definitely hurt your grade. Use your head: which is more likely to earn an A, a 7 page paper or a 9 page paper? Riiiiight. I am SERIOUS about the font size and margins!! I need to be able to see how the papers compare in terms of REAL length when grading them. If you don't know how to make your margins be one inch on all sides, here is how in Microsoft Word: go to file, then "page setup." You will see where to set margin size.

Format

It is important, when you make reference to images of any type from the magazines, to cut them out and include them in your paper so that I can SEE what you are talking about! It will probably be most convenient to put the paper and magazine clippings into some type of lightweight folder. Please, no notebook-style binder things--they become too heavy when I have 50 of them to carry home! Whatever format you choose, please try to ensure that your magazine clippings and/or covers will not easily detach and become separated from the paper --i.e. not just a paper clip to secure the package. The easier you can make it for me to see and refer to your illustrations/clippings, the better. (so if they are presented in order as the paper mentions them, that helps the impact of your paper.) Please do not put each page of the actual paper into a plastic sheet protector, because then I would have to remove each sheet in order to write comments on the pages.

How to handle quotes from the magazines themselves: tell what article (or whatever) the quote is from, in your text. Don't worry about telling me what page it appears on or the author's name, unless you feel like it.

Where to begin?

Don't be daunted just because this is an unusual project. I will be holding your hands every step of the way.

You should start by acquiring the two magazines, reading them cover to cover, and looking very carefully at the ads as well as the articles. It would make a lot of sense to make lists of the topics of the articles and of the types of ads (what products advertised) in order to help yourself see patterns and perhaps to be able to cite these statistics in your paper. For example, "In the women's magazine, x percent of the ads were for technology products, whereas in the men's magazine, x percent of the ads were for such products." It would even be nice to present tables or graphs with such statistics, if you find your results striking and want to highlight them in your finished paper. YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO DO THIS KIND OF STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. IT'S JUST AN OPTION. You should of course also focus on the "editorial content" of the two magazines (meaning everything that's NOT ads), though you may choose one or the other area to focus on more strongly in the paper. But try to achieve a balance between attention to ads and editorial. Try to give a good overall picture of the magazines.

PLEASE NOTE: IT IS A PRESUMPTION OF THE ASSIGNMENT THAT THE MAGAZINES TEACH FEMININITY AND MASCULINITY: YOU NEED A MORE INVOLVED MAIN IDEA (THESIS) THAN THAT--INVESTIGATE HOW THEY TEACH SUCCESSFUL MASCULINITY AND FEMININITY AND WHAT THOSE CONSIST OF.

NOTE: Try to avoid the common observation that "these magazines have their similarities and their differences." Of course they do! Get more analytical. Also try to avoid the common observation "Gee, these magazines seem different but when you really look at them they are exactly the SAME!!" No one yet has demonstrated this and you won't be able to either. :)

Your paper will not be judged on how feminist the ideas are. You should take on the role of a social scientist: you investigate, and you find what you find. Your ideas will be judged by how well they are ordered, expressed, and supported. There is no pre-set conclusion about what a comparison of a women's and a men's magazine will yield--your research will tell the tale.

You are required to quote from and/or refer to at least some of the articles (or films) studied in class, i.e. Steinem, Berger, Kilbourne and Kimmel, etc. in order to support your statements about how these magazines work.

Note: I have a database of all papers I've received in the last 5 years, so don't even think about "borrowing" from the paper of your friend who took the class last year. You will automatically fail the class and be sent to the Dean on plagiarism charges. This goes for one line that's borrowed, one paragraph, one page, or a whole paper.

Use examples from the magazines to support and develop your points!! How would you characterize the most significant contrasts you find? What do women and men care about, worry about, do with their days and nights, according to the magazines? To figure out such things, you will want to notice as many aspects of the magazine as possible. These may include,

--what do the covers tell us right off the bat about masculinity and femininity? Common sense tells us that the covers provide a high dosage of the ideology about men and women to be found inside the mags.

--what are the articles about? the regular columns and features? --the tone of the articles: what is the magazine's editorial voice? If this magazine were a person, what would he/she be like?

--does the magazine assume a particular socio-economic level, race, sexuality, education level on the part of its readers? How do you see this borne out in the magazine? Why is this important or interesting?

--Do the magazines present information that is genuinely useful? Is there misinformation?

--the photographs of people and fashion; the attitudes toward bodies, looks, fitness suggested by them. (We all know that very thin women are the norm in most magazines for women, so instead of stopping at that observation, look deeper for more details. Think about how the people appear in the images, what they are doing, etc. Pay attention to age, race, class, etc. as well as body size.) --ads-what products does femininity/masculinity require?

--graphic design --any differences between the 2 mags that are interesting? if so, analyze

--attitudes on sexuality, dating, marriage, family

--attitudes toward the other sex (BOTH magazines will tell things about masculinity AND femininity)

--any evidence of non-heterosexual people or behavior?

--feminist awareness or anti-feminist stance

--is any other political consciousness evident, and if so, what does it consist of? Are economic or world issues covered, and if so, what kind of things are considered of interest?

--any "double messages" or contradictions?

--do these magazines "honor" the feminine and the masculine? Is there degradation?

--humor?

DO NOT , however, feel that you must include all these topics: focus on the aspects that seem most relevant to your magazines and most interesting and noteworthy to you!

You can also consider your response and level of interest. Do you enjoy the magazines? What parts speak to you or do not? How do you read it? What exactly is enjoyable about it? It IS OK to use the first person in your paper.

And obviously, it would be good to address the economic functions of the magazines, as we have done in class when discussing Steinem, etc. This is, after all, their reason for existing.

Make sure that your paper provides a fairly dense level of examples from the mags so that it proves to the reader what you are saying. You might want to imagine that you are trying to convince a skeptical person --you'll need lots of examples, not just one, to prove a point.

It seems that often students focus more intensely on the women's mag and don't really say too much about the men's mag. Make sure to give them fairly equal treatment.

Often students say that they feel uncertain about how to begin the paper, or how to conceptualize the whole project. I often hear from students that they just don't know how to organize the ideas in their magazine papers. I think this is probably partly due to the fact that it is an unusual assignment to analyze a piece of pop culture, and you don't have models for this kind of writing. That is why I try to provide tons of info about what the paper should do. Here is some more info about organizing your ideas.

FIRST: I strongly recommend that you organize your ideas by theme, not by type of content. What I mean by this is, don't talk about ads for 4 pages, then editorial for 4 pages. The ads and the editorial are all conveying the same messages, aren't they? So organize by theme (topic) for a stronger paper. 

There are UNLIMITED ways to organize the ideas in this paper. TRY not to obsess about this---the only important thing is that you DO CHOOSE some way to organize your ideas. Organization is crucial in ANY writing assignment, but the ways students organize the mag paper vary enormously.

Important basics about organization:

1. each paragraph deals with only one topic--that is the reason the paragraph form exists, to mark off separate topics so the reader can see where things are going and absorb the ideas more easily.

2. each paragraph should begin with a "topic sentence" -- the topic sentence introduces the topic of the paragraph. For example, "In Cosmo we find a lot of complementary copy, which is defined as editorial content inserted to support or complement the ads." When we read this we know where we are going, that the rest of the paragraph will tell us about complementary copy in Cosmo. You can improve your writing so much just by paying more attention to the paragraph form and topic sentences!!! This might seem very 7th grade to you, but in fact the best writers of the world adhere to these guidelines.

3. The paper should have an intro and a conclusion.

REMINDER:

You are not expected to come to any specific pre-ordained conclusions in the paper. You are expected to scrutinize the mags carefully, describe what you see, synthesizing the material, and come to the conclusions that YOUR intelligence brings you to. It is not a contest to see who can sound the most feminist. As you have heard a million times in school, the important thing is to be able to support your conclusions with persuasive evidence.

EVIDENCE, EVIDENCE, EVIDENCE!!!! The most common fault of mag papers is that they do not use evidence effectively--usually because they do not present enough of it. If you want to make a point about an aspect of masculinity that you find to be a strong theme in Maxim, then find at least 3 or 4 concrete examples (or more!) and pack them into your paragraph. A strong theme in one of the mags could be shown by citing examples from ads, images, text in articles, any text anywhere, etc.

* Reminder: Please don't make the word "editorial" plural. You probably want to use the word "article" or "piece" instead. Example, there is a piece in Cosmo about how to make a romantic supper for your guy." Do not say, "There is an editorial in Cosmo about how to make supper..." Only use the word "editorial" when referring to ALL the content in the mag that is NOT ads. For example, "The editorial in Cosmo tends to have a tone that is ..."

Here is a blueprint for the paper for those who are stuck:

Intro: tells us the overarching stuff about masculinity and femininity that you found most striking in the mags. Careful not to blah blah blah too much with bland generalities about how magazines and society interact--grab the reader by getting into the paper topic quickly!

sample paragraph: (just a sample--please do not think this is what you must say in your paper!!)

In Cosmo we see the underlying assumption that women (or men or whatever) ____ __________________________. For example, one article about _____ states "__ ___________________". This indicates ________________. An ad for ____________________ also shows this in the way it ____________________________. Even the [advice columns, or editor's letter, or whatever] reflect this. For example, _________________________________. etc. etc. Then a concluding sentence.

new paragraph:

This is different from the way we see this (same or related theme or whatever) in Maxim. In Maxim, the assumption about X is that _____________________________. We see this in the ads, which mostly do __________________. It is also seen in the article about _______, in which _______(etc.) And so on and so forth, with examples and analysis of the topic of this paragraph. Analyze here or in next paragraph this difference (or similarity) between the two mags in how this one theme or issue is seen.

Notice that each of my paragraphs deals with only one topic. Notice that there is a logical progression from paragraph one to paragraph two. Notice that the topic sentence (first sentence) of each paragraph tells us what the topic of that paragraph is going to be.

The road to a good paper: HAVE lots of insights, organize them logically, present evidence to convince the reader of what you are claiming, analyze what this all says about gender roles and stereotypes. And include clips from mag (can be at end, throughout, any way you choose!) so the reader can SEE what you are describing.

Write clearly and directly. Don't strive to sound more sophisticated than you think you are.Don't use a lot of jargon (fancy or made-up words) that you have heard professors using. Get friends to proofread. Get a friend to read it and give you honest feedback about whether it is INTERESTING, or too obvious, or not persuasive, etc. If you are presenting evidence and analyzing it, the paper SHOULD BE interesting.

And..... try to have some fun doing it!

Important: many students obsess that they have lots of "random" observations about the mags that don't fit neatly into the organization of the paper. Don't sweat it. If it is an interesting observation that
has to do with gender ideology in the mags, it FITS!

1. poor organization of ideas
2. lack of rich detail and evidence to support points
3. lots of sentence-level errors

Writing Mechanics

Reminder: this is a "writing intensive" course. You are not doing a LOT of writing, so that's why I'm putting so much emphasis on writing skills in this paper. You can apply these things to writing you do elsewhere, and maybe it can help!I have been an English teacher as well as a Women's Studies teacher. You WANT this paper to read smoothly and to be impeccable in its grammar, spelling and punctuation. If you KNOW that you have trouble with these elements, GET a friend or relative to help proofread the paper. Find a grad student and pay them if you have to! Your paper is a representation of you--you should care about how it looks to the reader. There is no excuse for misspellings, typos, missing words, repeated words, run-on sentences, fragments, etc.

I strongly recommend that good old basic from 6th grade, the topic sentence. If you can start each paragraph with a sentence that indicates what that paragraph will be about, you are well on the way to a very organized and coherent paper!

You DON'T want to misuse its and it's, affect and effect, etc. You DON'T want to have sentence fragments in your paper. Here are a few examples of bad sentences that are very typical of what I see:

"Meaning that women are only supposed to care about how they look." (a
fragment--there's no verb)

"While the men's magazine doesn't have any ads for [whatever]." (a fragment--don't start sentence with "while" unless you know what you are doing.

Note: do not address the reader directly as "you." This is a too casual conversational style.

It is ok to use the first person, to say "I think" etc. But avoid a too casual style.

Do not use exclamation points, except in the rarest of circumstances. (too casual)

I have been asked how you should handle using quotes in your mag paper.

1. If quoting from articles we read, you do not need to provide a
bibliography. If quoting from outside articles, you should provide a
bibliography.

2, First time you refer to an author, use his or her first and last
name. Subsequently, use only the last name.

3. Typical quote would look like this:

As John Berger states in "Ways of Seeing," "men act and women appear" (135). [please note punctuation]

Or:

We see in this ad a perfect illustration of the idea that "men act and women appear" (Berger 135). [i put author's name since i had not mentioned it before, so reader knows where quote comes from]

Below, I have put several links to parts of the writing program's website that I think could be very useful for some of you.

proofreading:

http://wp.rutgers.edu/courses/101/tutorama/13_proofreading.html

revising a rough draft:

http://wp.rutgers.edu/courses/101/tutorama/03_revising_first_draft.html

connective thinking:

http://wp.rutgers.edu/courses/101/tutorama/04_making_connections.html

asking the questions that matter:

http://wp.rutgers.edu/courses/101/tutorama/10_asking_the_questions_that_matter.html

writing introductions and conclusions:

http://wp.rutgers.edu/courses/101/tutorama/12_introductions_and_conclusions.html

guides to citation (proper format for using quotes) and proofreading:

http://wp.rutgers.edu/courses/101/proofreading/index.html

Here are links to help with a few grammar problems that seem to be among the most common ones today:

Here's a gem of a little page with words and phrases that help you make transitions between sentences and paragraphs!

Here are guidelines to what makes a paper an A, a B, a C, or a D. I did not write these guidelines, but I find them suitable for my own standards of grading.

Here is a detailed explanation of what makes for a good "compare and contrast" paper

Terminology for describing parts of magazines

I went and did some research on terminology for various elements of a magazine. Here are some terms that may perhaps be useful to some of you as you describe the content of your magazines. Please don't feel you have to use all these terms! it is just for your convenience.

What to call the words on the cover: headlines, or blurbs

Sidebars A sidebar is a square or rectangular box filled with a grey or lightly colored background. The text within the sidebar is either related to the main story, or a completely separate article.

Captions A caption explains a photograph or graphic image. It might be as simple as the name of the person pictured, or a few lines describing the action or setting.

HEADLINE: title of any article in the magazine

Subheads Subheads are small headlines that organize the body of the article. They break up the text, making the article seem shorter and easier to read.

Pull Quote - A pull quote is a short phrase, or quote taken from the article that appears in a larger font size.  The use of a larger bolder element against smaller text creates interest for the reader.  These also serve to break up long gray passages of text that are visually uninteresting.  

kicker The first sentence or first few words of a story's lead, set in a font
size larger than the body text of the story.

masthead The page of a publication that gives its staff and editorial information. and of course.....

Editorial:   the totality of the non-advertising part of a publication. 

advertorial --is an AD, that is masquerading as editorial. these almost always have "advertisement" written at top or bottom in teeny letters

complementary copy--with an E!!  this is NOT ADS, rather it's any editorial copy that praises products or companies advertising in the mag, or that helps draw attention to ads, or that "provides a supportive atmosphere" for the ads. it does NOT have to be directly adjacent to or near the ad to be considered complementary copy, though it often IS nearby. Complementary copy can take many many forms. It's not always possible to be sure if something is indeed complementary copy. The mags have a lot of pressure on them to keep the advertisers happy so that they will keep advertising in their mags. [Indeed we are now starting to see some examples of ads that complement other ads --could be from 2 companies owned by the same parent company, or could be for products, then for stores that sell the products.]

These things do NOT have to be placed directly opposite or near ads to be considered complementary copy.

Note again: The word "editorial" in this context should NOT be made plural. Example: "The editorial in the magazine focused mainly on beauty and dating advice." (One can also say "editorial content." This is what Steinem is referring to when she uses the shortened term "edit." All mean the same thing: everything in the mag that's NOT ads.)

 How to Write a Good Magazine Paper! (as presented in class)

1. THESIS: Should appear in the first or 2nd paragraph. Should respond to the question “what do these magazines show us about gender norms in our society today?” Thesis can be more than one sentence. Don’t try to write the thesis until you have written most of the rest of the paper--that is when you will know what your BIG point is. Avoid a thesis that is a very obvious or bland statement, for example (“These magazines show us that women are supposed to be feminine and men are supposed to be masculine.”)

2. EVIDENCE/EXAMPLES!!! Make sure to use lots of concrete evidence from the magazines to support your points. A classic great paragraph would assemble at least 3 examples to prove its point, or, possibly, dissect one particular thing in the magazine and describe it/quote from it in detail, to help the reader really SEE what you are describing.

3. Use some quotes or references to articles we read in class and/or films we viewed to help support your argument. (At least a few, if you want a strong paper.)

4. When you refer to any images in the magazine, include the clipping of the image (in any format you wish, can be scanned, etc.) so your poor reader is not left having to try to imagine what you are describing! Put them all at the back, or whatever works for you, but make sure your system is user-friendly so your reader can find the image you are referring to easily.

5. PROOFREAD until you are f*****g blue in the face! :) Read it out loud to yourself to catch errors. Have 32 friends/relatives read it to catch errors.

6. PARAGRAPHS should deal with one topic only. If your paragraphs are over 1/2 to 2/3 of a page, it is almost certain that they are wandering around from topic to topic. This is a problem because your reader will get confused about what you are trying to say. A paragraph is designed to cover one topic only; this is to help readers follow the argument.

7. Make sure the paper is at least 7 to 9 FULL pages long, with one inch margins.

8. The paper should discuss the entirety of the magazines, editorial as well as ads. Text as well as images.

9. Strive to give a good comprehensive view of the magazines.

10. Try to make your paper interesting. [And yes, you can use “I.”]

11. Don’t panic, just because you haven’t written a paper for ages, or you’ve never written a paper about pop culture. You can do it! I am here to hold your hand. Just reach out. This is supposed to be FUN.