The internet should reward quality thinking, not clickbait. That’s why we’ve created a better home for writers, journalists and experts. It’s simple to use, free from ads, and connects you to curious, avid readers, so you can focus on what matters: putting your best work out there.
In this assignment, students write a critical essay for presentation on a platform such as Medium. At present, Medium is the most useful and open marketplace for online essays: authors range from high schoolers to public intellectuals such as Baratunde Thurston and Lawrence Lessig.
This assignment could be used in nearly any discipline, since Medium creates a platform for essays in a vast array of fields and areas of interest and provides linking between related articles.
Examples
ASSIGNMENT: Read Matthew Biggins’ “Welcome to the Influencer Economy,” and write a critical response for posting on Medium. Use the May 18th, 2018 episode of Shankar Vedantam’s “Hidden Brain” podcast entitled “This is Your Brain on Ads” to support your argument.
Faculty example (op-ed style Medium essay):
Alex Barron, “Why your smartphone and acid rain should give you hope about climate change”
Learning Goals
- Practice in deep reading comprehension, critical response.
- Development of skills in the use of primary and secondary sources.
- Opportunity to establish an authoritative and engaging “public” voice.
