Clueless in ROK

To: Prof. B

From: Student X,

Subject : Professor, I have another question.

Thanks for your answering, and I have one more question.^^;

Above all, I have something to tell you. I'm majoring in Mass Communication and Japanese, to be honest, this is the first time to take a lecture from American professor.
Also, I have no experience to write a paper (such as this long-length essay), so I'm unfamiliar with this kind of thing. I'm just writing the paper with following directions for MLA, this is also the first time to use this kind of style. Please forgive me for asking too much and making some mistakes in assignments.

I wonder is it okay to put some pictures related to the text. I heard, in American lecture, it depends on the professor. So, I just want to ask you to put those things in text. Or do I have to fill the paper with all letters?
Thanks for reading! I'll wait for your answer.
Have a nice weekend!



Dear Student X,

I understand your situation. I'd like to point out, though, that the paper assignment has nothing to do with my American citizenship, and that this isn't a very long paper. I realize that these days most students in Mass Communications don't intend to become traditional journalists but rather to go into television or other non-print media, but even there most employees with any sort of responsibility are expected to write memos and similar documents that offer an argument, with a clear beginning laying out the issue; an exposition of several paragraphs presenting out a cogent analysis in a logical, coherent manner; and a conclusion wrapping up the argument with a statement about what it all means. And doing so in about the same number of pages as this paper would probably take to make your point effectively. Frankly, I'm disturbed to hear that other professors don't assign such papers, whether in Korean or in English, because if they aren't, they are failing you -- not in the sense of assigning a non-passing grade, but, more importantly, in not preparing you for life outside of college.

If you are using an MLA handbook for guidance, that's fine. However, I don't require MLA or any particular style. In fact, like most historians, I personally don't usually use MLA formatting, but rather the Chicago Manual of Style, which is better suited to the nature of the evidence required in our analyses. All that I ask is that students use a style consistently, and that the style facilitate the citation of sources for quotations or other materials derived from outside reading. Remember that avoiding plagiarism is crucial! If you are using the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, I'd strongly recommend spending 10 minutes or so reading Chapter 2 on "Plagiarism and Academic Integrity," to make sure that you understand what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.

As to pictures, the purpose of the paper, again, is argument and exposition, and pictures are not in themselves an argument and exposition, but require argument and exposition before their presence makes sense. Is there a Korean equivalent to the famous saying in English that a picture is worth a thousand words? Well, in a paper like this, that doesn't mean that a picture could substitute for a thousand words -- it means you'd need a thousand words to explain why you've included it. So yes, by all means, use pictures if you like, especially for illustration, but as a visual bonus, not to take up the number of pages required. (And BTW, there is NO REQUIREMENT that a paper be of a certain length -- the 5-10 pages I referred to in the slides for the Introductory lecture were meant to allude to the fact that it takes a certain amount of space to do any decent analysis, and that for a topic like this, a comparison and contrast of two "things" in American culture, I can't imagine a strong analysis that wouldn't take up at least 5 or more double-spaced pages. In other words; the paper can have as few words as you want, but if there isn't a decent analysis, then there won't be a decent grade).

I hope this helps. Good luck!!

Professor B