Topic and Matrix for 4th Short Group Writing Assignment, MODR 1730

Topic: 4th Short Group Writing Assignment, due anytime during Weeks 10 and worth 20% of final grade: “In one paragraph (half an 8.5 x 11” page, single-spaced text, 12-point font, no word count), give a reasoned response to the following claim: ‘Television is a cold medium in the sense that it gives the viewer relatively little information but demands that one’s exclusive attention, as opposed to a hot medium like radio which gives the audience a lot of information but demands very little of its attention.”

Matrix:

Here is a matrix for this assignment. If you can construct a better matrix, use that one:

1. First sentence: give a conceptual definition of a “cold medium.” 

2. Second sentence: give a conceptual definition of a “hot medium.” 

3. Third sentence: explain how television (in all its generations, from 2-3 channel television to contemporary streaming services) meets the definition in sentence 1.

4. Fourth sentence: explain how radio (in all its generations, from AM radio to contemporary streaming services) meets the definition in sentence 2.

5. Fifth sentence: summarize your paragraph and exit gracefully from it.