WA#4: Essay Reflection Task: Choose one of your formal papers, either the Six-Source Essay or the MultiSource Essay/Literature Review, and write a reflection on the essay in terms of both process and product. Length: 500 words (2 double-spaced pages) Format: APA 7 Point of view: The essay reflection will be written in the first person point of view. The reflective essay is an opportunity for writers to critically assess the progress they have made in thinking, researching, and writing about a chosen topic. Writing a reflective essay allows a writer to tell the unique story of how a topic idea, cultivated through research, grew into a paper. It is a chance to think in a sustained way about the context, objectives, and process of a writing project. Remember to talk specifically about choices you made regarding summarizing and synthesizing sources in your paper. Use examples from your paper to help your readers to understand your process. Here are some questions that will help you to prepare for a reflective paper: Context: ? What was the purpose of the essay? Do I think I achieved that purpose? ? What do research sources say about my chosen topic? Did the research say different things than I expected it to say? ? How did the readers react to the paper? What was interesting, surprising, or difficult about the reactions to the paper? Objectives: ? What are my learning goals for the course? How did researching and writing the essay help me to further those goals? What obstacles presented themselves that hindered my progress towards those goals? ? What ideas did I have about my topic when I began? How did the research sources affect those ideas? Did my ideas change as a result of the thinking, researching, and writing process? ? Did researchers from different fields report different findings on the topic? ? What information did I want readers to have as a result of reading the paper? What information do I want readers to have now? Process: ? What was my experience in researching the topic? ? What was my experience in writing the paper? ? How did I synthesize sources in the papers? What specific choices did I make? ? What challenges did I face as I did the work? What successes did I ? achieve? How did I respond to these challenges and successes? ? How did responses from other readers and writers change my process? To receive additional labor points incorporate at least 3 quotes and APA citations from your research into this reflection. Helpful Resources: “How to write a reflection paper.” (2021). How to guide. Trent University. https://www.trentu.ca/academicskills/how-guides/ho… ment/how-write-reflection-pape
Examples from Reflection Essays
Disciplinary Awareness
“The research I did this summer focused on sorption of cesium and strontium by soils. These two chemicals
are commonly found in chemical contaminants… My research also focused on the distribution coefficient
which is a measurement of how much of a solvent is [absorbed] by a geologic medium.”
“I found that many of the readings I came across regarding abortion seemed to convey a strong belief in
human rights, which was demonstrated by the dichotomy of “pro-choice” versus “pro-life” beliefs. Both of
these stances entail issues surrounding a woman’s right to choose when to give birth as well as a fetus’s right
to live, which fall under the realm of reproductive rights.”
“The Attorney General can have an impact on public policy when he issues opinions on the legality or
constitutionality of proposed or enacted laws. Attorney General Abbott discussed how he established a Cyber
Crimes Unit, a Fugitive Unit, and expanded the Medical Fraud Control Unit. He also discussed how he
appeared before the Supreme Court in order to defend the constitutionality of the 10 Commandments display
on the Texas Capital grounds… The Attorney General can become involved with high-profile public policy,
which can leave the office in the public eye.”
Interdisciplinary Awareness
“To understand how a contaminant moves through the soil, you have to understand geology, mineralogy,
environmental engineering, and a little bit of nuclear chemistry. If I did not research the
mineralogy of my soil sample, I would not have understood what was absorbing the cesium and strontium
ions. If I didn’t know some about nuclear chemistry, I would have not understood radioactive liquid
tracers that are used to measure distribution coefficients. The engineering work comes in to play in
designing and implicating experiments with the implementation of a solution method after.”
“While I was reading about abortion policies, I was able to apply a government and international
perspective to my research. I also visited health clinics which allowed me to view this issue from a
healthcare perspective as well as a social work perspective by witnessing the effects and
implementation of governmental policies. Finally, in reflecting about my experience, I was able to apply a
women’s studies perspective that reflected patriarchal ideals which makes accessing healthcare difficult
for some women.”
“Journalism played a role in my research, because I had to go through many news articles finding relevant
materials for my research… Social Justice is a very important part of my research, and I found out through
this connecting experience that there are many organizations dedicated to the cause of Social Justice and they
employ the same scientific methods in seeking out the truth… I learned that most things involve multiple
disciplines like my research. For example, for politics to reach the people, the media has to first organize
the information in ways that the people can understand.”
Interdisciplinary Comparison
“A difference that can be observed of different disciplines is their purpose. The environment side is trying
to keep the planet clean and sustainable. The purpose of economics (there are many depending on which
side one looks from) can be seen as the study of the human behavior and their consumer habits with respect
to monetary values. Despite the differences between the two subjects they intersect since policies tend to
depend on the economics. A common underlying similarity between disciplines is the expansive nature of
things. No discipline is one sided, there is always more to what it seems. They all analyze concepts and come
to a conclusion, which can be influenced by their moral purpose.”
“The most striking realization I came to was that sociology and psychology relate to each other in more
complex ways than I had thought. Previously, I built on the analogy of the natural sciences to think of
sociology as the emergent outcome of psychology, like biology arises from chemistry, which itself comes
from physics. However, in Spain I realized this is an oversimplification. Psychology, identity, and (therefore)
action, are constructed through relationships with existing social structures. Since we are born into
societies with existing power and normative relationships, sociology influences psychology very strongly.”
“Through this research, I saw the connection these three topics had with each other. One aspect of politics
is the process of making laws, and laws can be made to ensure Social Justice. In the case of my research,
one of the bills I was researching was about putting regulations on the payday industry and the industry was
giving a lot of campaign contributions to stop this bill.”
Transfer of Knowledge and Skills
“I have some basic coursework in geology which gave me a broad introduction to some of the mineralogy
work I performed. My chemical engineering coursework in transport phenomena also gave me some
background information in liquid and solid movement.”
“I found that I was also well versed in women’s reproductive health issues, such as pregnancy, contraceptives,
and pregnancy because I had just taken a Women’s Reproductive Health course the previous semester that
focused on the sociological and biological perspective of these issues. Because I had this background, I felt that
I had a strong foundation regarding these issues as I began my research which allowed for a further
understanding of these subjects.”
“Knowledge I have gained in previous experiences and courses affected the way I understood my connecting
experience with Consumer Protection Division. Previously, I interned with city government and a majority of
my work involved Internet research. I learned how to summarize the research, pull out the important points,
and present it to my supervisor. All of these skills transferred to my experience with CPD and were further
developed with my research on Children’s Online Privacy Protection (COPPA).”
Self-Reflection
“Before my internship I knew I wanted to attend grad school, but I always said I want to work two years then
figure it out. My coworkers pushed and poked my brain to really determine what I want to do now. They
made me realize how hard it is to start working and go back to grad school. I have now figured out that I
want to start my master’s degree the following fall. I have also decided that not only do I want to get my
Master’s in Environmental Engineering but I also want to get my Master’s in Business Administration.”
“I discovered that as I continued to learn about the area of reproductive rights, I was drawn to the social
work perspective because of my interest in a “hands-on” approach to aiding women accessing these services. I
also learned that I am much more interested in the practical application of this research, such as social work
practice, rather than performing the actual research. I feel that this experience has furthered my knowledge in
women’s reproductive health issues and will be beneficial for me when I apply to intern at a local women’s
health clinic in the fall.”
“I have discovered many different aspects of myself through my connecting experience. While working with
Children’s Online Privacy Protection (COPPA) I realized that I do have an interest in the laws that regulate
the Internet. I enjoyed my assignment and would like to see how the act develops and how it is enforced in
the future… Through my connecting experience, I have been able to refine my professional goal of becoming a
lawyer. The experience has allowed me to observe the public service career path and now I believe it is a path
that I want to take… The experience taught me that I can do both and I do not have to rule out one or the
other. The experience also taught me that I want to go into an area of law that allows me to prepare and
present cases in court.”
Understanding of Subject
“The whole idea of conservation and sustainability is important to the field of environmentalism. At
Environment Texas their mission is to have clean air, clean water and open spaces… There were various bills
that Environment Texas was supporting such as an extension to the Clean Water Act that would apply to
intermittent water ways, support for a limit on mercury emissions, a push for more electric cars and better
building codes. All the campaigns had a common goal of bettering the environment through different means
such as more stringent codes and regulation or using more environmental resources.”
“I learned that a social justice view explores the conventions of how local policies reflect issues of morality
rather than medical facts about women’s health, and how these policies negatively affect women seeking these
services. I observed that these perspectives of human rights and social justice remain relevant within the realm
of women’s reproductive health as local policies reflect, or fail to reflect these ideals.”
“Social Justice, Politics, and Law are all relevant disciplinary perspectives to my connecting experience. By
interning with the Consumer Protection Division, I actively participated in social justice by aiding the CPD
lawyers in protecting Texas consumers and the business community. I quickly learned that consumer
complaints formed the basis of many investigations and legal actions that brought companies performing
deceptive business practices to justice. One of the activities I participated in included consumer complaint
review and analysis.”
1
Literature Review: Social Media and Political Polarization
Olamide Olatunji
University of Maryland Global Campus
Wrtg 391
03/2/2024
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Literature Review: Social Media and Political Polarization
Introduction
Political polarization has the defined meaning of how much an opinion or an idea is
pissed at and the fact that it attracts more and more pissing over time (Kubin & Von, 2021). The
unprecedented expansion of social media to the younger generation has made an individual
acquire less stability in life as others tend to be easily influenced by the ideas around them.
Social media are in the vanguard regarding political and other relevant news affecting people’s
lives. Observations from the annotated bibliography and the six-source essay helped establish
that Twitter is the most used web platform for political engagement. A mere raw material of
information lies in facilitating interactions between individuals on social media platforms, where
people usually gain political information.
Constant social media allows high users to change or modify their political opinions,
unlike those who use it moderately(Kubin & Von, 2021). It is pronounced that, at the moment,
political polarization is at the height of its activity, and the so-called modern era creates the
blame for which social media is guilty. Nevertheless, the amount of concern has been rapidly
rising because social media organizations are believed to be one of the media used to influence
young generations.
According to Steinhauer, (2021). Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other web
technologies have conquered the world so much that it is hard to imagine how lives were
managed without social media. The phenomenon of modern connectivity using social media and
other communication platforms is deliberated and perceived to increase polarization.Polarization
is caused by the creation of echo chambers, which further reduce people’s ability to analyze
critical issues from different aspects. The identical information allows them to self-select only
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the information that coincides with their beliefs, which turns everyone into a shared reality and
perception(Weeks et al., 2017). Political participants use the discovery of the popularity and
success of this media and start using it to reach their supporters, persuade them to vote for them,
and provide information that furthered their political views (Alodat et al., 2023). The media
communication tries to convince and carries it into either changing or influencing.
Mass Media
Mass media is the platform that disseminates information to the rest of the world.
Although media has become seen as the critical component of a liberal society, it remains
essential for the formation of democracy(Weeks et al., 2017). Broadcast media also gives out
information to the general public. It is an excellent way to get people’s opinions regarding
political, social, and economic news. It can be used to highlight the ill-treatment of the Black
American population. Therefore, it demonstrates the significance of free media and what or who
controls and limits media freedom.
People are currently moving in an increasingly advanced world of information, the origin
of which was in the days of the pre-web. The evolution of journalism accompanied the rise and
development of the print media, which was later combined with radio to give birth to cable
TV(Steinhauer,2021)). Presently, online platforms are the most popular gateways for users to
read the news from all corners of the world in their comfort. This platform for choice over how
news media is accessed enables the latter to structure and shape narratives that ultimately
influence the political sphere(Steinhauer,2021)).
The Internet, Social Media, and the Participation of Citizens in the Political Process.
Social media and the Internet become the critical sources of mobilizing political rallies
with low entrance toll and the capability to allow for horizontal information flow(Rathi et al.,
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2021). One thing that differentiates these people in regions with autocratic rule from those in
democracies is that the people there do not have any means to implement political reforms
through elections. Thus, they resort to protests to show their discontent, leading to regime
change. With strict political control, gaining access to social media is relatively easy, especially
with the low barriers to entering social media. It makes it even simpler to disseminate
information concerning the government, the government establishment, or anything there is to
know about it. The disgruntled voters begin to propagate the torch of protests directly(Rathi et
al., 2021). E-transmission of information both vertically and laterally among social media users
assists in organizing strategies and sharing of information with those supporting the idea and
draws in more of the participants.
According to several research studies, rumors and myths spread through social media
have also contributed to the eruption of protests. Research indicates that tracking the influence
on China by looking at the blogging sites besides those that get blocked showed that the
knowledge of revolts and strikes achieved over 200 million posts. Employing a similar context,
(Lujambio, 2023) found Twitter posts about Tahrir Square to constitute a foretelling factor of the
actual number of persons who showed interest in participating in the revolts the next day.
Through their study, the researcher revealed a close link between national street protests and
social media platform usage that their proposed hypothesis had indicated. In addition, the first
investigation in 2015 showed a similar pattern of findings: a higher level of social media
coordination linked to Twitter resulted in more people joining the protests the next day during
the Arab Spring (Kubin & Von, 2021).
Conglomerates in Media
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According to Bail (2018), competition among other sources of information weakens
media competence, which was previously impossible, and media dominates the coverage of the
information. Companies that conglomerates will eventually own the media outlets and curb their
independence- this will lead to the website of censorships (Culloty & Suiter, 2021). This
introduces an information monopoly where they can prevent citizens from accessing all the
available knowledge.
The Internet, Social Media, and Their Consequences on Polarization
The individual is presented with political content online, which is closer to their political
ideology than their other political ideologies. (Bail, 2018) says that on the social media feature,
users view opponents’ views on the narrow side. Users have access to information about any
given ideology according to the algorithm that many social media platforms use and the
decisions of the users to post information that evenly shares all their viewpoints (Rathi et al.,
2021). Political communication is distinguished by an exceptionally high degree of informality
that makes finding a person with the same interests easier.
Social media and Xenophobia
The platforms provided by social media to transmit messages from one end of the world
to another can cause the promotion of extreme voices and subsequent hate crimes(Selvarajah et
al., 2024). Several experiments have proved this as facts that social media is somewhere to blame
for the escalation of xenophobic attitudes. Therefore, this attitude is the cause of hate crimes that
take place. This is because social media accommodates people working as a group so that they
can discover new ideas among themselves and co-create them, which may be very influential in
bringing an attitude change. Among rallies, debates, and wall updates, the news selection done
by echo chambers is known for their polarizing effect as it solidifies and yields a more
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xenophobic behavior toward those who were seemingly slightly xenophobic at the start
(Selvarajah et al., 2024)
Media Regulation
While constitutionally, Congress is tasked to ensure that the public is safe from
propaganda and banned content related to mass media, the question is how far the government
should intervene to park content that might not be good for the public. Media provides the
public’s view on an issue; if it is strong enough, it can influence policy-making. According to the
First Amendment, free media, which is fresh and vibrant, is the fundamental pillar of a free
political system; thus, democracy is protected and sustained. Such a record also permits the
government to act the best way it thinks without fearing the chambering of the abuse of power
and good faith. That clonal theory presupposes the falseness of mass media representations of
our lives by constructing a false or seen as the real world (Serazio, 2023). The Constitution
regards mass media as an integral component of limited rights to freedom of speech, and it
extends only to cases of libel and slander. Congress started to regulate radio programs in 1927.
Radio Act of 1927 was an Act that the government adopted to regulate programming quality
further, preventing bias in the broadcast material, thus ensuring that stations broadcast material
that suited public tastes(Potter, 2023). A new body was established, which would later become
the FCC or, in other words, the Federal Communication Commission, to regulate radio as well.
Finally, it was the FCC, the agency that kept an eye on television stations. Today, it implements
procedures to counter monopolies, reviews content, and transmits information as needed (Potter,
2023). At the same time, to bring forth integrity, it restricts indecency, obscenity, and profanity
to ensure that broadcast material and airwaves carry decency.
Rebuttal Argument
7
According to Rathi et al. (2021), there have been proven that online conflicts with
political opponents of any kind lead to growing rates of depression, anxiety, and other mental
problems in the people, raising political polarization through partisan identity checks and
discussions on online platforms plus the views of people on an issue that causes
polarization.Although social media may contribute to an elevation in fragmentation, there is
rising political division among the population(Miller et al., 2022).Every person has their own
“ball game” by following several related themes and choosing suitably highly-rated personal
posts or leaflets.
Considering that social media may have commanding dispersive effects on US citizens,
the statement that social media may homogenize American citizens seems too simple. They are
similar to not all individuals who are highly vulnerable to the effects of misinformation (Rathi,
2021). The interaction of users with political opinions in cyberspace has a pronounced tendency
to take on a predictable pattern according to the strength of political interests, orientation, and
other socio-demographic traits. These may arise from the nature of social media and not from
being social media users.
Waller et al. (2021) argued that individuals should not make sense of social polarization
about the Internet to be fair.This research reveals that social media is the medium that allows a
person to demonstrate goodness rather than the character that exists in them. This digital
technology offers convenience at a significant cost by not letting people experience the material
world. Research maintains that the boat symbolizes humans who are continually subjected to the
moods and fancies of others, and others are quick to judge what they might derive when the party
system polarizes. However, the purpose of social media is to increase the volume of voices
individuals have access to rather than to deliver more of the same. Therefore, individuals should
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consider that social media is the primary factor in the tone and accuracy of any information they
share online.Consequently, the issues concentrate on something other than the technology
platforms, which is the failure of people to behave ethically.
Conclusion
Social media sites must acknowledge that they are a significant source of divisiveness
and stop denying it. Social media has given people a platform to communicate their thoughts and
feelings about a topic. Partisanship is a risk for those who participate in online political
conversations. They are the focus of polarizing politics due to their political identification and
the affection or hate they may have for a political figure or party. Regarding people’s political
preferences toward a political party, political polarization is expected in the United States. For
many years, the political rivalry between Republicans and Democrats has dominated the
legislative branch and affected their commercial practices. The political parties have split the
country into weak states. However, as social media use has surged, differences have widened
even more due to the platforms’ ability to disseminate material that occasionally threatens the
nation’s unity. Businesses still use socializing and sorting, and political parties utilize them to
broaden their support base. Implementing algorithmic changes in social media platforms that
lower temperature and lessen political polarization is necessary. These platforms must be
continuously improved so users can interact freely without political polarization. It is vital to
ascertain if the technology can filter the data it presents and restrict those that exacerbate
division.
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References
Alodat, A. M., Al-Qora’n, L. F., &; Abu Hamoud, M. (2023). Social media platforms and
political participation: A study of Jordanian youth engagement. Social Sciences,
12(7),402.
Bail, C. A., Argyle, L. P., Brown, T. W., Bumpus, J. P., Chen, H., Hunzaker, M. F., …
&Volfovsky, A. (2018). Exposure to opposing views on social media can increase
political polarization. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(37), 9216–
9221.
Culloty, E., & Suiter, J. (2021). Media control and post-truth communication. Routledge
Handbook of Illiberalism, pp. 365–383.
Kubin, E., & von Sikorski, C. (2021). The role of (social) media in political polarization: a
systematic review. Annals of the International Communication Association, 45(3), 188
206.
Miller, S., Menard, P., Bourrie, D., & Sittig, S. (2022). Integrating truth bias and elaboration
likelihood to understand how political polarisation impacts disinformation engagement
on social media. Information on Systems Journal.
Lujambio, O. (2023). Diversify the Accounts You Follow: The Effects of Social Media on
Political Polarization in Mexico. Available at SSRN 4487784.
Potter, S. J. (2023). Broadcasting in the Cause of Peace: Regulating International Radio
Propaganda in Europe, 1921–1939. The International History Review, 45(6), 843-864.
Rathi, M., Ghosh, A., Kumari, S., Sarkar, A., &Das, A. (2021). Influence of social media on the
Political Choice Making: An Exploratory Study. Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative
Inquiry, 12(6).
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Selvarajah, S., Kenar, N., Shaw, I. S., & Dhakal, P. (Eds.). (2024). Xenophobia in the Media:
Critical Global Perspectives. Taylor & Francis.
Serazio, M. (2023). The Authenticity Industries: Keeping it” Real” in Media, Culture, and
Politics. Stanford University Press.
Steinhauer, J. (2021). History, Disrupted: How Social Media and the World Wide Web Have
Changed the Past. Springer Nature.
Waller, I., & Anderson, A. (2021). Quantifying social organization and political polarization in
online platforms. Nature, p. 6 00(7888), 264–268.
Weeks, B. E., Lane, D. S., Kim, D. H., Lee, S. S., & Kwak, N. (2017). Incidental exposure,
selective exposure, and political information sharing: Integrating online exposure
patterns and expression on social media. Journal of computer-mediated communication,
22(6), 363- 379.
WA#4: Essay Reflection
Task: Choose one of your formal papers, either the Six-Source Essay or the MultiSource Essay/Literature Review, and write a reflection on the essay in terms of
both process and product.
Length: 500 words (2 double-spaced pages)
Format: APA 7
Point of view: The essay reflection will be written in the first person point of view.
The reflective essay is an opportunity for writers to critically assess the progress
they have made in thinking, researching, and writing about a chosen topic.
Writing a reflective essay allows a writer to tell the unique story of how a topic
idea, cultivated through research, grew into a paper. It is a chance to think in a
sustained way about the context, objectives, and process of a writing project.
Remember to talk specifically about choices you made regarding summarizing and
synthesizing sources in your paper. Use examples from your paper to help your readers
to understand your process.
Here are some questions that will help you to prepare for a reflective paper:
Context:
? What was the purpose of the essay? Do I think I achieved that purpose? ?
What do research sources say about my chosen topic? Did the research say
different things than I expected it to say?
? How did the readers react to the paper? What was interesting, surprising,
or difficult about the reactions to the paper?
Objectives:
? What are my learning goals for the course? How did researching and writing
the essay help me to further those goals? What obstacles presented
themselves that hindered my progress towards those goals?
? What ideas did I have about my topic when I began? How did the research
sources affect those ideas? Did my ideas change as a result of the
thinking, researching, and writing process?
? Did researchers from different fields report different findings on the topic?
? What information did I want readers to have as a result of reading the
paper? What information do I want readers to have now?
Process:
? What was my experience in researching the topic?
? What was my experience in writing the paper?
? How did I synthesize sources in the papers? What specific choices did I make?
? What challenges did I face as I did the work? What successes did I
? achieve? How did I respond to these challenges and successes?
? How did responses from other readers and writers change my process?
To receive additional labor points incorporate at least 3 quotes and APA
citations from your research into this reflection.
Helpful Resources:
“How to write a reflection paper.” (2021). How to guide. Trent University.
https://www.trentu.ca/academicskills/how-guides/how-write-university/how-approach-any-assign
ment/how-write-reflection-paper

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