MDIA 300 blog posts are not required to be simple ‘essays’: a blog post could be in the form of, eg, a slideshow with a voiceover, a short film or animation, or a podcast, etc. But the guidelines below should be used as a basis of consideration when other forms of media are produced. (If you have questions about such expectations for a specific assignment you are interested in or are developing, talk to your TA or instructor before posting and submitting your assignment.)

* Note that UBC blogs have storage and file size limits that can difficult to change. If you want to post, eg a video, you may need to to host in privately elsewhere (eg YouTube or Vimeo) and then embed it into your blog post.

Assignments specifications take precedence when evaluating assignments for credit (see syllabus or assignment directions on Canvas), but this is a common set of general expectations for MDIA 300 blog posts:

• Provide a descriptive title indicative of the core point post the post: a ‘hook’ title can be helpful, but only if it actually indicates something about what the post is offering. (‘Clever’ isn’t worth much if we don’t know what you are being clever about.) Use your title to point potential readers to your argument.
• Provide a cover/featured image with source-credit link, claim of authorship (if you made it yourself), or an AI acknowledgment (including the specific AI tech used and date generated). Like the title, the featured or cover image should give the potential reader/viewer some indication of what the post it about, what the point is, what the post is offering to the reader. (Your title and cover image should give your potential reader a reason to keep reading.)
• Every post should have a single, clearly articulated ‘main argument’ or idea: a clear, key takeaway for the intended audience, that is supported by relevant, credible, and appropriately attributed evidence—and that evidence must be appropriated attributed. That means:
• Provide appropriate attribution for evidence, support, and sources, including links and references where appropriate. This includes credits for images, music, etc. (References and citations have many functions, but the primary, over-arching purpose of references and citations is to tell your reader where they can find relevant information.)
• For collaborative posts, identify all contributors at the bottom/end of the post. If particular contributors performed particular roles (eg writer, animator, editor, narrator, slide maker…), those should be identified. (You might think of this as equivalent to ‘credits’ at the end of a film or video.)
• Apply appropriate categories and tags to your posts to conceptually triangulate contents and to allow interested readers to find the post when searching for relevant topical material. (Tags here are not meant to be ‘fun’ tags like on a social post, but are ultimately search tools that are indicative of conceptual categories. Consider that a category with only one member is not much use as a category.)
• Finally (but most importantly) remember that audience is a critical consideration for MDIA 300 blog posts. Keep in mind that you are not posting only for your instructor or TA (to give you a grade)—you are writing for an audience of your BMS peers and contributing to our collective conversation and dialogue about media theory. Clarity is the primary concern: your work is not of much use if your audience cannot understand it. Similarly, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors can hinder clarity and understandability—at a minimum they can distract from your primary purpose. Mistakes are human and normal, and perfection is not expected—and creativity is welcome. But, again, clarity is our primary goal. (Similar concerns apply to video and audio modalities: be sure that your sound/words can be heard and understood by your intended audience.)