which of the following is an explanatory thesis reality tv

Center for Media Engagement

Reality tv and real ethics.

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Nicholas Aufiero

Alicia Armijo

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CASE STUDY: Love Island and the Ethics of Relationships

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For those who don’t tune into reality TV, a compelling new series has been attracting attention and provoking debate about the ethics of televised relationships. The hit series, Love Island , focuses on a group of attractive, young singles who are flown to an isolated villa in Mallorca to find love. In just a matter of weeks, contestants will seek a significant other among their cohort. If that wasn’t challenging enough, the contestants must compete to stay in the game. If they successfully get through the series without being dumped or voted off, contestants are scrutinized by the audience who votes for their favorite couple at the end of the show (Martin, 2019). Some might find this show to be a recipe for disaster while others might find this to be nothing but a net gain for everyone involved—for both contestants and for viewers.

Many would argue that this show is ripe with demonstrable benefits for those who are daring enough to compete. Who wouldn’t enjoy a free holiday at a booze-filled villa in the Mediterranean surrounded by beautiful singles? It is basically a month-long slumber party for adults with a chance to win a £50,000 prize. More than that, many contestants reap the long-term benefits of massive social media followings that allow them to make a living off of sponsoring brands. As noted writer Jenny Éclair of The Independent affirms, “This could potentially be your magic golden Willy Wonka ticket to Lamborghini land” (Eclair, 2019). Without question, being a  Love Island  contestant is a sure-fire way to get your day in the spotlight and benefit financially to boot.

Fans of the hit series also contend that  Love Island  invites open discussion about what it means to be in a healthy relationship. As audiences get to know the contestants, they can begin to relate to them and see commonalities in their relationships. By watching the dramas on the show, audiences can self-reflect and explore questions about relationships that may not have occurred to them outside this medium. In fact, in a recent blog post, famed actress Lena Dunham shared her experience of indulging in the show. In doing so, she explored important questions about the complexities of romantic relationships. Like many of the contestants on the show, she found herself asking, “Can you love again after the hurt? What does partnership mean? And what does it mean to know someone if you don’t know yourself?” (Dunham, 2019). Raising such questions are valuable for coming to a better understanding of ourselves in our relationships.

Importantly, this show is an effective way to promote a national dialogue about relationships.  RAZZ Magazine writer, Charlotte Foster, explains that viewers can “point at the screen while saying ‘they should not treat another human being like this’” when they see psychological abuse” (RAZZ, 2018). By recognizing abuse, we’re in a better position to address it where it exists off-screen. Just as Lena Dunham was able to see the shortcomings of her relationships portrayed in the show, so too will millions of other  Love Island  viewers.

Even so, many would argue that  Love Island  may not be the most legitimate foundation for cultivating real-life healthy relationships. The show presents unhealthy examples of relationships and so cannot inform audiences about what is necessary to develop healthy ones. Since most viewers live such radically different lives from participants on the show, it is unlikely that they could come away from watching it with applicable lessons for their lives. As a case in point, the contestants are all incredibly fit, tan, and beautiful socialites in their twenties. The relationships that are represented are heteronormative and masculine-centric ones. Moreover, as Luanna de Abreu Coelho from RAZZ Magazine points out, “contestants are chosen and rejected by other islanders based almost entirely on appearance” ( RAZZ , 2018). Of course, healthy relationships are not primarily motivated by physical attraction.

Another reason that many have found this show problematic is due to its unhealthy effects on the show’s contestants. The show achieves its supreme drama by effectively cutting them off from the outside world. The extreme isolation and the competitive nature of that social dynamic creates a unique and unnatural social environment. The show’s provocation of contestants under the watchful eye of cameras has recently led to serious public concerns about the contestants’ mental health. Following the suicides of two ex-contestants of  Love Island , the English Parliament began an inquiry into the “production companies’ duty of care to participants, [asking] whether enough support is offered both during and after filming, and whether there is a need for further regulatory oversight in this area” (“Committee Announces,” 2019). After finishing their two-month stint in Mallorca,  Love Island  contestants come back to the real world as celebrities. However, that celebrity status quickly fades when the next stirring season of  Love Island  comes out. Contestants go from relative obscurity to fame and back again within a year. This instability would certainly be taxing on anyone’s mental health.

Love Island  has captured the attention of millions of viewers in recent years. The show could spark much-needed discussion about relationships. At the same time, it is questionable whether this or any reality TV show can serve as a pedagogical tool for guiding viewers to cultivate healthy relationships.

Discussion Questions:

• Are creators of reality TV shows morally responsible for the psychological effects on their on-screen participants? Why or why not?
• What are the ethical problems with reality TV? What values are in conflict in this case study?
• Do the possible benefits of sparking a conversation about healthy relationships outweigh its possible harms for contestants? Explain your reasoning.
• What principles would you suggest to someone who wanted to make an ethical reality TV series about relationships?

  Further Information:

“Bafta TV Awards: Britain’s Got Talent,  Love Island  and Blue Planet II win.”  BBC News , May 2018, Available at:  https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-44102374

“Committee Announces Inquiry into Reality TV.”  UK Parliament Website , May 2019, Available at:  www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/digital-culture-media-and-sport-committee/news/reality-tv-inquiry-launch-17-19/

Dunham, Lena, “Lena Dunham on  Love Island : ‘I’m Asking the Same Question They Do – Can You Love after Hurt?’”  The Guardian , July 2019, Available at:  www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jul/27/lena-dunham-love-island-can-you-love-after-hurt

Forrester, Charlotte, and Coelho, Luanna de Abreu. “It’s Debatable: The Ethics of  Love Island .”  RAZZ , July 2018, Available at:  https://razzmag.com/2018/07/11/its-debatable-the-ethics-of-love-island/

Eclair, Jenny. “If You’re Thinking of Applying for  Love Island , the Reality TV Suicide Rate Should Make You Think Again.”  Independent , March 2019, Available at:  https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/love-island-mike-thalassitis-sophie-gradon-suicide-reality-tv-a8838491.html

Martin, Laura. “When Is the  Love Island  2019 Final Tonight? Start Time, How Long the Final Episode Is and Prize Money Explained.”  INEWS , July 2019, Available at:  https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/love-island-2019-final-prize-when-date-how-many-episodes-634661

Nicholas Aufiero & Alicia Armijo The UT Ethics Project/Media Ethics Initiative Center for Media Engagement University of Texas at Austin December 5, 2019

Cases produced by the Media Ethics Initiative remain the intellectual property of the Media Ethics Initiative and the Center for Media Engagement. They can be used in unmodified PDF form without permission for classroom or educational uses. Please email us and let us know if you found them useful! For use in publications such as textbooks, readers, and other works, please contact the Media Ethics Initiative.

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Guide on Writing an Exceptional Explanatory Thesis Statement

Writing is fun, especially when you bring your best to it. You get to pour all your ideas on paper in a creative way for someone else to read. But, as the popular saying goes, history is always written by the victor because the vanquished cannot tell their story. Therefore, any topic, situation, or event has various views and story versions. As problematic as that might sound, that is the general truth to telling a story or giving an explanation.

What Is Explanatory Thesis Definition?

What does an explanatory thesis statement do, what are some explanatory thesis statement examples, how to write an explanatory thesis.

A more modern ideology is employed to explain an event or influence one’s thinking. If explaining a compelling argument is the way to go, the best option would be to use logic and evidence to show that the explanation is valid. This, in a nutshell, is what an explanatory essay or thesis is all about. This written piece teaches you to write a thesis and provide explanatory thesis examples. With that in mind, let’s start with a definition.

An explanatory thesis is a form of writing where the writer showcases an opinion or viewpoint on a certain topic or different topics governed by events or situations. It is a writing type equipped with a method such that when the author narrates or describes certain events or topics, there might be a case for you to align your point of view with theirs.

Although, in essence, the view doesn’t have to be one the author fully agrees with or wants you to agree with either. This thesis type aims to conduct extensive research and apply logic to feasible explanatory points. For instance, if you’re a writer of an explanatory thesis, you need to choose a particular topic and approach the discussion of that topic from a specific angle.

Usually, this angle tends to emerge from a personal experience or specific point of view; hence it may be challenging to understand at first glance. So, it would be best if you represented your angle of discussion in a way that sufficiently explains your opinion or the outcome you intend to reach.

Typically, most writers do not know how to write an explanatory thesis. Instead, these writers tend to come from the point that they are defending one side of an argument or criticizing a particular perspective. That is not what this type of thesis entails. Instead, explanatory writing is essentially about presenting a topic for discussion and approaching it from a neutral viewpoint through the provision of research and analysis to back the points of the thesis up.

The fundamental goal of writing an explanatory thesis is to cover the trenches of confusion and offer a lucid explanation as to why the viewpoint is being discussed or approached in a particular manner. The main angle of an explanatory thesis is usually the explanatory thesis statement.

An explanatory thesis statement is a basic opinion the author stands for or the major points they are trying to pass across concerning the subject of discussion. The thesis statement contains the controlling viewpoint of the thesis and gives the direction and unifying element to all the points later mentioned in writing. A well-written explanatory thesis statement convinces the reader that the thesis is valid.

You may be curious about the best example of an explanatory thesis statement, but there is no one-size-fits-all for every explanatory thesis. Instead, each statement is designed towards a particular subject in mind. The first step to writing an effective explanatory statement is to summarize the main objective of the topic into one detailed statement.

Secondly, the statement should follow the thesis subject clearly to be further broken down for explanation. Thirdly, the explanatory thesis statement must contain the main ideas of the topic, and finally, all these must fit into one well-written declarative statement.

Thesis statements are structurally written at the end of the paper’s first paragraph. The explanatory thesis statement examples about to be given must follow the same structure in writing.

A good explanatory thesis statement example is “the life of a regular employee characterized by time in the office, amount of holidays, and time spent socializing with coworkers.” Another good one is “Art, movies, and literature can define Canada’s cultural identity.”

Usually, students in higher education are assigned an explanatory thesis to write. For instance, a student can be asked to write an explanatory essay on World War One and its effects worldwide or explain the impact of technology on modern civilization.

Major examples of an explanatory thesis statement include:

• Alcohol consumption can affect your mental and physical health and result in heart complications.
• Good sleep enhances the thinking capacity of a child as it helps to develop the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains of the child.
• Regular exercise promotes healthy living as it improves cardiovascular functioning, reduces depression, and enhances better muscles.
• Internet usage if not regulated within the school system can cause distractions for students as they will spend more time surfing social media platforms like Facebook.
• Also, a good example will be an explanatory thesis on the use of social media – is a modern environment for communication with users and young people

As a student, to provide a well-written explanatory thesis, you should refrain from debate or arguments in your piece. As mentioned earlier, being completely neutral in your expression is one of the key facets of an explanatory thesis. Therefore, before you begin your writing, you have to conduct extensive research and scrutinize your opinion to combine unique ideas and general worldviews.

Afterward, you need to generate a compelling and controlling explanatory thesis statement. A good thesis statement is a brief expression representing the main idea that will guide your readers through the entire written paper. The size of your explanatory essay depends on the data collected and presented in your piece.

The best explanatory thesis is one that has:

• An introduction;
• A convincing conclusion;

The introduction contains the thesis statement and the general outlook of the thesis. The body should describe a comprehensive idea of the thesis statement and the subject matter being discussed. The conclusion combines and rounds off all the ideas discussed to give the thesis a refined finish.

Writing an explanatory thesis may come off as very easy, but mistakes can easily be made, and proper research is required to give accurate accounts of the ideas expressed. With some focus and a reminder of the main aim of an explanatory thesis paper, you should have no problem creating a properly written piece.

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Methodology

• Explanatory Research | Definition, Guide, & Examples

Explanatory Research | Definition, Guide, & Examples

Published on December 3, 2021 by Tegan George and Julia Merkus. Revised on November 20, 2023.

Explanatory research is a research method that explores why something occurs when limited information is available. It can help you increase your understanding of a given topic, ascertain how or why a particular phenomenon is occurring, and predict future occurrences.

Explanatory research can also be explained as a “cause and effect” model, investigating patterns and trends in existing data that haven’t been previously investigated. For this reason, it is often considered a type of causal research .

Table of contents

When to use explanatory research, explanatory research questions, explanatory research data collection, explanatory research data analysis, step-by-step example of explanatory research, explanatory vs. exploratory research, advantages and disadvantages of explanatory research, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about explanatory research.

Explanatory research is used to investigate how or why a phenomenon takes place. Therefore, this type of research is often one of the first stages in the research process, serving as a jumping-off point for future research. While there is often data available about your topic, it’s possible the particular causal relationship you are interested in has not been robustly studied.

Explanatory research helps you analyze these patterns, formulating hypotheses that can guide future endeavors. If you are seeking a more complete understanding of a relationship between variables, explanatory research is a great place to start. However, keep in mind that it will likely not yield conclusive results.

You analyzed their final grades and noticed that the students who take your course in the first semester always obtain higher grades than students who take the same course in the second semester.

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Explanatory research answers “why” and “how” questions, leading to an improved understanding of a previously unresolved problem or providing clarity for related future research initiatives.

Here are a few examples:

• Why do undergraduate students obtain higher average grades in the first semester than in the second semester?
• How does marital status affect labor market participation?
• Why do multilingual individuals show more risky behavior during business negotiations than monolingual individuals?
• How does a child’s ability to delay immediate gratification predict success later in life?
• Why are teens more likely to litter in a highly littered area than in a clean area?

After choosing your research question, there is a variety of options for research and data collection methods to choose from.

A few of the most common research methods include:

• Literature reviews
• Interviews and focus groups
• Pilot studies
• Observations
• Experiments

The method you choose depends on several factors, including your timeline, budget, and the structure of your question. If there is already a body of research on your topic, a literature review is a great place to start. If you are interested in opinions and behavior, consider an interview or focus group format. If you have more time or funding available, an experiment or pilot study may be a good fit for you.

In order to ensure you are conducting your explanatory research correctly, be sure your analysis is definitively causal in nature, and not just correlated.

Always remember the phrase “correlation doesn’t mean causation.” Correlated variables are merely associated with one another: when one variable changes, so does the other. However, this isn’t necessarily due to a direct or indirect causal link.

Causation means that changes in the independent variable bring about changes in the dependent variable. In other words, there is a direct cause-and-effect relationship between variables.

Causal evidence must meet three criteria:

• Temporal : What you define as the “cause” must precede what you define as the “effect.”
• Variation : Intervention must be systematic between your independent variable and dependent variable.
• Non-spurious : Be careful that there are no mitigating factors or hidden third variables that confound your results.

Correlation doesn’t imply causation, but causation always implies correlation. In order to get conclusive causal results, you’ll need to conduct a full experimental design .

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Your explanatory research design depends on the research method you choose to collect your data . In most cases, you’ll use an experiment to investigate potential causal relationships. We’ll walk you through the steps using an example.

Step 1: Develop the research question

The first step in conducting explanatory research is getting familiar with the topic you’re interested in, so that you can develop a research question .

Let’s say you’re interested in language retention rates in adults.

You are interested in finding out how the duration of exposure to language influences language retention ability later in life.

Step 2: Formulate a hypothesis

The next step is to address your expectations. In some cases, there is literature available on your subject or on a closely related topic that you can use as a foundation for your hypothesis . In other cases, the topic isn’t well studied, and you’ll have to develop your hypothesis based on your instincts or on existing literature on more distant topics.

You phrase your expectations in terms of a null (H 0 ) and alternative hypothesis (H 1 ):

• H 0 : The duration of exposure to a language in infancy does not influence language retention in adults who were adopted from abroad as children.
• H 1 : The duration of exposure to a language in infancy has a positive effect on language retention in adults who were adopted from abroad as children.

Step 3: Design your methodology and collect your data

Next, decide what data collection and data analysis methods you will use and write them up. After carefully designing your research, you can begin to collect your data.

You compare:

• Adults who were adopted from Colombia between 0 and 6 months of age.
• Adults who were adopted from Colombia between 6 and 12 months of age.
• Adults who were adopted from Colombia between 12 and 18 months of age.
• Monolingual adults who have not been exposed to a different language.

During the study, you test their Spanish language proficiency twice in a research design that has three stages:

• Pre-test : You conduct several language proficiency tests to establish any differences between groups pre-intervention.
• Intervention : You provide all groups with 8 hours of Spanish class.
• Post-test : You again conduct several language proficiency tests to establish any differences between groups post-intervention.

You made sure to control for any confounding variables , such as age, gender, proficiency in other languages, etc.

Step 4: Analyze your data and report results

After data collection is complete, proceed to analyze your data and report the results.

You notice that:

• The pre-exposed adults showed higher language proficiency in Spanish than those who had not been pre-exposed. The difference is even greater for the post-test.
• The adults who were adopted between 12 and 18 months of age had a higher Spanish language proficiency level than those who were adopted between 0 and 6 months or 6 and 12 months of age, but there was no difference found between the latter two groups.

To determine whether these differences are significant, you conduct a mixed ANOVA. The ANOVA shows that all differences are not significant for the pre-test, but they are significant for the post-test.

Step 5: Interpret your results and provide suggestions for future research

As you interpret the results, try to come up with explanations for the results that you did not expect. In most cases, you want to provide suggestions for future research.

However, this difference is only significant after the intervention (the Spanish class.)

You decide it’s worth it to further research the matter, and propose a few additional research ideas:

• Replicate the study with a larger sample
• Replicate the study for other maternal languages (e.g. Korean, Lingala, Arabic)
• Replicate the study for other language aspects, such as nativeness of the accent

It can be easy to confuse explanatory research with exploratory research. If you’re in doubt about the relationship between exploratory and explanatory research, just remember that exploratory research lays the groundwork for later explanatory research.

Exploratory research questions often begin with “what”. They are designed to guide future research and do not usually have conclusive results. Exploratory research is often utilized as a first step in your research process, to help you focus your research question and fine-tune your hypotheses.

Explanatory research questions often start with “why” or “how”. They help you study why and how a previously studied phenomenon takes place.

Like any other research design , explanatory research has its trade-offs: while it provides a unique set of benefits, it also has significant downsides:

• It gives more meaning to previous research. It helps fill in the gaps in existing analyses and provides information on the reasons behind phenomena.
• It is very flexible and often replicable , since the internal validity tends to be high when done correctly.
• As you can often use secondary research, explanatory research is often very cost- and time-effective, allowing you to utilize pre-existing resources to guide your research prior to committing to heavier analyses.

Disadvantages

• While explanatory research does help you solidify your theories and hypotheses, it usually lacks conclusive results.
• Results can be biased or inadmissible to a larger body of work and are not generally externally valid . You will likely have to conduct more robust (often quantitative ) research later to bolster any possible findings gleaned from explanatory research.
• Coincidences can be mistaken for causal relationships , and it can sometimes be challenging to ascertain which is the causal variable and which is the effect.

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Normal distribution
• Degrees of freedom
• Null hypothesis
• Discourse analysis
• Control groups
• Mixed methods research
• Non-probability sampling
• Quantitative research
• Ecological validity

Research bias

• Rosenthal effect
• Implicit bias
• Cognitive bias
• Selection bias
• Negativity bias
• Status quo bias

Explanatory research is a research method used to investigate how or why something occurs when only a small amount of information is available pertaining to that topic. It can help you increase your understanding of a given topic.

Exploratory research aims to explore the main aspects of an under-researched problem, while explanatory research aims to explain the causes and consequences of a well-defined problem.

Explanatory research is used to investigate how or why a phenomenon occurs. Therefore, this type of research is often one of the first stages in the research process , serving as a jumping-off point for future research.

Quantitative research deals with numbers and statistics, while qualitative research deals with words and meanings.

Quantitative methods allow you to systematically measure variables and test hypotheses . Qualitative methods allow you to explore concepts and experiences in more detail.

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The New York Times

The learning network | everyone’s a critic: analyzing sitcoms as cultural texts.

Everyone’s a Critic: Analyzing Sitcoms as Cultural Texts

Media Studies

Teaching ideas based on New York Times content.

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Overview | What can television sitcoms teach us? In this lesson, students investigate the claim recently made in The New York Times that new hit sitcoms are proof that “we’ve reached the End of Comedy.” They watch sitcoms with a critical eye and ultimately choose a writing project that demonstrates a close viewing that treats the shows like literary texts.

Materials | Computers with Internet access, chart paper and markers. Optional: television equipped with DVD or streaming video, DVDs of sitcoms.

Warm-Up | Ask students to define “sitcom,” which you might remind them is an abbreviation of “situation comedy,” by finding commonalities in the American comedy shows they watch. Features include humor, generally realistic events and characters, length of 30 minutes (minus commercial breaks) and resolution by the end of the episode. They also are usually scripted, use familiar settings like coffeehouses and are organized into seasons. Which sitcoms do they think are emblematic of the genre?

Students might briefly compare and contrast the sitcom with other television genres like sketch comedy, drama and reality. What overlaps can they identify? Do any shows straddle two or more genres? How important is it to watch sitcoms in the intended sequence, as compared with episodes of a drama or reality series?

Next, ask students what they think the purposes and benefits are of watching sitcoms. What role do they play in our culture? Do sitcoms offer cultural commentary, or are they just meant for mere entertainment? Is it worth critiquing and analyzing them? What cultural value do sitcoms have long after they have been broadcast?

Next, have the class brainstorm “stock” storylines, situations or gags they have seen multiple times in sitcoms, or which they imagine are not unique. Ask: How can a shopworn concept or conceit be made to seem “new” or “fresh” as opposed to merely recycled? Is using stock scenarios in contemporary shows evidence that sitcom writers have run out of ideas? Inform the class that they will now read an article by a Times television critic arguing that sitcoms have run out of fresh material.

Related | In “Naked Truth: New Sitcoms Are Re-Runs,” Neil Genzlinger gives his assessment of the newest crop of sitcoms, and concludes that the lack of innovation in these shows is a sign that “we’ve reached the End of Comedy”:

Certainly no series introduced this fall is breaking new ground. Ms. Deschanel’s show — her character moves in with three guys — is a role-reversed “Three’s Company.” “Up All Night” on NBC, with Christina Applegate and Will Arnett, is working new-parent territory explored 60 years ago by “I Love Lucy.” On “Last Man Standing,” Tim Allen is basically doing a Tim Allen impersonation, trying (unsuccessfully) to conjure the magic of his earlier show, “Home Improvement.” So it’s not that the new series are going places I’m not willing to follow; it’s that they are going places I’ve already been. After an exhaustive study that consisted of watching several new shows and several old ones, I have concluded that all television jokes going back to those first flickering black-and-white images fall into one of five categories. All those categories have been worked so heavily and so well in the past that comedic time has shrunk and comedic tone has degenerated; shows don’t want to risk building their humor slowly or subtly because they’re afraid audiences have already seen too many dumb-dad or balky-toaster bits and will grow impatient.

Read the entire article with your class, using the questions below.

Questions | For discussion and reading comprehension:

• Why does Mr. Genzlinger dispute other critics’ claims that the sitcom has made a comeback?
• What five categories of jokes does he say the new shows employ?
• How can the concept of using (or not using) subtlety to get laughs changed in the past 20 years?
• How has the speed of jokes’ unfolding changed?
• What evidence does Mr. Genzlinger offer to back his claim that even viewers much younger than him are tired of “rehashing” the same jokes?

RELATED RESOURCES

From the learning network.

• That’s Funny: Comedy Across the Curriculum
• Student Opinion: What Is Your Favorite Comedy?
• Student Opinion: Does Pop Culture Deserve Serious Study?

From NYTimes.com

• In a Gloomy Economy, T.V. Sitcoms Are Making a Comeback
• Interactive Feature: The New York Times’ Fall TV Ratings Pool
• Old Sitcoms as Telling Time Capsules

Around the Web

• Classic TV Database
• Great Moments in Sitcom History: A Eulogy
• Pivotal Sitcoms in TV History

Activity | Begin with the argument Mr. Genzlinger made that “The New Girl” is a “role-reversed Three’s Company.” Watch the same clip—or others—from “Three’s Company” and then watch parts of “The New Girl” episodes to test the theory that Jess is like Jack Tripper.

Then put “The New Girl” through the same questions from the warm-up: Who are these people? Where are they? Why are they together? What can you tell about them from what they say, how they look, how they interact with one another? What, if anything, does the show say about life, friendship, relationships between women and men and so on? Then ask: Does the show imitate real life? Do people you know act like this? Do you think people try to act like these characters? If so, who and why? Do you think in 1980, people imitated—or were imitated by—the characters on “Three’s Company”? Are shows like “The New Girl” entering the mainstream and becoming part of our shared cultural shorthand and vernacular?

Alternatively or additionally, show the two “feeding the baby” scenes that Mr. Genzlinger mentioned, from “Third Rock from the Sun” (1996) and “Up All Night” (2011).

Tell students that how they “read” a sitcom will be the basis for the rest of this lesson, drawing on how they have analyzed works of literature, drama, film or visual arts. Here are some ways to approach a sitcom analysis project:

Single Show Theory: Students choose one sitcom to be the subject of an in-depth study. They “read” what the situations, plots, dialogue, sets and characters to determine what, if anything, the show reflects about real life at the time of its making. They pull examples from across several episodes, or across the series (if working with a long-running show like “Seinfeld” or “The Simpsons”). They write essays that suggest the show’s worldview and whether it changes over time. For a creative option, students suppose that the world created by the show is the actual world and they live in it—what would their character be like? What struggles and triumphs would they likely encounter? Is it a limiting or limitless world?

Is Everything Old New Again?: As in the “Three’s Company”/”New Girl” comparison, students find a category into which two or more shows fit, like families with kids, shows about teens, college life, workplace , hospital or school settings, those that have single parents, multigenerational households, the “fish out of water” and so on. They write mock memos to a television executive about how each show, drawing examples from various episodes, approaches the common topic and weigh in on whether they believe the topic is “tired” and should not be recycled in future shows, or whether the shows investigated prove that it’s possible to “make it new.”

Tracing the Progress: How are affinity groups depicted in sitcoms? Students choose a specific group, like women, homosexuals, people of color or the handicapped, and investigate how sitcoms depict the group over time. They write an analysis of how television sitcoms have, or haven’t, evolved to be more inclusive, and what the shows may have reflected in the larger culture at the time.

Generational Viewing: Students plan an event in which they watch and discuss television shows with people of different ages, including, if possible, episodes that were favorites of each person when he or she was 13 or 14. They share what the show said about the world at the time, any aspects that were considered provocative at the time and make any observations about how sitcoms have changed over time, even including the words characters use, how long it takes for action or a joke to develop, and of course, any commonalities. Students write a reflection on the experience.

Investigative Viewing: Students choose a topic to investigate over time in the course of sitcom history. These might include big issues like the concept of family, signifiers of social class or the use of euphemisms and explicit references. Or they might look into the frequency with which characters do mundane things like household chores or homework. They choose a series of shows to watch and pull examples to back their argument about the topic and write a researched essay on their findings.

Character Study: Students find a character from a sitcom to study as they would a character from literature. What are the character’s strengths, flaws, motivations and dreams? How does he or she act? Who are the people around him or her? Are any of them foils? They use events and dialogue from the show as evidence. They then look for other characters, from other sitcoms or from literature to compare. For example, someone working with Jenna Hamilton from the MTV sitcom “Awkward” might also study the Stratford sisters from “10 Things I Hate About You,” Lindsay Weir from “Freaks and Geeks,” Daria Morgendorffer from “Daria” or Mallory Keaton from “Family Ties.” Students write a compare-and-contrast essay about the characters.

Sitcom Critics Unite: Students delve into lists that cover many decades of sitcom history, choosing a handful of shows they have never seen. They find and watch a few episodes of each one, taking notes on the humor, acting, level of complexity, uniqueness of the plot or perspective, and so on. They observe any commonalities. They make podcasts or videos that feature their critiques.

Going Further | Students choose a year from the primetime schedule for network television , then do research to discover which shows are sitcoms. (Those working with shows from the 1980’s and 1990’s will find video montages of titles and casts of sitcoms helpful here.) Students learn about the shows, watch as many episodes as they can, and write a critique that identifies each show’s strengths and weaknesses, and if warranted, has a Neil Genzlinger-style “roundup” of jokes or show elements that borrow from older shows, or seem like “copycat” aspects within the group being studied. Students present their groups in chronological order, chiming in when someone discusses a long-running show that they also critiqued.

Students can also hold a sitcom festival using video-sharing Web sites to locate relevant scenes, providing commentary about their selections and what they illustrate about sitcoms and popular culture.

Standards | This lesson is correlated to McREL’s national standards (it can also be aligned to the new Common Core State Standards ):

Art Connections 1. Understands connections among the various art forms and other disciplines.

Behavioral Studies 1. Understands that group and cultural influences contribute to human development, identity, and behavior. 2. Understands various meanings of social group, general implications of group membership, and different ways that groups function.

Arts and Communication 1. Understands the principles, processes, and products associated with arts and communication media. 2. Knows and applies appropriate criteria to arts and communication products. 3. Uses critical and creative thinking in various arts and communication settings. 4. Understands ways in which the human experience is transmitted and reflected in the arts and communication. 5. Knows a range of arts and communication works from various historical and cultural periods.

Language Arts 1. Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process. 2. Uses the stylistic and rhetorical aspects of writing. 3. Uses grammatical and mechanical conventions in written compositions. 4. Gathers and uses information for research purposes. 5. Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process. 7. Uses skills and strategies to read a variety of informational texts. 8. Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes. 9. Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media. 10. Understands the characteristics and components of the media.

Comments are no longer being accepted.

I agree that there’s lack of innovation in sitcome, the same ideas were essentially recycled over and over again. At the same time, I think it still works because the audience hasn’t changed much, we as people still appeal to the same things as people from 50, 60 years ago. however, I would like to see more subtlety in the sexual jokes in modern day sitcom, it’s just not pretty to hear certain over and over again out loud.

What's Next

Writing a Thesis Statement — Definition, Types, and Examples

What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement is a single sentence that identifies the topic and purpose of a scholarly research paper or academic writing. A thesis statement directly or indirectly presents the main points of the paper. Information presented in the essay should tie directly back to the thesis.

Overall, a good thesis statement accomplishes the following:

Identifies the purpose of the essay

Expresses the writer's position/opinion

Lists the main supports (optional)

Briefly summarizes the writer's conclusion(s)

Establish if the essay is explanatory, argumentative, or analytical

People often confuse thesis statements with topic sentences , which start each body paragraph. Typically, the thesis statement is the final sentence in the introductory paragraph and acts as a “road map” for the rest of the paper.

Types of thesis statements

The three main types of thesis statements are explanatory, argumentative, and analytical.

Explanatory thesis statements are used in expository essays that focus solely on informing the reader. Papers with this type of thesis do not contain the writer's opinion, nor do they try to persuade the reader.

The three main branches of science taught in public schools include biology, chemistry, and physics.

Argumentative thesis statements identify the writer's position or point of view on a given topic. Argumentative essays persuade the reader to agree with the writer's stance. If the reader cannot agree or disagree with the claim in the thesis, then it is not argumentative.

Public schools should place more emphasis on the arts because they encourage creativity, help improve academic development, and provide a beneficial emotional outlet.

Analytical thesis statements are used in papers that analyze how or why something does what it does. These thesis statements identify what the writer is analyzing, the parts of the analysis, and the order of those parts.

An analysis of course requirements in public schools suggests access to more electives can increase graduation rates.

How to write a thesis statement

When writing a thesis, the following guidelines apply:

Step 1: Determine the type of paper (explanatory, argumentative, or analytical).

Step 2: Identify the topic, position/claim, and supports of the essay.

Step 3: Determine if the supports should be included within the thesis. Although they are considered optional, they might be required depending on the audience and purpose of the essay.

Step 4: Compose a sentence that includes the topic, position, and supports (optional). While a thesis statement can be more than one sentence, it should not exceed two.

Step 5: Place the thesis statement at the end of the introductory paragraph(s). Placing it at the end of the introduction and before the supports allows the reader to focus on the paper’s main purpose.

Thesis statement examples

The following examples highlight each type of thesis statement.

Topic: Alternative Energy Sources

Explanatory Thesis: Alternative energy sources that can supplement the use of fossil fuels include solar, wind, and geothermal.

Argumentative Thesis: To combat reliance on foreign sources of fossil fuels, the United States would benefit from focusing on alternative energy options.

Analytical Thesis: Analysis suggests that replacing fossil fuels with alternative energy sources could negatively impact the economy.

Topic: Social Media

Explanatory Thesis: Three of the first platforms that influenced the world of social media include Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Argumentative Thesis: Social media negatively influences society as it increases opportunities for cyberbullying, limits face-to-face interactions, and creates unrealistic expectations.

Analytical Thesis: An analysis of the use of social media suggests itis irrevocably harming the development of teenagers.

Topic: Standardized Testing

Explanatory Thesis: Standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT play a limited role in influencing college acceptance.

Argumentative Thesis: Standardized testing should not be required because it increases anxiety, does not measure progress, and cannot predict future success.

Analytical Thesis: Analysis suggests that standardized testing in elementary and high school negatively impacts students' academic success.

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Theses and Dissertations

From poe and hitchcock to...reality tv.

Kelsey W. Phelps , Brigham Young University - Provo Follow

This thesis expands the discussion of the mass appeal and sustained success of reality TV by initiating an examination of the direct connections between reality TV and cinematic and written fiction. As reality TV has firmly established itself as a successful genre of entertainment over the last two decades, scholarship has been slow to follow. The majority of existing scholarship focuses on reality TV as a descendant of the documentary and emphasizes the role of the non-professional, the average person, as the star. Reality TV's appropriation of structural elements from general fiction is acknowledged only briefly and the use of specific techniques borrowed from fiction is largely unexplored. Although reality TV is a variation of the documentary, this thesis explores reality TV's creation of its voyeuristic appeal through the appropriation of key elements that come directly from fiction. Specific techniques used to create a voyeuristic appeal in reality programs, such as the morally ambiguous character and the confession, can be traced, respectively, to the surprising sources of Alfred Hitchcock and Edgar Allan Poe. Reality TV, in appropriating these techniques from Hitchcock and Poe, has a similar formula for entertainment: the thrill of voyeurism as a sublime experience. The consistent appeal of reality TV cannot be fully understood without an awareness of its connections to these two great artists.

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Humanities; English

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Phelps, Kelsey W., "From Poe and Hitchcock to...Reality TV?" (2010). Theses and Dissertations . 2526. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/2526

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http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd3606

Edgar Allan Poe, Alfred Hitchcock, reality TV, voyeurism, sublime

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Teaching Media Quarterly

Vol. 7 No. 3 (2019): Teaching with Reality Television

Lesson Plan

Copyright (c) 2019 Rebecca Burditt

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License .

Reality TV, Genre Theory, and Shaping the Real

Rebecca Burditt

Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Keywords: reality TV, genre theory, documentary

The following series of lesson plans highlight reality TV’s reliance upon the structures and conventions of popular narrative entertainment. Although much reality TV conveys information through documentary modes (interviews, handheld camerawork, on-location shooting), such programs also make ”reality” conform to familiar narrative and genre codes. This unit emphasizes how and why reality TV reproduces Hollywood tropes by introducing reality TV’s industrial, production, and post-production techniques. It encourage students to recognize that the pleasure contemporary audiences glean from reality TV comes, in part, from the application of genre film’s storytelling techniques and dominant ideologies to scenarios involving unscripted non-actors. What follows therefore probes one of reality TV’s central paradoxes: that the it is valued for its authenticity, and yet the “realness” that it offers is only seductive because it gives us the comforts, joys, and closure that real life cannot. The unit includes screenings of The Bachelorette, What Would You Do and The Real World, and readings by both reality TV and film genre scholars. The unit culminates in a group project and presentation in which students are assigned a reality TV episode and required to reconceptualize it as a genre film. 

Topic Areas

Media Literacy Gender Race Sexuality Justice Environment Media Production Media Technologies Class and Work Media Industries

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