Task
What are readers looking for in a newspaper or magazine? What makes a quality publication? Your group of three will be looking into these issues because you have been "hired" as judges for a brand new award contest for magazines: The "Magemmys," the Emmys of magazines. As this awards program is just getting started, they are looking to you, the staff of the most prestigious high school newspaper in the nation, to develop the judging criteria to ensure only the best of the best of any princely periodical ever receives a coveted "Magemmy," and your group will actually judge a magazine, arguing whether or not it merits the award.
Now, what are the steps you will take to get there? Consider the following a breakdown of the steps necessary to earn your title as "Judge of the Magemmys":
1. Research and define the concepts "quality," "compelling," and "aesthetically-pleasing" and apply these to magazine publication.
2. Using these concepts, develop and define three key areas that will be used to judge whether or not a magazine deserves a "Magemmy."
3. Develop a rubric for your group's three key areas.
4. Evaluate a magazine based on your rubric.
5. Write a persuasive essay in which your group justifies why the magazine deserves to be awarded or denied the coveted "Magemmy" award.