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class 24 fall 2015

Page history last edited by Jane Asher 8 years, 4 months ago

 

Film Analysis Worksheet Check--signature required (due with Essay III final)

Craigslist Joe discussion

Essay III Tips and Techniques

Essay III Rubric

Complete draft of Essay III due for PRIII (typed, 3-4 pages)

 

 

 


Responses to the Film

 

Did it meet your expectations?

What surprised you?

What did you learn?

 

--Your ideas generated from the Film Analysis Worksheet

Direction for Essay III

What are you thinking about writing about?

 

Discussion of questions on page 3 and 4.

 

 


 

 

Essay III Tips and Techniques

Critical Evaluation Argument of Craigslist Joe (3-4 pages)

 

Introduction

  • Engages with the reader
  • Identifies title of the film (in Italics), the date, the director and the executive producer
  • Includes a short summary of the film
  • Presents cultural/social/economic context—the larger conversation that encircles the film

 

Thesis Statement (included in introduction)

  • Identifies suitable evaluation criteria a documentary film (how are you assigning value to the film?--see page 2 of film questions)
  • Develops a specific lens to evaluate the film
  • includes a critical approach (your evaluation should contain a combo of the strengths and weaknesses)
  • Serves as a strong road map (enough for a 3-4 page essay, contains 3-4 main points)
  • Is well-written—parallel, clear, and mechanically sound

 

 

Argument Organization: You can choose how to sequence your main points in your thesis statement, but here are the most conventional organizational methods:

 

1. Most important to least important conclusions you make about the film

2. If your critique is more positive than negative, then present the negative points first and the positive last.

3. If your critique is more negative than positive, then present the positive points first and the negative last.

However you choose to order these points in your thesis statement, it is vital that you arrange them in the most logical order and that the body paragraphs of your essay follow the order that you lay out in your thesis.

 

 

Practice: Sample Thesis Statements

 

 

 

Lost is a bad T.V. show because it reflects racial stereotypes, but you should watch it because it is improving upon these superficial depictions.

 

 

 

 

Lost is a captivating T.V. drama because it is entertaining and contains interesting characters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although The T.V. series Lost has not completely abandoned the superficial and sensationalized depictions of race and gender that seem to dominate so many mainstream television dramas, it is show that deserves our time and attention because it has done much to improve these irresponsible practices. In doing so, Lost depicts the beauty and tragedy of human connection and encourages hope among both its characters and its viewers.

 

 

 

 

I believe that Craigslist Joe is a worthwhile documentary film because it documents Joe Garner's social experiment.

 

 

 

 

 

Craigslist Joe is a very thought-provoking documentary because it makes you think about social media and about survival in America.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Craigslist Joe is an important social experiment documentary because it opens up a conversation about the relationship between charity and social media; however, by featuring Craigslist as the only social media outlet in this social experiment, the film limits its potential to explore how the Internet serves as a tool to help those in need. Thus, this social experiment documentary does not accurately reflect life's conditions because it ignores the very social media outlets that frame our everyday lives.

 

 


 

 

 

Body Paragraphs (3-4 total depending on number of criteria in thesis statement/road map)

  • Begins with a clear topic sentence identifying evaluation criteria
  • Adheres to basic paragraph conventions (unity, coherence, and development-CWH Chapter 5)
  • Offers specific examples from the film in order to support each criterion
  • Closely analyzes examples from the film to support evaluation argument
  • Draws on cultural/social/economic conversation that encircles the film
  • Follows order laid out in the thesis/road map

 

Conclusion

  • Is well-developed
  • Reiterates purpose in a new, enlightening way
  • Creates a lasting impression
  • Answers “So What? Who Cares?”

 

Works Cited Page (final page of essay, not included in 3-4 page requirement)

  • Correctly formatted- Includes header, title centered, double-spaced, hanging indent (page 570 in WOW)
  • Follows film entry format (Page 561 in WOW)

 

 

 

Composition Checklist

 

1. Aside from the brief synopsis in the introduction, avoid summarizing the film.

This is a critical evaluation not a summary, and your audience (us) has seen the film. Your job as an evaluator is not to tell the reader what the film is about but instead to explore the reasons for your evaluation. Thus, the body of the essay should deliver focused examples that support your premises/ reasons why you think the film is quality, or not.

 

2. Avoid using the pronoun “You,” which directly refers to the reader. Instead, use terms like “audiences” or “viewers” or “readers,” depending on the subject.

 

3. Be sparing in using first-person pronouns, though they sometimes work. First of all, there is no need to use first-person announcements such as “I think” or “I feel” or “I believe” or variants because it’s implicit to the essay form that these are your thoughts. Instead of announcing your idea, just state the idea. Instead of, “I believe that Avatar is the best movie,” simply state, “Avatar is the best movie of the year” and then support the idea with reasons.

Also, using too much self-reference may make the essay seem less objective, based more on "feelings" rather than "reasons" that are based on evidence and example. The purpose of this essay is to avoid evaluating the subject based on personal taste and instead to evaluate the subject from a critical, objective, emotionally detached perspective. Self-reference works against this objective, or at least appears so from the reader's perspective. With all this said, reviewers sometimes use the first-person "I" when describing their actual viewing or reading experience.

 

4. Write about the film in present tense.

IE: Craigslist Joe reveals Americans' desire for community.

Throughout his journey, Garner invites his new Craigslist friends to join him for a New Year's Eve celebration.

 

5. Avoid clichés

Clichés are words or phrases, and sometimes images, that are so overused they become either meaningless or irritating, or both. Here are some common movie-review clichés to avoid: A triumph of the human spirit, keeps viewers on the edges of their seats, A Must-See, etc.

 

7. Use concrete language. Instead of making a general statement like “The conversation between Joe and Mohammed’s family is very moving,” try revitalizing the images. Show, don’t tell, like in this example:

As Joe sits in Mohammed’s living room and shares food and conversation with Mohammed’s family, Joe learns about how naturalized American citizens struggle to feel a sense of belonging in a country that discriminates against them. At the end of the visit, Joe’s eyes fill with tears as he confesses, “I’ll never forget this night for the rest of my life.”

 

8. Your essay title should not simply be the title of the film. In the first place, that’s technically plagiarism, titling the essay the same as an already-titled movie. More importantly, there’s no focus in the title. Make sure to add your point of view to the title. Use a colon, as in “Subject: It’s Good.” That will give the reader the purpose of the essay, what is being written ABOUT the subject. Example:

Private Violence: Narrowly Focused on Hope

*In your essay title, remember to italicize the title of the film and capitalize all major words

 


 

Distribute/Discuss Essay III Rubric 

 

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