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

Return/Discuss Evaluation Projects/Discuss Thesis Statements

Essay III Tips and Techniques

Essay III Rubric

Assignment:

Draft of Essay III due for PR

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Evaluation Project Presentations and Handouts

Presentation Guidelines/Rubric

     Thesis with Criteria

     Organization of information (following up on each criteria in order)

     providing support for each criteria

 

Written Component: Rubric

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congrats to Billy, who received the most votes (78%) for the best product evaluation project! 

 

 

What made this a winning project?

 

Pathos--he provided emotional appeals/appealed to the audience's values

pictures of himself using the app

personal anecdotes--which he extended to the audience (YOU! students)

 

Ethos--he showed his expertise and credibility to evaluate the product

a lot of material--evident that he did a lot of practical research and that he knows he product well

he also showed credibility (and convinced us that he was an expert) because he was well-prepared--it was evident he spent a lot of time on his project

he was also very fluent/carefully chose his words

 

Logos--his project appealed to logic

it was delivered well

it was organized--followed the rubric to a tee

clearly presented a thesis (road map) and followed the road map:

 

"Polaris Office is an outstanding mobile application because it has a high volume of content, elegant usability, and genuine quality."

 

provided multiple examples and analysis to support each criteria 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few notes about your evaluation thesis statements (page 3 in handout)

--You were supposed to be evaluating the project, not the product itself, so your criteria for evaluation should have focused on how well the student fulfilled the requirements of the project and how he/she rhetorically approached the project (ethos, pathos, and logos).  Also, I asked that these thesis statements be well-written and parallel. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, for the second part of the competition (your evaluation thesis statements of the projects), I am awarding E.C. to two students

I chose 2 winners for this portion because each of these have some very strong elements...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congrats

Adam and Mark

 

 

 

 

 

William Johnsons' Polaris Office 5 was the best presentation because it was fluently presented, it gave examples for real use, and the whole presentation and handout flowed well.

 

strong:

direct and clear solid sentence

lists three criteria in parallel format

could use a little work:

incorporating stronger language (artistic appeals)

strengthening 3rd criteria (a bit vague)

punctuation error

 

 

I really enjoyed Christa's presentation on the LIFX light bulb because she presented the product well. Christa provided many examples as to why this light bulb was second to no other light bulb on the market. Christa also justified the steep price by providing all the features that the LIFX light bulb has. Not only was she able to tell us about the features, she also provided us with ethos because she owned a LIFX bulb. Out of all the products that I saw, I would most inclined to buy the LIFX light bulb.

 

Strong:

contains a lot of support criteria for evaluation

uses rhetorical language

Room for improvement:

first sentence: cut it--obvious

clarity of second sentence

condensing/organizing into a clear, direct sentence or two

 

Revision:

Out of all the products that I saw, I would most inclined to buy the LIFX light bulb. Christa Coscione's product evaluation project was very effective in the way that she used comparison in order to highlight the benefits of the LIFX bulb, justified the product's steep price by displaying its many practical features, and appealed to ethos through a demonstration of a product that she actually owns. 

 

What are the 3 criteria?

When I say that thesis statements must be parallel, what do I mean? What are the parallel elements in this list?

 

What has happened in this example?

 

Christa Coscione's product evaluation project was very effective in the way that she used comparison in order to highlight the benefits of the LIFX bulb, the product's steep price was justified, and there was a demonstration of a product that she actually owns. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Responses to the film

 

--Your ideas generated from the Film Analysis Worksheet

Direction for Essay III

What are you thinking about writing about?

 

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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?
• Develops a specific lens to evaluate the film—includes a balanced evaluation 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.

 

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

 

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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.