Research Note: One film review is all that is required. However, you are allowed to use more than one review, and you can also use additional kinds of sources, but it is not necessary. If you end up using the film itself as an additional source, include it in the works cited.
Analysis Ideas: You will not use all of the following ideas (and you may have different ideas), but this should give you some concept of the ways that you can go about analyzing the review you have chosen. No matter how you choose to analyze the film review, your essay should contain an overall focus (thesis, main point), an overriding idea that gels your essay together and gives it a purpose.
• Agree and/or disagree with the review. Explain why your opinions are the same or different from the reviewer's opinions. Provide rebuttals to the reviewer's arguments.
• Use your own knowledge of the film to provide additional information and opinions about the film.
• Further explain to your audience (which may be different from your reviewer's audience) what the reviewer is trying to say.
• Explain the reviewer's use of logos, pathos, and ethos. Analyze the structure of the reviewer's argument: the claim, reason, grounds, etc. Analyze the structure and organization of the review.
• Decide whether or not the review's opinions are fair, biased, misleading, informed, etc.
• Use direct quotations from the review and analyze those.
Audience: Your audience is largely up to you and will determine the nature of your writing. For example, if you choose to write to an audience who has not seen the film, your content will be different than if you are writing to an audience who has seen the film. You can also decide what, if anything, you want your audience to do. You might want them to take an action, change their minds, or simply to see your point of view. You might even wish to address the film reviewer: an audience of one.
The only thing that I ask is that you write to an audience of educated, literate adults.
Style: Write in a style that is appropriate for your topic and audience. You may (for example) choose a formal, academic tone or you may choose a friendly, conversational tone. Whatever works for you, noting that originality of voice is a good thing.
Sentence-Level: Read the "Grammar Rodeo" posted on Blackboard. Read and re-read the "Edit" section of your textbook. Study issues you know you are having problems with, write to me when necessary, and remember that perfect sentences are not only possible: they are necessary.
Format: Follow the "Formatting" handout. This will take care of most of the MLA requirements. For documenting sources (your review and any other sources you might use) and creating a works cited page, follow the MLA section of your textbook.
Purpose: This assignment allows you to analyze the arguments of others and to provide your own arguments. It introduces to you research and gives you insight into analyzing sources. The assignment forces you to use and understand in-text citations and teaches you how to create a works cited page and learn the MLA format. It helps you understand the importance of audience and voice. Also, since Essay 2 and Essay 3 are also about movies and art, it begins to help you understand how to write about these things and treat them academically rather than simply as entertainment.
Other Assignment Instructions
Reading Response -- Your readings are posted in the "Readings" link of Blackboard (as one file) titled "Reading 1 - Boyhood." The first article in the file is a review (sort of) by Kenneth Turan of the film Boyhood. The second is a rebuttal of that review by Michael Miner. You should respond to both. See "Daily Assignments" for instructions on writing a reading response.
Proposal -- The Proposal for Essay 1 should contain the following elements. See "Daily Assignments" for more general instructions on how to write a proposal.
1. The film review you have chosen (name of review author, review title, and film title).
2. The audience you have in mind for your essay.
3. The potential focus of your essay (the main thing you are trying to say; for example, is your main point to disagree with the review or to elaborate on its ideas or dissect its tone or what?).
All of the above may change as you progress and begin drafting the essay.