Review Essay Assignment Instructions 101-28 (docx) - CliffsNotes
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Review Essay Assignment Instructions 101-28

.docx
School
Harvard University **We aren't endorsed by this school
Course
HEALTH 2
Subject
English
Date
May 8, 2024
Pages
3
Uploaded by BaronSharkMaster624
Review Essay Assignment Instructions Film Review A review essay presents an opportunity to vividly depict your selected visual medium and assess its effectiveness in achieving its intended purpose. This type of essay allows you to articulate an informed opinion, showcasing your depth of knowledge regarding the subject. To conduct a comprehensive evaluation, it is essential to establish specific criteria by which you will assess the strengths and weaknesses of a film. From your perspective, what makes this movie or television series great? Is it the acting, cinematography, soundtrack, special effects, or setting that influences your judgment? The criteria you choose should align with the genre of the film and the expectations of the audience, primarily the general academic community. Because not every reader in the academic community may know as much as you do about technical elements like special effects, it is essential to explain any criteria you might be more knowledgeable about in a clear and detailed manner. The first step in writing a film review is to select a film or a television show to serve as the subject of your review. The chosen visual medium can be from any period or genre. It should be a visual medium that you have watched or will watch multiple times. Choose a subject that you have easy access to, such as something available to stream on YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, or Hulu. Watching key scenes from your film will help provide you with vivid detail and description to use in your essay. You must use detail and description to help support your evaluation of the film. Examine your film closely and make a judgment about it. You will need to create a thesis statement that makes clear what your overall opinion of the film is and forecasts the criteria upon which your judgment is based. Next, establish the criteria (what our textbook calls common expectations) you will use in your evaluation. Three criteria or four criteria should be sufficient. Each of these criteria will become the body paragraphs of your essay. Also, make sure to explain these criteria and how your subject meets or fails to meet them. Give reasons for your judgments that are based on the common expectations for a work of that type or, in other words, widely recognized criteria or standards for evaluating a subject like yours (i.e., expectations for an action film, a work of science fiction, etc.). Support your judgment of the film with examples and other details of your criteria (i.e., lines of dialogue, description of memorable scenes, etc.). Your judgment of your chosen work should go way beyond statements like "the work is good" or "the work is bad." Again, use vivid description and lots of detail to support your evaluation of each criteria you choose to evaluate your film using. You might want to include both positive and negative features about the film to provide a complete evaluation for the audience. Criteria or Common Expectations could include, but are not limited to the following list (you can create your own criteria depending on the specific film you are reviewing): Examples of Criteria Acting Special Effects Costumes Dialogue Soundtrack Originality Awards/Nominations Storyline/Plot Cinematography Director Setting Genre Requirements Makeup/Styling Actors Production Value Editing Action Sequences Cultural Impact
Prompt: In 850-1200 words (3-4 pages) , students will write a review of a film or a television show. Your audience for this review is the academic community. It should be typed, in proper MLA format (standard 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins, and a proper heading). Make sure you include a title for your essay. The review should have a clear purpose, thesis, and overall evaluative judgment. One outside source, in addition to the film you are reviewing, is required for this essay. You may use any outside research for background information you find for your film or specific criteria you are reviewing for this outside source. Make sure to correctly cite your source(s) using an in-text citation and add the source to your Works Cited page. A separate and properly formatted Works Cited page that lists the film you are reviewing, and your additional outside source is required. The review should have a narrow focus and a logical, coherent structure. An effective review will: ● Clearly introduce the film or television series. ● Have a clear thesis about the film or episode; strengths and/or weaknesses that preview the essay's/review's main points. ● Have clearly defined criteria with well-chosen examples from the film that demonstrate how the film meets or fails to meet these expectations. ● Provide an in-depth analysis of the film or episode and its details. ● Provide support using vivid detail and description. ● Give an overall judgment of the film or episode. ● Be organized in a coherent and logical manner. ● Demonstrate a clear essay structure with an engaging title, an interesting introduction that captures the reader's attention, body paragraphs that support the thesis, and an effective conclusion that states/restates the overall assessment of the film. ● Meet the requirements for the assignments (length, formatting, MLA, etc.). ● Be free of errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, mechanics, etc. ● Include a properly formatted Works Cited page. ● Adhere to MLA format style. ● Essay avoids plagiarism by correctly citing any outside sources using MLA style. Additional Resources: ● Please refer to the Southeastern Writer e-textbook, Chapter 10 Writing to Evaluate, for help with drafting this essay. ● Refer to Writing Matters for additional help with prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing this essay. Your Writing Matters textbook will also be helpful with grammar and punctuation questions you might have. ● See Writing Matters, Ch. 13 - Finding Information. Sections 13c-13e on Finding Information on the Web, Finding Reliable Interactive Media, and Finding articles in Journals and Other Periodicals Using Databases and Indexes will be most useful for finding information on outside sources. ● The Writing Center tutors can be a valuable resource for drafting this essay. I provide three extra credit points for each essay that is sent to the Writing Center before being
submitted for a final grade. See the Writing Center website to schedule a consultation: http://www.southeastern.edu/acad_research/programs/writing_center/consultations/ index.html or email the Writing Center at [email protected]. ● Please follow MLA document format style for this essay assignment (See Writing Matters , Chapter 18). ● Be sure to include a Works Cited page that includes citations of your sources. You must cite any sources used in your essay. Failure to do so is plagiarism and can result in serious academic consequences . See Chapter 15 in Writing Matters for more information on plagiarism. Your Works Cited page should include a source citation for your film, as well as an entry for any outside or background research you may have conducted via the web (for example, background information on an actor or the film itself). See Writing Matters Ch. 18 for help on how to correctly format your Works Cited page, as well as how to correctly write your in-text citations. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you might have regarding citing and documenting sources. Due Dates: Rough Draft/Peer Review Due Date : class time on Thursday, February 22 nd ● Submit your DRAFT essay in Canvas for peer review feedback. The deadline for submitting your DRAFT Essay is February 22 and is also posted in Canvas and the Learning Unit assignment instructions. If you would like feedback from me for your review essay, please email me a copy of your essay asking for feedback (otherwise, I will not know why you are emailing your essay to me). ● The rough draft/peer review assignment is worth 10 points. These points are awarded simply on whether you submit a complete DRAFT essay with a Works Cited page that meets minimum assignment requirements. It will not be based on the quality of your writing. It is understood that this is a draft essay, and it needs more work. ● Participate in Peer Review with your classmates. See the Peer Review Comment Sheet posted in Canvas to help you with conducting a Peer Review. Final Draft Due Date: by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, February 29 th If anyone feels they may need an extension for this essay, please let me know before the due date!
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