ENGL 101 Paper #2 Assignment

ENGL 101.009/.011
-- Paper # 2 Assignment --

Dr. Nick Melczarek | anmelczarek@salisbury.edu | 410-546-6203 (66203)

Contents (click to jump to the following sections)

Assignment (includes assignment description & topic options, rationale, and thesis help)
What I'll look for in your paper (content-wise, writing mechanics, technical requirements)
Due dates and activity dates (includes dates for drafts, etc.)
Troubleshooting & therapy (where to go for answers to your assignment questions)

Paper 1 Assignment (read all the way through -- there are helpful tips throughout):

»» Cultural analysis: Based on ideas gathered from this section's essays (on reading films), write an essay of 1,500 to 2,000 words on one of the following topics:

Compare/contrast two or more movies that take different approaches to the same goal or message -- which one offers the better model?
Compare/contrast three different types of the same character (the prostitute, the patriot, the nerd, the dumb jock, the popular girl, the gangster, the small business person, the soldier, the witch, etc. -- your choice) in movies or on t.v. -- which film or show offers the most complex version of that character?
Choose two or more movies that specifically cast virtues or vices in terms of class -- which film is the most egregious in this respect? (Look up "egregious" in the dictionary -- it's an excellent word to know.)

Discussing films or television shows requires giving your reader certain specific information -- see the "What I'll look for" section below.
You can refer to the essays we read in Signs of Life for inspiration or good quotations, but pick your own movies or television shows. Pay attention to how many examples the question asks for in your discussion, and develop those examples in full ¶s with topic sentences.
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Rationale: each of this section's essays studies some aspect of film. Since movies and television earn several billion dollars a year, people obviously think them important cultural forms. Yet while many or most movie spectators or televisions viewers treat these media simply as entertainment, each of the essays we've read acknowledges messages buried in movies/shows. Do not presume that these messages are either deliberate or accidental -- all you care about is that they're there, on the screen and that people see them regardless of the film/show-makers' intent. Paper #2 asks you to conduct your own analysis of a set of movies or shows -- and to do some research about them. Look up movie or show sites on the internet, or in magazines or film journals. Be ready to cite each source you turn to.

Caveats/cautions:
-- Why work this hard on a paper worth only 10% of your grade? Because Paper #1 and Paper #2 are practice for papers 3 & 4, which count 20% each. Wouldn't you rather have most of the learnig curve in the 10% range?
-- By "1,500-2,000 words" I mean 1,500-2,000 words. (Enlarging the font size, or enlarging the margins, does not change the number of words.) This is not an invitation to pad you paper with needless material; rather, this is an opportunity for you to fully explain your ideas and illustrate those ideas with examples. If you're padding, waffling, or tangenting, I'll know it -- and it'll count against you.
-- Use examples from the essays we've read in SoL only as inspiration or starting points: come up with your own examples.
-- Treat your chosen films or television shows as seriously as you would any literary text.

Thesis note: Be sure that you state clearly and directly your thesis -- i.e. the point of your paper, your argument. Try not to phrase your thesis as "In this paper I will show that ..." -- your reader already works from the assumption that you're going to show her something. Instead, early in your paper simply present your paper's thesis, including your topic/subject matter, how you will treat that matter, and what your assertion or argument is.

Need a little help with your thesis? Before you start writing, have a look at "timesaver #3 (a)," "timesaver #3(b)" and "timesaver #4" on the writing tips site -- these items will help you AND save you oodles of time!!!
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»» What I'll look for in this paper: (Papers 3 and 4 will have additional requirements)

Content-wise:

a paper title that adequately reflects your topic -- no one-name or "film-analysis assignment" titles -- on the cover sheet
a clear, strong thesis statement early on (try for an introduction ¶ -- we will specifically discuss introductions for later papers)
a specific argument that your paper follows from the thesis statement -- make your argument explicit and unmistakable
a clear topic sentence for each ¶
each ¶ discusses only one example, or one aspect of an example if the example spans more than one ¶ (for this paper, each probably will)
helpful transition words within ¶s to help readers get from sentence to sentence
helpful transition sentences to get readers from ¶ to ¶ (remember: ¶s are like hangers: the transition or "hook" goes at the top/beginning)
use the required number of movies/shows for your chosen topic selection
whether you define/explain special terms/concepts that you use
the first time you discuss each movie/show after the introduction ¶, specifically state the film/show's director, the film or show episode's writer, the year that the film debuted or the show originally aired, the actor names as well as their character names, and what company produced the film/show.
When writing about television shows, you may give a general idea of what your chosen character does in the series as a whole, but use specific scenes in specific episodes where your chosen character does what you say s/he does. When writing about movies, quickly summarize the plot (no more than two sentences), and then get on with your discussion.
if you refer to outside sources, use of writers' full names, qualifications, and source titles the first time you mention them in the body of your paper; use of last names and signal phrases when/where appropriate for each use thereafter

Writing mechanics & technical guidelines:

any writing problems that I marked in your previous paper, or that we discussed in conference, should not occur again in this paper, either at the rough or final draft stages -- review these before writing either draft of Paper #3, and revise for them before submitting either the rough or final drafts of paper #3
pay attention to spelling, punctuation, grammar, word usage, basic proofreading and editing (see appropriate Holt Handbook pages)
decrease your reliance on weak or passive verbs ("to be," "to have") -- use the active voice in most of your paper
type or computer print anything written outside the classroom to turn in to me
maintain margins at 1" all around
type/print on only one side of each page
use black ink only, and make sure print is dark and legible
FONT: use only Times, Times New Roman, or Palatino fonts; maintain font size 12
double-space all type
use a separate cover sheet for all drafts of your paper, including the following information, centred on the page:
your paper title,
which draft (first, final)
your name
course and section #
(for Dr. Melczarek)
date submitted
begin page 1 at the top margin
no header/number for page 1; every page after page 1 should carry a header including your last name and the page #, starting with page 2
all pages and cover sheet should be stapled, in correct order, BEFORE you come to class; papers submitted with pages in the wrong order will be read in that order and graded accordingly; papers not stapled will be returned unread
the final draft must be submitted in a folder accompanied by any draft/version that I have seen and commented on; final drafts without this material will not be accepted

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»» DUE DATES AND ACTIVITY DATES: (see updated course schedules)

Monday 10/11: type out and bring to class at least 3 copies of a tentative thesis statement, and any ideas or evidence (from the SoL readings or elsewhere) that you want to use in your paper; help each other in your groups to evaluate your proposed evidence, and possibly suggest changes
Monday 10/18: rough draft of Paper #1 due
Tuesday 10/19, Wednesday 10/20, Thursday 10/21: CONFERENCES
Monday 10/25: FINAL DRAFT of Paper #1 due

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»» Troubleshooting & therapy: If you have questions about the assignment or your paper that we don't address in class or during conference times,

reread the assignment first to see if the answer's there already
see the syllabus and course policies to see if the answer's there already
ask others in the class for peer help
then and only then e-mail me.

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ENGL 101.009/.011 -- Paper # 2 Assignment --

Dr. Nick Melczarek | anmelczarek@salisbury.edu | 410-546-6203 (66203)

ENGL 101.009/.011
-- Paper # 2 Assignment --