Essays

You will complete two major essays—both of which will be assigned jointly with Comparative Literature 271—and a group Web project.  Although the assignments will vary in length, you should expect to produce approximately fifteen pages of revised, polished writing over the quarter.  I require at least two drafts of all major assignments; only the final draft receives a grade.  Before revising your draft and submitting it for a grade, you will receive feedback from your peers and me.  You can also seek additional feedback from the cinema studies course TAs and from consultants at the English Writing Center.

Please submit essays on 8 ½" by 11" paper, titled, paginated, typed and double-spaced, with one-inch margins.  In the upper right hand corner of the first page, include your name, the course number, the assignment number, and the due date; this information should be single-spaced.  You may use a 10 or 12 point Arial, Bookman, Century Schoolbook, or Times New Roman font for your papers.

You must turn in all major assignments in order to pass the class.  Please submit final essay drafts with all previous drafts, peer critiques, and conference worksheets attached.  Final drafts turned in without these materials will be considered late.

Homework and Viewing Journal

Homework should be typed and formatted as described above unless otherwise specified.  I will grade homework on a minus, check-minus, check, check-plus, plus scale, with plus representing a thorough, focused, organized, well-argued response to the assignment, check an thoughtful, adequately organized and argued response, and minus a simplistic, inadequately organized and argued response.

Over the course of the quarter, you will keep a viewing journal in which you take notes on and respond to the films viewed in Comparative Literature 271.  Typically, I will ask you to analyze films in light of the formal and theoretical principles outlined in Bordwell and Thompson, Corrigan, and other course readings.  I will distribute questions for viewing journal entries during the class period preceding a screening.  I will collect and grade the journals as indicated on the “quarter at a glance” schedule.

Peer Critiques

For each major assignment, students will critique each other’s drafts in groups of three or four.  Each student will complete peer critiques for two group members and receive critiques from two fellow writers.  In class, we will develop criteria to guide the peer review process.  I will grade peer critiques on a minus, check-minus, check, check-plus, plus scale.

Conferences

For each assignment, I will schedule individual or group half-hour conferences to talk about your first draft and ideas for revision.  You should come to conferences prepared to discuss the responses you have received from peers, your own assessment of your draft, and your plans for revision 

Portfolio and Reflective Statement

At the end of the term, you will turn in a portfolio of selected essays, peer critiques, and homework completed over the course of the quarter.  With the portfolio, you will submit a two- to three-page reflective statement that explains your selections and evaluates your progress as a writer in cinema studies.  Please note that you must turn in the portfolio and reflective essay in order to pass the course.  In order to have the widest possible range of materials from which to select your portfolio pieces, you should save all homework, in-class writing, peer critiques, essay drafts, and conference preparation materials.
 

Participation

The workshop nature of the course requires students to attend each class session prepared to discuss texts, present ideas, share writing done as homework, and critique essay drafts. Infrequent participation and inadequate preparation will lower your final grade for the course.