Film and writing a 3 to 5 page essay

General Instructions: For each of the two papers, you will be  responsible for watching a film and writing a 3 to 5 page essay (double  spaced, Calibri 11 font, 1" margins) in which you respond to prompts  which will be provided for each paper (this means at least 3 full pages  of written essay, plus the “My Criteria for Quality in Film” page).  These assignments are reaction papers, not plot summaries or research  papers. The key element here is that you will be telling the instructor  what you have to say about the film, not what others have said.

In a 100-level course, you would perhaps be asked to write about what  you saw on the screen. In a 200-level course, you would be asked to say  what you think about what you saw. In this 300-level course, you are  expected to explain why you think the way you do about the film, and to  justify your explanation (using references to subjects found in the  weekly content in the LEO classroom.

You will be responsible for turning in these assignments to the proper assignment folder in LEO.

Putting these assignments off until the last possible moment probably  will not work very well. Each of them requires you to view an  additional film besides the ones you will be watching for the week’s  discussion, so you should be sure to leave yourself enough time to view  the necessary film, think about it, write a first draft, and then edit  and revise.

Part of your responsibility in this course is to make any and  all arrangements necessary to allow you to view the films, think and  write about them, and turn your assignments in by their respective due  dates. Some of the films you watch may be available for  streaming via Netflix or another online content provider; others may be  available for checkout from your local public library, while others may  need to be rented.

Be sure to spell the names of directors, actors, screenwriters, and  other people correctly (this can cause "points" to be taken off of the  final grade for that paper). Any name that is not listed in the credits  that begin or end the film is a name you do not need to mention.

The papers will be graded based on such elements as evidence that you  are reading and viewing the material the course content, references and  comparisons to other films you have seen (in or out of class and  throughout your lifetime as a movie watcher), and especially to films  you have previously written about; use of the film vocabulary introduced  in class; clear presentation of your opinions; reasonable explanations  and justifications to support those opinions; and college-level writing  skills (spelling, punctuation, and grammar). Other criteria will be  presented to you as appropriate.

You are better off watching these films on the largest possible screen, and at the highest possible resolution.