Writing Project II: Textual and Film Critique Argument
Due Date: Consult syllabus for the due dates of Assignments, Rough Drafts, Peer Review workshop, and final submission of the Writing Project.
Assignment: A critique is not a summary. It evaluates, interprets, and/or analyzes a rhetorical form; in this case, both text and film. The essay’s focus should be on the techniques and strategies authors and filmmakers employ to represent their subject. A textual and film critique can, for instance,
? evaluate the effectiveness of one form over the other (text superior to film, or vice versa),

? interpret a “hidden” message or theme in these forms,
? analyze an argument these forms implicitly make.
(Note: these terms are not meant to be exclusive; often critiques synthesize evaluation, interpretation, and analysis. Also note that I arrange these bullet points in descending order from least challenging to most challenging. A writer must take risks, so I grade papers much more leniently that demonstrate a writer has challenged him/herself.)
You will analyze the book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place (2010), and the film, 127 Hours (2011), to support your argument.
(Second Note: As before, your job is not to “put down” or to play “I told you so.” Also, just because you like films more than books does not automatically make films superior to books. Do not confuse your opinion with an argument.)
Topic Ideas: If you have no idea what you wish to write about, try one of these prompts:
1. How does the book and film manufacture what Henry James terms an “air of reality;” that is, how do they make events seem like they are happening right now?
2. How is nature represented as a means to construct Ralston’s identity? How does Ralston’s experience alter that view?
3. What is the overall message, or philosophy, that Ralston advances? How does this philosophy relate to the purpose of one’s life?
4. How is Aron Ralston represented in the book and film? For instance, is he ultimately likeable or unlikeable? Not simply a case of “either-or,” consider the complex series of assumptions that structure the person he is portrayed as being.
Objectives:

? To develop context centered around the stated and defined rhetorical forms that will structure your argument.
? To state a claim that evaluates, interprets, and/or analyzes the argument of your choice.
? To employ a close reading of the text and film: in particular, to use at least three specific examples from each, and to cite correctly.
? To arrange supporting evidence around specific quotations from the book and film, and to analyze this evidence.
? To show the consequences of your argument.
Format: MLA style
Audience: A mixed group of intelligent and reasonable adults; you will be more specific, of course.
Optional Reading: To better understand the terminology of literature and film’s rhetorical forms can take years. My suggestion would be for you to consult Henry James’s excellent essay, “The Art of Fiction” (1884), which essentially serves as the manifesto for Realist literature. Almost any “film studies” textbook would be sufficient for this assignment, though I thought Peter Wollen’s Signs and Meaning in the Cinema was very insightful, and American University’s library stocks this book.
Length: 6 – 8 pages, typed and double-spaced. Include a Works Cited Page (which does not count toward the page length).
Project Components: Two presentation (final) copies of essay.
Rough drafts (drafts will match your electronic submission).
Peer Review sheets (and any other applicable evidence).
Assignment due 3.4.
Assignment due 3.18.
Assignment due 3.21.
Post-writing Assessment (to be completed the date of submission).
Please arrange these components in the order listed with the final essays on top and submit them in a project folder. Please note that an essay packet falling under any of the following automatically results in a failing grade and that late packets are not accepted. No exceptions are permitted:
1. File is incomplete (one or more components missing).
2. Final draft does not meet minimum length requirements.
3. Format of final document does not meet MLA guidelines.
4. Drafts and final essay are duplicates or have little revisions.
Make sure that everything is printed and ordered the night before the due date and that you have adequate staples and/or paper clips.