Getting More from Your Writing
Would you like to become a stronger communicator within your writing? Are you interested in ways to enhance your critical evaluation skills? Are you interested in becoming better organized in the presentation of your ideas and thoughts for this (and any other writing-related) course? If so, you may want to visit the Cleveland Community College Tutoring Resource Center (located on Level 3 of the Rose Library). Email tutoring@clevelandcc.edu or call 704.669.4180 to make an appointment. They can offer wonderful support and guidance in your writing techniques. This may be well worth your while.
Dialogue, Response and Writing Assignment (March 18-25)
For the next week you should devote all of your time in this course conducting and organizing research for your semester project. You will have two focused assignments. NOTE: These assignments cannot wait until the last minute; it will take dedicated time and effort to complete these by the deadline:
Assignment 1 – Engaged Rose Library Assignment with dialogue/response post (Due March 22):
You should reach out to a staff member at the Rose Library (library@clevelandcc.edu , 704.669.4024, library.clevelandcc.edu) and ask for a tutorial and/or guidance on the use of online and physical resources and references. The Rose Library is located in the Jack Hunt Campus Center (1st Floor). You especially need to know how to access scholarly & peer reviewed materials, journal articles, magazine articles and trade publication articles. You should also ask for guidance on search tips (this will help you on your semester project research). The Rose Library will also offer guidance and/or tutorials on the use of writing a research paper in APA style format. This is the format I will require for the semester project (and this week’s writing assignment):
- Times New Roman fonts should be used (although I will accept the alternate Georgia font).
- Each line should be double spaced with one inch margins.
- A running header with your name and paper title on the left.
- Page numbers should be on the right.
- Reference list entries must have a hanging indent.
In this week’s response post/dialogue section you need to address the following (and post your responses on this week’s response page on our site, or email them to me):
- Name of the staff member(s) who assisted you and the date and time you visited the Rose Library (in person, by phone or online).
- What was the most valuable information you received from the staff member or from exploring the research tools?
- How do you feel this will better assist and prepare you for this week’s written assignment or your semester project (and/or future research assignments)? Or, has it already? Offer an example.
Assignment 2 – Research/Writing Assignment (this will count as two writing assignment grades) – Due March 25:
**Opening note: If you wait until the last minute to work on this assignment, you may be in trouble. You should understand assignment #1 fully before engaging in this written assignment.
After this assignment is complete, you should email me the final draft in a word doc, Google doc, or PDF. It is your responsibility to make sure this assignment is formatted correctly.
You are to create an annotated bibliography focused on your approved semester project film (and/or collateral materials related to your project: film director, screenwriter, original source material, etc.). This annotated bibliography should include at least four of the sources I’ve already approved (and/or suggested). In addition, you should also add three new sources (minimum) from the Rose Library resource databases. One of your new sources must come from scholarly and peer reviewed material; one should come from a journal article, and one may come from either a trade publication, magazine article or a published book from the Rose Library resources.
Your goal here is to begin in-depth research on your topic by reading and engaging in materials that will provide support, expertise and scholarly value for the semester project. Before you take the following steps, you should thoroughly explore the research. This will help you begin to weed out material that may not be relevant to your finished product. TIP: If you’re going to take the time to conduct an annotated bibliography (or even a literature review), you should not waste time writing down sources that you know will not provide benefit.
Think about all the components of filmmaking we’ve covered so far that could be applied to your project (and research): Original source materials, screenplay, cinematography, sound design, score, directing and acting. Are there references available that can provide support on any of these topics that are directly related to the semester project? If so, dive into those as well.
What is an annotated bibliography?
An annotated bibliography is a list of resources and references (articles, books, documents, films, audio, etc.) followed by a brief paragraph (75-150 words) providing a descriptive evaluation of the source.
You will find this to be a valuable tool in organizing your notes and resources for your semester project. An annotated bibliography allows you to bring all of your resources into one location, and provides you with a quick glimpse of what is contained within each source. This will be most helpful as you begin to formalize your thoughts and structure for your semester project. It will also provide you with a focused approach to themes, ideas and topics within each source offering supportive and alternate ideas of your project.
The first thing you’ll need to do is find and make records of the approved sources (as well as the new ones you’ve discovered). Then, review and examine the references, and make notes of those you feel will provide the most relevance or support to your project.
- You should cite the source in the approved APA format, and each should be organized in alphabetical order by the author. You will ultimately use this format citation structure in the APA references page(s) for the final draft of your semester project. Additionally you must provide a link (a permalink if possible) for each source (if pulled from online).
- You should follow each source with a brief description (or annotation) that provides a summary of the source (this should be three-five sentences). This annotation should be in your own words and should not be copied directly from the abstract; that is plagiarism. You want to summarize the central theme and scope of each reference. You may want to address the following within the annotation (these are just ideas): A. Is the author an expert or authority in the field? B. Compare and contrast this with other references you’ve explored. C. Who is the intended audience for this particular reference? D. Explain how this particular reference adds impact to your research. Below you will find an example of a film-related annotated bibliography with a list of 10 references.
Sample attached here: Alfred Hitchcock Annotated Bibliography SampleAlfred Hitchcock Annotated Bibliography Sample
The Film Critic 