Judith J. Katz
Step One: Reading a well written film essay
As I have said earlier in the paper, it is my intention to write all of the sample papers and use them to model for students what my expectations are of their writing. I will use the film Finding Nemo as my example film. You may choose to do the same using a different film that your students have all seen, or you may choose to use reviews from another source.
Step Two: Introduction of the Self Assessment Rubric entitled "Self Assessment Rubric For A Product Oriented Film Essay" (see below) for a product oriented film essay. I have developed a graphic organizer that the student and teacher can use to keep track of the progress of the students work. It can be found at the end of the unit. The following steps
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1. Search your film journal for a pattern of formal topics (pay special attention to the kind of things you tended to notice and write about in your journaldo you notice the behavior of the characters, do you notice settings, do you notice the way the CCR is built?)
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2. Highlight or put little sticky notes in your journal next to ideas that interest you.
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3. Organize your ideas into groups based on the original six essential questions we asked earlier in the unit:
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i. How do the narrative structure (plot) and the Mise-en-Scene keep us involved in the film?
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ii. How do Character Development (CPC) and narrative structure (CCR/Plot) come together to create a believable and compelling film?
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iii. How do the characters change? Do we believe what happens to them could really happen? Do we believe people would react the way they do?
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iv. What can we, as writers, learn about story from films?
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v. How do writers and filmmakers use narrative structure, character development and causal logic to create meaning?
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vi. What makes a film credible and compelling enough for us to suspend our disbelief and believe in the universe it creates?
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4. Brainstorm the larger points you want to write about. Use a spider-web graphic organizer or any other method that works for you, to get your brainstorming ideas down on paper.
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5. Plan and set goals: choose one, two, a maximum of three ideas you want to write about.
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6. Make a note-taking sheet to keep your ideas together.
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7. Find supporting evidence from your film journal and put that information on your note-taking sheet.
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8. Brainstorm a thesis: Look at your note-taking sheet (do one at a time if you have more than one category). Ask yourself: "What idea does my evidence point to?" or "What do I know from reading my notes?" The answer to those kinds of questions is your thesis statement.
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9. Create a preliminary conclusion (What do you know now, that you didn't know before? What do you want us to know and watch for –teach us how to observe? How did all of these experiences change the way you watch a film?) The answer to those kinds of questions is your conclusion.
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10. Organize and sew up a first draft. Use what you've learned by writing three paragraph essay/reviews to comprise the body sections of your essay.
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11. Read your essay and decide
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a. What you can edit out because it is off point (not related to your thesis)
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b. What you need to put in because you have not supported your thesis sufficiently
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12. At this point you should have 10 out of 16 actions completed on your rubric. You should also have a first draft that you can type and give to a peer editor.
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13. Peer edit: Swap with a peer. Use a clean copy of the rubric to read and comment on what your writer has done well, and what your writer needs to work on. Sign the peer edit rubric and give it back to the writer.
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14. Writers must keep all copies of their drafts and rubric editing comments. The full packet will be handed in for your final grade. Just keep stapling the new papers on top of the old ones.
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15. Revise according to peer editor explain why you won't
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16. Once you have revised, or written a note to the teacher explaining why you didn't you can hand your essay in for teacher revision.
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17. Teacher EditUsing a clean copy of the rubric, the teacher will advise on what percentage of completion you have achieved and what you need to focus on next
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18. Revise according to teacher editor explain why you won't
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19. Be prepared to read your final essay to the class. The class should be prepared to give positive constructive criticism to the writer.
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20. Hand in your final Essay for a grade.
