PAPER TO TURN IN BEFORE SEEING EACH FILM

Bob Corbett, instructor
GNST 1200, Summer 2001

THE ASSIGNMENT; PREPARATION HINTS; GRADING CRITERIA

• ASSIGNMENT:  Write a paper about the film before seeing it in class. The paper must meet the following criteria:
  1. The paper must be more than 1 full page -- single spaced, but may not go onto a third page.
  2. It must be SINGLE SPACED and meet the careful guidelines that no margin -- top, bottom, both sides, may be more than one single inch. Your name and the name of the film and such must go on a cover page. The paper itself is full text.
  3. The paper must include all the basic techincal data of the film such as:
     • When it was made and where.
     • Who is the director, producer and other important persons in the making of the film.
     • The list of major characters and the actors who play them.
     • All of the above data can be found on on-line movie data bases.
     • You must report the SOURCE of your data; the url (internet address) of where you found it.
  4. Find a REVIEW of the movie either on line or in library research materials and summarize the review.
  5. You must give a full citation of the source where you found the review. If you cannot find one on line it is likely you can find one on the Webster Universtiy Passport's data base on-line.

• PRE-PREPARATION TASKS:
  • I would strongly recommend that you go on-line to do reasearch and that you be prepared to use the Passport's system in the Webster University (St. Louis) library system. If you do not know how to use this please contact Dr. David Pamphelte to see if he has a training session coming up. He usually does at the beginning of any semester.
  • Read as much as you can in the area of your research.

• THINGS I WILL ESPECIALLY NOTE AND LOOK FOR IN GRADING THE PAPER IN ITS VARIOUS PHASES:
  • Is the paper on-time? Late papers will not be accepted and please note: THE PAPER MUST BE TURNED IN BY THE HOUR THE CLASS BEGINS. I WILL ACCEPT NO PAPERS BY E-MAIL. I MUST HAVE A HARD COPY IN HAND WHEN THE CLASS BEGINS ON THE DATE IT IS DUE.
  • Does the paper have the full listing of the cast and major figures who made the film?
  • Is the summary of the review indeed a SUMMARY and not just a copying of the review?
  • Is the review a SIGNIFICANT review from a reliable and useful source?
  • Is all written material in standard English?
  • Are all sources acknowledged?

• THE GRADES THEMSELVES:
  • A grade of A will mean: All the basic data about the film has been reported and the paper meets EXACTLY the guideline for margins and length. The summary of the review was clearly written and summarized from a worthwhile source and the source was properly reported. The whole paper was in standard English and written with some style and grace.
  • A grade of B will mean: All parts of the process asked for in the above were present, but the paper just didn't match up to the superior quality expected of the A. Perhaps the paper didn't follow the specific guidelines of form; or there were lapses in standard English; or the content was just a bit off from what was promised; or the paper just lacked the grace and style expected of a superior paper.
  • A grade of C will mean: All parts of the paper process were done and on-time. However, the final products were just not in the category of above-average. The paper represented a solid piece of work which should be expected of any undergraduate, but nothing above that. It was good, solid, unexceptional work.
  • A grade of D will mean: Some deviations from the criteria expressed above were present in some area of the paper. Perhaps lapses in seriousness of content, or presentation; perhaps failures to adequately express the paper in standard English; perhaps lapses in following the form required.
  • A grade of F may mean anyone of three things:
    1. The paper did not meet the time requirements given. Late work is simply unacceptable for any reason at all.
    2. Significant failures to meet the assignment at the level of reasonable university expectations of thought, attention to detail, significant lapses in the content's accuracy. (Specifics will be pointed out).
    3. The paper form (rather than the content) was seriously flawed. This could mean the time peramaters or such things as clarity of expression, or use of the English language. All of these would be expected to be used in a reasonable fashion for university level work. However, a grade of F on these grounds would require some quite serious deviation from the expectations listed above.

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