Final Paper Guidelines

Final Paper Guidelines

FINAL PAPER DUE: November 13th

In your final paper, you will analyze two films featuring a teen girl as the central character that are similar to each other narratively, stylistically, and/or thematically, or that have the same director. You must pick at least one movie that we have not watched in class. If you need guidance in choosing a second film, please consult your TA or the list of films posted on our CCLE site (which is by no means exhaustive).

Choose one of the prompts below and incorporate at least four scholarly sources (books, periodicals, academic journals) into your argument. Your sources may include readings that we’ve done in class, but you are required to seek out at least two outside sources. Some other sources you might consult include:

• Academic writing about the films and film genres that you’re writing about.
• Reviews and articles from newspapers and magazines about the films that you’re writing about.
• Books and articles that offer contextual information about the periods in which your films were produced and released

You will compare and contrast your films in order to consider one of the following:

1. In distinguishing films as part of a genre, scholars utilize a set of common formal elements as a means of classification. Make a case for how the two films you’ve chosen formally represent an aspect of female adolescence as a psychological, social, and/or cultural experience? Focus on one stylistic element of visual/cinematic style (editing, cinematography, lighting, music, mise-en-scene, etc.) as a means of guiding your analysis.
2. Film genres are also constructed by studios and distributors as a marketing tactic to easily label a specific audience. As we’ve discussed, although teen films may feature teen girls, teen girls are not necessarily the only intended audience. Choose two films and identify how the peripheral materials attempt to reach a common audience that is not teen girls. How do peripheral texts (promotions, trailers, interviews, reviews, etc.) use the teen girls at the center of the films in order to engage an audience not comprised of teen girls? If you choose this option, you may not choose the film you focused on in your short paper.
3. Films focusing on teen girls are often representative of larger cultural issues. In choosing your two films, identify a common issue (premarital sex, pregnancy, female empowerment, familial relationships, etc.). How were the films’ depictions of teen girls and female adolescence informed by the social and historical contexts in which the films were produced and released?
4. Mainstream American notions of culture privilege white middle-class heterosexual values, and presentations of girlhood are no exception (in many ways, white girls represent the purest formation of values that need the most protection to uphold). How do your two films construct “white identity” or, conversely, an identity that is in opposition or conflict with “white identity”? How do issues of race, class, sexuality, size, etc. in your two films complicate normalized, often invisible, markers of culture? Are these issues presented as a means to include and empower a more diverse set of girls?

Papers will be graded for argument, research, analysis, argument, use of evidence, writing style, grammar, and clarity. Students should meet with their TA during office hours to discuss their research and writing process.

Grading Criteria

• Does the paper have a clear, specific, and debatable thesisreflecting original thought?
• Does it center on careful and compelling analysis of evidencein support of that thesis?
• Is it well written?
  • Organizes sentences, paragraphs, and ideas in a reasonable manner
  • Uses correct grammar and appropriate diction
  • Maintains a consistent tone
  • Does not resemble a list (!) but instead actively analyzes and synthesizes material
  • Avoids irrelevant information and unnecessary repetition
  • Avoids unwarranted generalizations about all human beings or “society”
  • Includes proper formatting and appropriate citations
• Note that an excellent paper is not only competent but insightful, persuasive, and sophisticated while responding to the text(s) at hand in a mature and thorough manner.

Format:

• 7-9 page (no less than 2,000-2,500 words)
• 12-point Times New Roman font
• Include name and page numbers in footer of each page
• Double-spaced with one-inch margins
• All citations must be done in MLA or Chicago style format
• Submit a copy to your TA (per their instructions) by the beginning of class and an electronic version to TURNITIN by 9:59 AM on due date