Writing Expectations and Requirements

Weekly writing: Every week you are expected to write one short critical response on each article/essay and at-least one-discussion topic in the form of a statement or question for class. Additionally, every week you are to write a one-paragraph response and discussion question to the weekly assigned film.

Response requirements for the weekly readings:
• A short critical statement consisting of a general description of what you think each essay is arguing, as well as your general reaction to each essay: what you find confusing, what you find striking.
• One discussion point/question related to either all of the articles or one particular article.
• Your Critical statement and question/s must be e-mailed to me no later than 5pm on Monday evening.
• Your statement should be in a word document and possess a heading: your name, the date and the title of the reading you are responding to.

Note: If desired, 5 of your critical statements can be expressed in another medium: photography, sound-scape, short video, sculpture, etc. If you choose to respond to the readings in this way, you must also have a written description of how your work relates to the readings. This work must also be posted to our class blog by 5pm on Monday evening.

Response Requirements for the weekly film:
• Your response should consist of your general thoughts about the weekly film and it’s relationship to our current and/or past readings.
• One discussion point/question
• Your FILM response and question/s must be e-mailed to me no later than 5pm on Wednesday evening.
• Your statement should be in a word document and possess a heading: name, date and movie you are responding to.

Notes on Reading and Writing:
• Your weekly responses are to be treated like critically engaged journal entries. With that said, you still will be graded based on your interaction with the material at hand so tread lightly but tread with curiosity, energy and thought. If the material is challenging for example, state why, with examples.
• Length does not always equate to greatness.
• Response to the readings and films: Read with a pencil: mark your text with notes to yourself, indicators of points that seem important, examples from your own viewing experiences. Notes will make it much easier to write your critical statement.
• I cannot stress this too strongly: Take notes at the screenings. What you do on paper while the film is running makes an indelible impression on your future thinking about a film.
• PLEASE NOTE: Readings and Films are occasionally changed or swapped as late as one class period in advance. Should you ever miss class, it is your responsibility to find out from a friend whether any changes were made to the syllabus that day.

Grading for Weekly responses: Your responses will be graded simply with a P or P+. If you accumulate 12 or more P+ grades, you get an A for this aspect of your grade; if you accumulate 10 or 11 P+ grades, you get an A-; if you accumulate fewer than 10 P+ grades, you get a B+. But in any case, you must hand in at least 21 responses during the term. Failure to hand in at least 21 of the 24 expected responses will damage your final grade in the course.