Media Analysis Essay

*I choose the series movie Game of Thrones for this essay.*

Assignment Description

For this assignment you will choose a piece of media to analyze. Media can be defined broadly—you can choose a piece of literature (fiction or non-fiction), but you may also choose a film, video game, album, board game, etc. Your topic will need to be approved first.

You will likely have to experience the piece of media you choose multiple times in order to comprehend its meaning, and then go further to make an interpretive claimabout how that piece of media does what you see it doing, conveying some message to viewers/players/readers. Depending on the piece of media you choose, you may look at many different methods—types of gameplay may be analyzed for video games, cinematography for film, literary devices in literature, etc.

Examples might be—examining the expression of masculinity through violence in Fight Club, how Doki Doki Literature Clubeffectively subverts player expectations in the visual novel genre, the gameplay methods by which Monopoly achieves a lack of fun and instead instills a sense of doom.

Your analysis paper MUST include the following:

• A clearly stated thesis in the introduction that chooses an aspect of the piece of media you are analyzing
• Clear reasons with supporting evidence—your evidence may be mainly from the piece of media itself, but you must use outside sources to build up your analysis
• A synthesis of sources; do not simply summarize your source material, but show how they are connected and respond to them
• A minimum of five relevant sources—these do not have to be scholarly, but can be in-depth discussion board postings, credible blog posts, articles on hobby-related websites, etc.
• A minimum of 600 words in MLA format, not including the MLA Works Cited
• A Works Cited page in MLA format with corresponding in-text citations

Purpose and Learning Objectives

The purpose of this assignment is to practice your ability to critically analyze a piece of media. You will increase your critical thinking skills by analyzing yours and others’ thoughts on the piece. Writing, research, and eloquent written expression are vital for a successful future. You will express all of these skills in this assignment.This essay will be used as the English department assessment for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s mandated core curriculum assessment of Student Learning Outcomes (SLO). This essay will address the SLO objectives of critical thinking and written communication.

Your research paper should demonstrate the following learning objectives:

• Ability to analyze a piece of media critically, such as by examining ideology and assumption
• Awareness of the audience to whom you are speaking
• Ability to write a qualified and narrow argumentative thesis statement
• Ability to craft an argument with different types of relevant, credible, and detailed support
• Ability to summarize, paraphrase, and quote while citing correctly in MLA to avoid plagiarism
• Ability to converse in standard, academic English

Minimum Requirements

Length:600-900 words in length, not including the Works Cited page. Style: Essay needs to conform to MLA standards, including double spacing in Times New Roman font, and must include a Works Cited page with correct in-text (parenthetical) citations for all quotes, paraphrases, and/or summaries. Sources:Five (5) sources minimum. They do not have to be scholarly sources.

Due Dates

Rough Draft DUE Nov. 3rd @ 11:59P.M.

Final Draft DUE Nov 17th @ 11:59P.M.

Process of Completion

1. Choose a topic (or a specific essay depending on your instructor’s requirements). Get it approved by your instructor.
2. Revisit the piece of media you chose for your topic. Pay attention to aspects you may be able to make a claim about—there may be something you didn’t catch before.
3. Begin preliminary research to discover more about your topic. Do a basic Google search and read popular sources to broaden your knowledge. See how others have interpreted the piece you chose.
4. Narrow your topic and formulate a working thesis.
5. Begin research using the Richland library databases http://www.richlandcollege.edu/library/. Academic Search Completeis the best database to begin your research. Do a web search for credible sources to include in your essay. Use newspapers, organizations, or government websites. For this assignment, you may also use discussion boards, quality blogs and other articles.
6. Put together an outline to help organize your ideas.
7. Choose the sections of your sources that you want to include in your essay. Be sure to include a variety of paraphrases, quotes, and summaries.
8. Write your rough draft. Don’t worry about grammar now; just put your thoughts down on paper.
9. Put your essay away for twenty-four hours before revising it for grammar and punctuation mistakes. Visit the English Corner for more help with revision or expanding your ideas.
10. Come to all peer reviews and turn in all drafts. Review carefully your peers’ comments before submitting the final essay to me.
11. Review your Safe Assign report for plagiarism BEFORE turning in your final draft!
12. Reread your essay one last time and make any final edits or changes before turning in your final!

Helpful Resources

The English Corner has several handouts that can help you draft your essay. Please see the English Corner website: http://richlandcollege.edu/worldlanguages/english-department/english-corner/handouts/

Plagiarism

Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Plagiarism includes failing to cite a direct quote with quotation marks and an in-text citation, borrowing someone else's work without a correct citation, bad paraphrasing (Safe Assign will not identify a good or fair paraphrase), purchasing a paper, having someone else write your essay, or turning in the same paper to two different classes. Any paper with plagiarism, even accidental (I forgot to cite that!), will receive a zero as a final grade. The best way to avoid plagiarism is to cite correctly. See both MLA citation PPTs on eCampus or visit Purdue OWL for more help https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/