Important Dates and Requirements
First Draft Due to Eli Review: Middle of Week 3
Second Draft Due to Eli Review: Middle of Week 4
Final Draft Due to UBLearns: Beginning of Week 5
Assignment Description
Choose one of the three documentaries that we viewed, and compose a piece of writing that:
(a) Summarizes and analyzes the position of documentary
(b) Brings three (3) more sources into conversation with the topic presented in the documentary
a. At least one of these sources should be a scholarly source
(c) Summarizes and analyzes the position of each additional source
(d) Explains how these sources relate to each other.
*Note: Your documentary can be one of your own choosing.
In this assignment, you are developing your understanding of a topic area that can serve as the foundation for the final assignment if you choose. As with Assignment #1, you
should begin by summarizing the documentary. Then, you will take things a step further by analyzing the themes in the documentary, assessing its message, audience, contexts,
and evidence in order to make an argument for its purpose. Is the documentary’s purpose to inform? To persuade? What types of evidence is the source presenting? Who is the
intended audience? Then, you will broaden your understanding of the topic area by bringing at least 3 additional sources into conversation with the first, summarizing and
analyzing each (your treatment of each additional source may be briefer than that of the documentary). Finally, the work you have done summarizing and analyzing these sources
should be brought together (synthesis) to help the reader understand the most salient ideas, viewpoints, and arguments on a given topic. This can serve as the basis for your
Researched Position Paper.
Audience/Situation
Act as if you are writing a review of the documentary, but trying to situate it within the broader context of the conversation. If your topic is too broad and doesn’t seem like a
good fit anywhere, this may be a sign that you need to narrow and/or reframe your topic. The final draft should be at least 1000 words, but may be longer than that. See me if
you plan on exceeding the word count by a significant margin.
Tips for Success:
- Every source you find will reference other sources—use these references and bibliographies to help develop your own sense of the broader conversation.
- Take notes! Use print-outs or a digital notation system to record your own reactions, questions, and potential connections to other sources as annotations that you can
use to build your bibliography. - Don’t forget to consider your reader. What questions and misconceptions might a reader bring to this issue? How can you structure your report to engage the reader’s
interest and curiosity