Value Argument Assessment

Value Argument Assessment Order Description   Value Argument Essay Instructions Value Argument Essay Instructions--20% of final course grade Topic: For the value argument, you will write a film review of one of the following superhero films: • The Avengers (2012) Source Requirements: The movie The Avengers b9 2012) Must watch and must quote Two (2) Critical Film Reviews- Russo, Tom. "Super Group." Boston Globe, 29 Apr, 2012, pp. N9, SIRS Renaissance, https://sks.sirs.com. GLEIBERMAN, OWEN. "The Avengers: Our Review." Entertainment Weekly, no. 1205, 04 May 2012, p. 41. EBSCOhost, proxy078.nclive.org/login? url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=74680720&site=ehost-live. Additional Internet Research--find out what you can about the context, genre, and any other information you may need to know about the film. Length Requirement: The final essay must be at least 900 words (a little over 3-full pages--check your word count before submitting the essay and put it at the end). The word count does not include the heading, title, or works cited page. The essay must be in MLA manuscript format. Source Requirements: • The movie--do not try to write the review without watching the movie first! Remember, one of the required supplies for the course is money for a movie rental. Most of these films should be available to stream on Netflix, Amazon, or iTunes. Newer releases will be available for rent at Redbox. Older title may be available for checkout at your local library. Please take careful notes as you view the film. • Two (2) Critical Film Reviews--both must come from the GTCC library's online databases. • Additional Internet Research--find out what you can about the context, genre, and any other information you may need to know about the film. All source material must be correctly handled (introduced and correctly paraphrased/summarized/quoted) and documented within the essay and at the end on the Works Cited page. You will need to include an entry for the movie itself on the works cited page, as well. Grading Considerations: • A catchy title that is not just the title of the movie or the assignment. • An engaging introduction that captures the reader's interest. • A clear, argumentative thesis that makes a value judgment about the movie based on film elements. • A preview statement (either part of the thesis or immediately following it) that forecasts the essay's main points and organization. • A brief plot summary of the movie that does not give away any surprises; this summary may be in a short paragraph following the introduction, or it may be built in as support for the body paragraphs. • Clearly articulated main points to support the thesis. • Analysis of film's elements to develop each main point. • Ample evidence from the movie, at least two (2) critical film reviews, and other print or internet sources to support each main point. • An organized body section that presents the ideas in some sort of order (such as the least important film element to the most important). • Correct film terminology—you need to demonstrate that you understand what you are reviewing. • A conclusion that provides a sense of closure and leaves readers with a clear sense of your opinion of the movie. • Coherent, unified, and developed body paragraphs. • Clear transitions between paragraphs and within paragraphs to help the reader move from idea to idea within the essay. (An essay with good transitions from point to point has good coherence --remember this term!) • Correct grammar and spelling (remember to proofread carefully and run a spell check). • Correct MLA manuscript format and documentation of primary (the movie) and secondary sources (film reviews and other articles about the film). I use a 3-category system of Content, Organization, and Style to grade. Please see the essay's grade sheet to learn more about how your essay will be evaluated. Value Argument Grading Criteria Value Argument Grading Criteria Below is an explanation of the criteria I will examine when grading your value arguments. I will indicate aspects of each area that need improvement in your essay feedback. You will also be able to view the numeric grade for this assignment, as well as grammatical errors and the "Originality Report" in TurnItIn. To be considered "strong" in a particular area, the essay cannot have significant problems in that area. You'll find details about what constitutes "significant probelow the grade sheet. Essay Evaluation • An A paper is strong in all three of the following areas. • A B essay is strong in two areas but has weaknesses in one. • A C essay is strong in one area but has weaknesses in two. • A D essay is weak in all three areas. • An F essay fails to meet assignment requirements (incorrect topic, development, essay components), contains plagiarism, fails to meet minimum length and/or source requirements as explained on the syllabus, or is accepted late without an extension. Note that an “F” is partial credit (50), not no credit. Ideas: • A clear thesis that makes a value judgment about the movie based on film elements or appropriate criteria of evaluation • Clearly articulated reasons to support this judgment. • Analysis of the film's elements to develop each reason. • Ample evidence from the movie, other reviews, and other sources to support each reason. (Examples from the movie, descriptions of scenes, details about the acting, setting, etc.). • A brief summary of the movie that does not give away any surprises; this summary may be in a short paragraph following the introduction or it may be built in as support for the body paragraphs. • Unified and developed body paragraphs. Each body paragraph needs to develop one, and only one, idea, identified in its topic sentence. The idea needs to be thoroughly developed with explanation, examples, comparisons, definitions, descriptions, details, etc. Structure: • A catchy title that is not just the title of the movie or the assignment. • An engaging introduction. • A preview statement (either part of the thesis or immediately following it) that forecasts the essay's points and arrangement. • A concluding paragraph that provides a sense of closure and leaves readers with a clear sense of your opinion of the movie. • An organized body section that presents the ideas in some sort of order (such as the least important element of the analysis to the most important). • Clear transitions between paragraphs and within paragraphs to help the reader move from idea to idea within the essay. (An essay with good transitions from point to point has goodcoherence--remember this term!) Mechanics and Style: • Correct grammar* and spelling • Correct movie terminology—you need to demonstrate that you understand what you are reviewing. • Correct MLA manuscript format and documentation of primary (the movie) and secondary sources. *By "grammar" I mean correct words, mature, precise diction, active sentences, concise sentences, avoids cliché’s, good sentence variety, sophisticated sentence structures, no fragments or run-ons, correct pronouns, spell checked, etc. ________________________________________ To be considered strong in the Ideas area, an essay needs to avoid these problems: • No thesis or misleading thesis • Paragraphs that lack focus (unity) • Underdeveloped paragraphs • Obvious lack of revision These problems would make an essay's organization weak: • Missing title or title that is the assignment or topic • Missing or ineffective introduction • Misleading forecast/preview • Missing transitions within or between paragraphs (more than a couple) • Missing conclusion • Conclusion that introduces new point • Illogical organization of body paragraphs To be considered strong in the Mechanics and Style area, an essay cannot have more than a couple (2-3) of the following problems (total, not each); note these are major problems: • Sentence boundary areas (run-ons and fragments) • Agreement errors • Wrong words, including pronoun case errors • Made up words • Failure to proofread or run a spell check • Incorrect manuscript format, such as over-sized margins or fonts, too much space between paragraphs, etc. • Incorrect end sentence punctuation (periods, question marks) • Failure to capitalize proper nouns • Missing word endings (-s on plural nouns, -ed on past-tense verbs) • Slang or profanity • Lack of sentence variety or sophisticated sentence structures (if your paper reads like a "Dick and Jane" book, there's a problem) • Formatting errors on the works cited page (indentations, title, spacing, alphabetizing)