For each module each week, you will write an annotation on the film Silence of the Lambs directed by Jonathan Demme, having to write a one-paragraph annotation (one page or 200 words maximum) about the film, Include a strong thesis and three terms in each annotation. Do not include the same terms each week. Also, include one outside source.
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You will use critical thinking by applying not only the journalistic questions (who, what, when where, why, how) but also the topoi (such as examples, definitions, evaluations, classifications, comparisons, contrasts, causes, and results) in your annotations about the stories, podcasts, and films. (See the documents and podcasts for information about the journalistic questions and topoi, also known as “topics of invention”). You must annotate one reading, movie, or podcast each week, and each annotation shall consist of one paragraph that is at the very least 150 words and at most 200 words–which is about three-fourths of a page to a whole page). It is these annotations of the readings, podcasts, and films that determine your course grade.
Each week, you will chose either one assigned reading, one assigned film, or one assigned podcast to respond to. Use a variety — for example, a reading for week one, a podcast for week 2, a film for week 3, etc. You will be required to use three terms for each annotation each week. These terms should be in bold. You will find the terms in the Course Documents section. If terms are not included and highlighted, points will be deducted. Remember that the purpose of each annotation is to show your understanding of the reading, podcast, or film by analyzing with the terms, not just summarizing the reading, podcast, or film. Do not use the same terms each week. For every annotation, use new terms as you will locate substantial terms in the course documents section. Also of extreme importance is that you include a strong thesis at the beginning of your assignment. Lastly, you will include one source (cited) that relates to your assignment.
You will use the elements of fiction and the elements of film–primarily character, plot, setting, narratorial point-of-view (“focalization”), style, and theme–to analyze the primary sources, which consist of the required readings, podcasts, and movies. (See the docs on the elements of fiction and film.) Students will demonstrate mastery in non-fictional writing (also known as “composition” and “explanatory prose”). Doing so requires not only increasingly thorough critical thinking, but also increasingly sophisticated organization, diction, and syntax. The annotations comprise the evidence.
Students will also show mastery of a genre by analyzing typical characters, plots, settings, narratorial points of view, styles, and themes characteristic of the genre at hand (which will be one of the following: westerns, crime, science fiction, horror, Gothic, weird fiction, fantasy, or magical realism.)
