Your final project for this class will be your personal, research-based analysis of a program/genre/episode of your own choosing.
When I say this is a research-based personal analysis, I mean that you should tell me why you are interested in this program, genre, or episode. You might want to refer to your personal experience or your future career objectives. The process of identifying this personal connection will begin with your Student Information Form, which is due on the first day of class.
Your term project should be a new and unique project. If it is based on something you have done previously, or if you are working on a similar project in another class, let me know and we will use that project as a starting point.
Your final project will be submitted in multiple drafts of four cumulative assignments, with deadlines that are listed at the end of this syllabus.
- Basic topic of analysis: A brief description of the program, genre, and episode you will be analyzing and what you think you’ll be able to say about it. One or two paragraphs, carefully written in several drafts before submission. Note: Your topic and approach may change over the course of the semester. That’s part of the writing process. The best papers will be those that are researched and written over the entire semester, a little at a time.
- An annotated bibliography of at least five sources that will help you learn more about your topic of analysis. For each source, tell us why you chose it and what you learned from it based on a preliminary reading. Your bibliography will change over the course of the semester. It doesn’t need to be annotated after the first one, but a final bibliography with a minimum of 10 sources will be due with your final project.
- Outline of points to be made: A formal outline with full sentence subpoints and main points that will serve as the headings in your paper. Your outline will change over the course of the semester; a final outline will be due with your final project, and the main points on that outline should correspond to the headings in your paper.
- Final Paper: Your rewritten first draft, responding to my notes and your writing partners’ suggestions.
Your grade for each of these assignments will derive directly from the quality of your research, analysis, and writing. All completed drafts must be attached to Canvas/Assignments as an MS Word file. *APA FORMATTING PLEASE*
*Make sure that the annotated bibliography also has the website (url) of the source at the end*