GENRE ANALYSIS ESSAY
Instructor Nameless / ENGL 1010 / FALL 2021
FIRST DRAFT: MONDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2021
FINAL DRAFT: MONDAY 6 DECEMBER 2021
ASSIGNMENT
To compose an essay analyzing a piece of media, such as a text, song, image, video or documentary. Kanopy, YouTube, Netflix are all good places to find a video. For example, in class we have analyzed a Bryan Stevenson’s TED talk, a chapter of “Braiding Sweetgrass,” Vox videos on YouTube, and an episode of Netflix’s “Explained.”
PURPOSE
To carefully examine a genre. This will require you to break the subject down into its component parts as well as its context, in order to explicate the piece’s meaning to your audience. You are to support your claim by citing strategies and/or devices that the author/artist incorporates. You will illustrate how these devices work using evidence from the piece and independent analysis.
To begin, listen to how the work speaks to you, how it evokes some strong response in you. Search for aspects you find particularly puzzling or disturbing: this is where the video is calling you to figure something out. Tools of analysis and analytical advice can be found in our textbook (Everyone’s an Author), particularly Chapter 13 “Writing Analytically.” This analysis may also include historical context or outside interpretations of meaning– however, the essay should be primarily your unique interpretation.
Often an analytical essay has the following components, not always in this exact order, though this is a common order of elements:
A summary of the video is a common way to start. Write as if your reader is unfamiliar with the video, so that they get a sense of how you interpret it.
Your claim. Your reaction/response to the work. What “argument” do you want to make about the video? The claim is reflected in your thesis statement.
Analysis of video’s purpose, claim, main points, and arguments. To what degree is the video trying to inform/persuade/entertain/engage? Describe and evaluate how the director/video makes and supports these points. For example, in “Allegiance to Gratitude,” we discussed how the author’s primary purpose is probably to inform the audience about the Thanksgiving Address, but she might have a secondary or implied purpose of persuading her audience to adopt a practice of gratitude- then we found evidence from the text for each of these.
Analysis of genre. What genre(s) does your piece fall into? What are the conventions and criteria of the video’s genre? How does the video meet, fail, or subvert the expectations of the genre?
Analysis of media components. What is actually in the piece? Areas to consider (but not limited to): Visual elements/cinematography, animations, format, style, lighting, color, sound/music/dub, editing, storytelling/narrative, characters, actors, costume, tone/mood.
Rhetorical analysis. Look at the credibility and reputation of the author/director (ethos) and the studio, producers, platform, etc. Look at how the author tries to engage the audience (pathos) through relatability, emotion, attitude, values, beliefs, etc. Look at how the author backs up and supports claims (logos) through evidence, support, examples, facts, organization, reasoning, and logic.
Includes a well-constructed introduction and conclusion which introduce your reader to the video you have analyzed and remind them of what you have found, respectively. Explain how the video relates to the “bigger picture,” how it helps you to have a deeper understanding of a particular subject. What do you hope your audience takes away from your analysis?
STYLE
Neutral, inclusive and concise. Academic and professional. Middle-high register. Unlike some of our previous papers, critical analysis papers are typically written in the third person, not using first person pronouns such as “I,” “me,” or “my,” or second person pronouns such as “you.”
WEIGHT
This essay will be 20% of the Final Grade for the semester.
FORMAT
Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced, one-inch margins, MLA. Include your name, the instructor’s name, date, class and word count on the first page in the upper left hand corner. Changes from the Rough to Final Draft must be marked with highlighting and use of asterisks * to indicate removed material.
LENGTH
1100 to 1500 words (approximately 4-6 pages.)
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