A-plus writer

Parade magazine is doing a special section titled “Violence in the Movies.” The purpose of this report is to examine popular violent movies and discuss the portrayals of violence in those movies, how those portrayals may impact the audience, and what should be done about this. You have been invited to contribute an essay to this special section.

The editor is giving you relative freedom concerning exactly what you should write about; his only directions are: “You should choose a movie in which violence is a major and recurring theme (e.g. 300, Die Hard, Kill Bill, Django Unchained, Fight Club), and formulate your own ‘authentic question’ concerning the film’s portrayal of violence and its potential impact on the audience. Also, to add to the credibility of this report, you should incorporate current research on media violence in discussing your question. ”

To formulate your “authentic question,” it may be helpful to use the Gage (2001) article to guide your questioning process. Your question should center on an important or interesting issue related to violence in the movie, and you should be able to communicate that importance in your paper. Once you’ve come up with a question, devise a thesis to answer your question. Then, provide examples and evidence from the movie, and research. For the research portion, you should incorporate information from AT LEAST 2 sources you find on your own (i.e. not your class readings).  

Audience: The readers of Parade magazine. Parade is distributed weekly in approximately 640 newspapers across the country every Sunday, and has the largest readership of any magazine in the US. Therefore, you should anticipate a diverse audience with varying levels of understanding and knowledge concerning how movie violence impacts audiences.

Objectives- Students will be able to:

·         Critically analyze actual examples of media violence

·         Develop and explore their own authentic question via argument

·         Address the significance of their question and argument

·         Demonstrate an ability to integrate primary & secondary sources in support of an argument

Requirements/Grading Criteria:

·         4-5 Pages (double-spaced), 12-point font, references cited in APA style

·         A thesis clearly guided by an authentic question

·         Demonstrates the importance/significance of the authentic question/topic

·         Interesting introduction & conclusion

·         A convincing argument (for your thesis) that uses appropriate evidence/support and addresses any relevant counterarguments.

o   Remember to incorporate 2 sources you found independently

·         Coherent organization (logical paragraph structure and transitions)

o   Should include a proper introduction and conclusion

·         Correct treatment/framing of sources (properly quoted, summarized, paraphrased, and cited)

·         Writing that is geared toward you particular audience (without any Writer-Based Prose)

·         Proper grammar, spelling and punctuation.