Sample Assignment Ideas In her Film Studies course, Carol M. Dole of Ursinus College asks her students to write an analysis essay comparing several films: A Paper Analyzing a Pattern Write a paper analyzing a pattern in three or more films that we have not seen in class: either a star (for example, what is Clint Eastwood's film persona?), or a portrayal of some group (such as Native Americans, gays, psychiatrists, models, fathers) in 1990s films. Remember that the point of this assignment is to get you to see a pattern across several films. Your paper should be organized so as to stress the pattern, rather than as three or four separate discussions of films on the same topic or starring the same actor. Therefore it would be most effective to organize point-by-point rather than movie-by-movie. For instance: Suppose you are writing on Marlon Brando's star image when he was young. Rather than having a section on Streetcar Named Desire and one on On the Waterfront and one on The Wild One, you would organize by Brando's qualities: his sexuality, his rebelliousness, his combination of toughness and vulnerability. In each of these sections you would discuss in detail how some or all of your films illustrate that quality. (Please make sure each of these sections begins with a clear topic sentence.) Please assume an audience of readers who have not necessarily seen the films but who understand film terminology. Don't forget to pay attention to the more technical aspects of film as well as to plot (for instance, perhaps certain stars are usually shot from a lower angle to emphasize their dominance, or backlit to make them seem either good or glamorous).

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