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An incomplete style guide to academic writing for film reviews and written assignments on Computer Animation Arts
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Some do’s & don’ts -‐ An incomplete style guide to wri7ng effec7ve film reviews and wri<en essays.
1: Don’t use the first person! i.e. ‘I think that, I believe that, In my opinion, If you ask me…' Instead of: ‘My review is of Vincenzo Natali's 2009 film, Splice.’ Consider: ‘This review examines Vincenzo Natali's 2009 film, Splice.’ Instead of: ‘For my research I have looked at Nightmare Movies by Kim Newman, The David Cronenberg Companion by Bodie Horrace and How To Turn A Baboon Inside Out by Seth Brundle.’ Consider: ‘Research sources include Nightmare Movies by Kim Newman, The David Cronenberg Companion by Bodie Horrace and How To Turn A Baboon Inside Out by Seth Brundle...'
Okay -‐ construc8ng sentences using the third person might feel a li>le unnatural or strange at first, but you’ll soon get used to it. The reason for not wri8ng in the first person (I think etc.), even though it feels en8rely intui8ve to do so, is simple. If you are weighing up an idea or discussing different interpreta8ons, you will quickly sound to your reader as if you’re experiencing a mul8ple personality disorder! e.g. ‘I think David Cronenberg’s 1986 remake of The Fly is a story about HIV/Aids. However, a\er reading the following observa7on made by cri7c, Richard Luck -‐ ‘Perceived as a film about the AIDS crisis at the Fme of its release, Cronenberg is too intelligent a filmmaker to allow his picture to become a vehicle for other people's poliFcs.’ (Luck, 2007) -‐ I’m thinking now that maybe The Fly is not about HIV a\er all. Yes, I now think Cronenberg’s body-‐horror classic is a film about our fear of decay more generally. However, a\er reading…’ (and so on). Use the following conversion table to help you weed out the first person from your academic wri8ng.
2: Don’t narrate! (wri8ng as if you're thinking out-‐loud or telling your reader a bed8me story). e.g. ‘My essay/review is on Splice. I was thinking about looking for some research in books, but I couldn’t find any good ones, so I started looking on the internet, and I found some good quotes which I’ll be using in my essay because I want to show how I’ve researched my essay using the internet….' Yawn! Your tutor is giving up the will to live. Just get on with it! Be specific always – it’s not a diary entry. WHICH published sources are you using? Give the 8tle and the author. Don’t tell your reader about content you’re NOT using, or about informa8on you COULDN’T find. DON’T talk about how ‘hard’ it’s been to find relevant informa8on. Your reader doesn’t care!
3: When you introduce a film, tv programme, book, game or pain7ng etc. in an assignment for the first 8me, give both the author/producer/originator/director and release/publishing/painted date. A:er that, just the 8tle is fine. e.g. 'David Lynch’s The Elephant Man (1980) explores what it means to be human' not just ‘The Elephant Man explores what it means to be human’.
4: Always give film 7tles/book 7tles etc. their righgul capital le<ers and do it every 8me you write them! e.g. ‘The Elephant Man’ not ‘The elephant Man’, or ‘the Elephant man’, or ‘the elephant man’.
5: The first 7me you introduce a director/prac77oner/specific individual, give their full name; a\er that use surname only! e.g. 'David Lynch’s The Elephant Man (1980) explores what it means to be human. Lynch’s use of black and white cinematography and evoca7ve soundscape contribute to the film’s expressionis7c style...' If you con8nue to use the person’s Chris8an name, it presumes a familiarity you do not have with them: 'David Lynch’s The Elephant Man (1980) explores what it means to be human. David’s use of black and white photography and evoca7ve soundscape contribute to the film’s expressionis7c style…' (it's like, “yeah, me and David go way back – we're old drinking buddies…)
6: Avoid vagueness! e.g. ‘In the past’ (when exactly?), ‘In the olden days’ (when exactly?), ‘Back then’ (back when?), ‘people did this a lot’ (how much?) – ‘people did this a lot in the past, but now people don’t do it as much’ (which people did what, to what degree, and when, and now [meaning when? Right now? This century? This decade? This minute?] which people are doing what and by how much less than before?). Vagueness is a consequence of a research ‘blindspot’ or ‘lazy repor8ng’. If it’s ge`ng vague, you obviously don’t know enough about your subject yet!
7: Avoid generaliza7ons! e.g. ‘All women think this.’ Unless you have done a recent survey of ‘all women’ this statement cannot be proven; if it cannot be proven it is a generaliza8on and has no place in an EVIDENCE based discussion.
8: Avoid superla7ves and sycophancy! (Don’t gush!) e.g. Neil Jordan’s The Company of Wolves (1984) is a brilliant film. Or In Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927), the set designs are just amazing. (Here ‘brilliant’ and ‘amazing’ are en8rely ‘content free’ – i.e. they don’t tell your reader anything. Your job is to unpack what you mean by ‘brilliant’ and unpack what you mean by ‘amazing’. e.g. 'Neil Jordan’s The Company of Wolves (1984) impresses in its use of dream-‐logic by which it links its separate stories' or 'In Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927), the set designs are monumental and imposing'.
9: Always put your film 7tles/book 7tles etc. in italics to dis7nguish them from the rest of text. not 'In Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927), the set designs are monumental and imposing', but 'In Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927), the set designs are monumental and imposing.'
10: Always put your quota7ons between ‘’ or “” and italicise them. e.g. "This is a quotaFon!"
11: Unpack your quotes /demonstrate your knowledge/define your terms! Some students use quotes in their assignments but let them ‘hang around’ – like especially invited dinner guests who end up with nothing to contribute to the conversa8on. Consider this statement: ‘As Kim Newman observes, ‘Splice shares Cronenberg’s fascinaFon with body horror’. Okay – but Cronenberg who? Body horror what?’ And Newman’s point is? And the point of you choosing this quote and using it in this context is...? Consider instead: ‘As Kim Newman observes, ‘Splice shares Cronenberg’s fascinaFon with body horror’ (Newman 1989:76). Here, Newman refers to Canadian director, David Cronenberg, whose early films -‐ Shivers (1975), Rabid (1977) and The Fly (1986) among others -‐ are preoccupied with themes of bodily disintegra7on and infec7on. Of his 1979 film, The Brood (1979), David J. Schow noted, ‘Cronenberg turns our private terrors of the flesh into horrid, visceral manifestaFons’. (Schow 1986:102) Splice’s depic7on of unstable and evolving flesh exploits similar anxie7es regarding the body’s capacity to shock and surprise.’ You must unpack the quote into its important elements, define them where necessary and thereby demonstrate your knowledge of the concepts encompassed. Then you apply the content to your own discussion in a proac8ve way: i.e. you use the quote to enrich, advance and corroborate your argument. Quotes have no inherent value of their own – they only become significant when they’re used to illuminate your subject further.
And finally… A very basic bit of advice: if you're not reading interes7ng stuff, you're not going to write interes7ng stuff! You'll only get out what you're pu`ng in -‐ so, if you're not doing the research, if you're not reading around the subject and engaging in independent study, and if you're leaving it to the night before to write your wri>en assignments WILL be average, generic and may fail to sa7sfy the assessment criteria.