Fall 04English 1010Watkins
The Simpsons and Quality Television
Essay #5—Writing about Television Essay
DUE DATE: Tuesday, December 7, 2004
Assignment: Write a 2 ½ to 3 page essay analyzing television censorship (i.e. how it affects American society, how it affects television texts, how it affects you)from The Simpsons’s Episode (7F09) “Itchy & Scratchy & Marge.”
The purpose of this assignment is to learn to write about Literature/Television and to connect popular culture to a real world task.
The final draft of this assignment will be evaluated on the usual general levels: how effective your introduction is, how well you organize the entire essay and individual internal paragraphs, how well you use primary and secondary support (details) to describe your specified topic and support your thesis, and how well the overall paper is edited for grammar, mechanics, and spelling. The essay will also be assessed according to the structure and techniques discussed in our Writing about Literature/Television handouts from the UWC and according to MLA style.
YOU MUST USE TWO OUTSIDE SOURCES AS SUPPORT IN THIS ESSAY! (Because of the subject matter, both sources may be REPUTABLE Internet sources.)
The format of this assignment is optional. You may write this assignment in the form of an essay, as we have been writing, or as a letter. IF YOU WRITE THE ESSAY AS A LETTER, it must be in PROPER MLA BUSINESS LETTER FORMAT. (See Harbrace 743).
You will be given class time for both a revision workshop and an editing workshop; take these workshops seriously before turning in your paper for grading.
Make sure your paper is double-spaced, has one-inch margins, is in a dark 12 point Times New Roman font, has a header, and IF IN ESSAY FORMAT, has the following title block, also double-spaced, at the top of the left side of the paper:
Your Name
Prof. Watkins
English 1010-75 or 79
7 December 2004
Essay #5
Traps to Avoid:
- Summarizing the episode throughout the essay (only in the INTRODUCTION if at all)
- Seeking to analyze the subject from memory only
- Failing to support your analysis with evidence
- Use first or second person at your own risk; use it sparingly with specific intentions.
- Failing properly document ALL information that you take from the episode. If you quote, paraphrase or summarize any information from any source, then you must give proper MLA documentation. Incorrectly citing a source may result in an automatic 55%.
Due Date for Revision Workshop (bring one copy): Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Due Date for Editing Workshop (bring two revised copies): Thursday, December 2, 2004