ENGL 1100 Assignment: The Case of the War Film, Tom Burns

Essay Instructions:

Major Paper II: Writing to Analyze
Purpose and Description
So far you have worked to develop your craft as writers by completing an assignment that focuses on the fundamentals of information gathering and rhetorical exposition. Your aim in this assignment will be to add to your repertoire by developing your skills in rhetorical analysis. Specifically, you will continue your inquiry but add to it by 1) analyzing how authors make arguments, and 2) exploring how those arguments potentially shape audience understanding of your research topic. Please consider the following as you undertake and complete this assignment.
Invention and Inquiry
Select two sources that communicate ideas on the same basic topic (a topic related to pop culture--it can be the same topic you used for the first essay).
Analyze both texts and decipher what strategies the authors/creators are using to communicate their ideas. What makes these sources effective? What methods are used to communicate effectively?
Focus on identifying how the authors present the topic in similar and different ways;
Take notes as you conduct your analysis, and consider how these texts function as a type of filter or screen through which audiences understand the topic.
Draft a thesis statement that suggests how and the ends to which these authors use rhetorical strategies to shape the conversation and what that means for the way readers understand the topic in question.
The Composing Process
Introduce your topic and define the scope of your paper;
Present a thesis that you will develop based on your analysis; basic format of the thesis should be "X source is stronger than Y source because of A, B, and C rhetorical strategies, and this reveals Z point of singificance"
Offer some background on your topic to set up your analysis in your intro paragraph
Use paragraphs to express the analysis of these two sources. Explain the strategies and why they were effective and how they connected with the audience
Lead readers to a conclusion about the ways in which these texts/authors use rhetoric to make arguments and shape understanding of your research topic. How do they use writing and rhetoric to achieve their objectives? What are the stakes involved? What do we stand to gain or lose by thinking critically (or not thinking critically) about these and other sources? Why should we or anyone else care?
Conclude your essay by pointing toward additional research and analysis that can be done to better understand the issue as part of an ongoing conversation.
We analyze texts for many reasons. For one, analysis helps us to think critically about the information we consume. (Hint: not all of the information we consume is reliable.) Secondly, it enables us to take part in conversations and help others think critically about the information they consume. The stakes involved—and what we gain by taking part in this type of intellectual work—will vary according to your topic and with respect to what you want to accomplish through your analysis.
Specific Requirements
Your essay should:
Analyze two sources that represent different views on your topic; focus on dissecting to understand their STRATEGIES not their argumentative positions
Develop a clear and compelling thesis based on your thorough analysis;
Draw a conclusion about the ways in which the authors use rhetoric to shape understanding of the topic (and why that should matter to your readers);
Be written in a clear, precise, and energetic prose style;
Cite sources correctly using appropriate citation style;
Include a title that reflects the spirit and scope of the essay;
Be 4-5 pages in length (double-spaced, one-inch margins, 12 point Times New Roman or Garamond typeface);
Be uploaded to Canvas as a Word document by the deadline (consult your course syllabus and schedule for details).
You are now at a point where you have gathered information about a topic and have begun to define the boundaries of a conversation. Analyzing different or competing voices in the conversation takes things a step further: i.e., it helps you evaluate the validity of what people are saying and, from there, make a reasoned and well-informed argument—our main objective for Project III. Please contact me if you have questions about this assignment or anything else related to the course.

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Changsheng Zhang
Auburn University
ENGL -1100 – 003
Katherine Brewer
5 October 2017
War Movies
In the article Cinematic Translation: The Case of the War Film, Tom Burns (n.d) argues that war movies can be seen as a type of pornography of violence because they give the viewer a sensational experience of terror of wars without personal risk. The author also argues that war films attempt to communicate to the viewers the psychological and physical costs of battle by being unsentimental while remaining emotional. Burns starts to build his credibility by citing reputable sources, extensive use of examples and applying emotional appeals to convince the reader; however, this credibility and his argument weakens towards the end of the article following his unsuccessful use rhetoric strategies. In the second article, the author uses past examples clearly depicting both the positive and the negative impacts the movies have had in the lives of the different people. His article is effective as he conducts extensive research and uses several examples to give a thorough analysis of his arguments in his writing. The two authors therefore display an equal amount of credibility and effectiveness based on the facts presented in the two articles
In the article, Burns sets the stage by offering an insight into how historians use fictional narratives to create intelligible meaning and a structured narrative which encompasses some form of a transformation. According to Burn, some movies possess distinct characteristics whose main aim is to communicate the negative psychological and physical effects of the war. Other movies, however, give viewers the experience of battles without posing any psychological or physical risk to them. The former gives viewers the sensational experience and has very little to do with what they feel (Klassen, 2015).
Throughout the article, the author makes extensive reference to past studies to build on his credibility. This, coupled with the use of ethos helps the author to build a strong argument. Sources such as “Collingwood, 1956”, “Keegan, 1976”, and “O’shea, 1996” (Cited in: Burns, n.d) helps the author to strengthen the author’s credibility by showing that he has conducted extensive research on the topic under investigation and that the facts contained within the article are authentic besides being supported by expert opinion. The author uses numerous examples of war films to introduce and support his argument, an indication that he has studied the issue under consideration and has experienced it albeit in the cinema.
The author employs irony and sarcasm to engage the reader and drive home his point. For example, at one point the author writes that “the young soldier is so relentlessly exposed…, it is doubtful in the end, whether he has learned anything at all about the meaning of war, as opposed to feeling a certain underserved self-satisfaction in having faced it” (p. 63). Based on this statement, it is safe to conclude that most war movies create exaggerated narratives which are different from the real experience in the battle field.
In addition to the above, the author uses logos and more specifically deductive thinking to p...

Updated on January 26, 2024

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ENGL 1100 Assignment: The Case of the War Film, Tom Burns

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