What Popular Films Teach Us About Values: Locked Inside with the Rage Virus” by Barry Brummett
After reading “What Popular Films Teach Us About Values: Locked Inside with the Rage Virus” by Barry Brummett, analyze the article in terms of strength of its arguments and validity of its evidence.
| Purpose | The purpose of this essay is for to demonstrate that you not only understand the thesis of a scholarly article and its arguments/evidence, but that you can evaluate the strength of those arguments and evidence. |
| Subject | “What Popular Films Teach Us About Values: Locked Inside with the Rage Virus” by Barry Brummett |
| Format | Essay, outline, or whatever you feel best demonstrates to the reader (me) that you have thoroughly analyzed the article. |
| Length | No more than 3 typed pages, double spaced [Note: Do not put your name on the paper, course information, date. That information shows up on Canvas. Just start the essay with the first line.] |
| TAKE NOTE | More than 4 errors in the fundamentals of writing (grammar, punctuation, word usage, and mechanics) will result in 0 as a grade. I will mark the first 5 errors that I notice with the teardrop shape. You may RESUBMIT your essay as many times as you need to eliminate basic errors. |
Further explanation about the assignment
Again, the purpose of your essay is not to argue whether you agree or disagree with the authors. Here the purpose is to extend your understanding of author Barry Brummett’s thesis and arguments by analyzing the arguments he makes and the evidence he uses to support those arguments.[unique_solution]
In this essay, try to engage in a deeper analysis than you did in your review of scholarly article. You don’t need to go into as much detail about the arguments and evidence as you did in your review, but you want to be thorough in your analysis. Consider using what you learned in chapters 1, 2, and 3 of They Say, I Say about the importance of integrating what “they say” into your writing. Your analysis should also consider whether the author supports the claims with strong evidence. In this article, Brummett’s evidence derives or comes from the two films.
The following questions may help you develop your analysis. I don’t expect you to just answer these questions for your essay. For some, however, starting with a few of these questions may be a useful way to start your analysis. Also, some of the questions may seem repetitive; that is because not all of us understand each question in the same way. Consider “why or why not” to be a useful follow-up question to any of questions below.
What did the author say he was going to do in this article?
Did the author do what he said he would do?
How did the author do that?
What is the author arguing?
How does the author prove his argument?
What method(s) does the author use?
What evidence does the author use?
Were the author’s argument logical?
What assumptions does the author make?
What research does the author rely upon? Is that research reliable and credible? Does the author rely on research by reputable scholars?
Did the author develop a line of reasoning explaining clearly how he arrived at the main conclusions?
What was the author’s purpose for writing this article?
Does the author achieve this purpose?
Is this article significant? Does the author discuss important concepts? Does he enlighten you?
Is the author’s argument obvious or unique or something else?
What makes the author’s argument obvious or unique or something else?
Does the author clarify key concepts when necessary? Does the author use the concepts justifiably?
Does the author identify implications and consequences of the position taken?
Does the author use questionable assumptions without addressing problems that might be inherent in those assumptions?