Film Analysis, Compare/Contrast Essay Structure

Film Analysis Directions:
http://english99-101.blogspot.com/2016/03/film-analysis-directions.html

As long as an essay flows logically from one paragraph to the next (and contains an introduction, thesis, body paragraphs and conclusion), the structure is probably fine.

Read the paper out loud when it's done.

It seems silly, but reading essays and articles out loud works as my best method for making sure everything flows and connects from one paragraph to the next.

I did this for every essay at UC Santa Barbara and CSU Stanislaus.

In case students would like a definitive structure for the Film Analysis though, I recommend the point-by-point method or block method. I wrote this example in an email (and tweaked it slightly after reading it over).

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In the point-by-point method, the body paragraphs would be dictated by the common themes in each movie.

Ex. Cinderella and Frozen

Introduction
-Thesis

- Define key words or place any context in the introduction or right before the analysis

Love
Body Paragraph 1 - Love in Cinderella
Body Paragraph 2 - Love in Frozen

Magic
Body Paragraph 3 - Magic in Cinderella
Body Paragraph 4 - Magic in Frozen

Conclusion

That's a simplified example.

Again, there may be other ways to arrange the body paragraphs as long as there is a logical flow from one paragraph to the next. If it were my paper, I would not think about the method and simply concentrate on making sure everything links together and reads naturally.

Also, the discussion about each theme can go on for more than one paragraph.

In fact, there are an unlimited number of body paragraphs allowed (within the 3-5 page limit).

Also, about the Thesis/Main Point, what can I learn after reading about the two movies? For example, if it was Cinderella and Frozen, I would learn that some Disney themes never change.