Academic Writing

Title (Think of this like a headline): Give your critique a ten word or less title into which you have put some creative thought. Neither your name nor the name of the play is a title for a report. Center this title at the top of your page, place it in italics and use the rules for capitalization of titles. Do NOT put it in bold, underline it, or place quotation marks around it. If you want to give it greater emphasis, place it in a larger type size. Do not put any other title or heading on your paper. I. Thesis Statement Begin your report, as all reports, with a compelling thesis statement that gives a sense of what is to come and makes the reader want to find out what you have to say about it. This statement should be exactly one sentence long – no exceptions. Be sure that your thesis is about the production you watched, and not about the play as literature. III. Plot The next section of your report should be a brief summary of the plot in five sentences. In the first sentence of this paragraph define the type of plot we saw, using terms from the "Continuity and Linearity" section of your text and associated CourseStream lecture. Place those terms in boldface. In the second sentence, incorporating boldfaced terms into you report, tell us the inciting incident of the play. In the third sentence, incorporating a boldfaced term into you report, describe the major incidents of conflict in the play. In the fourth sentence, incorporating a boldfaced term into you report, describe the climactic incident in the play. In a final sentence, incorporating the boldfaced term into you report, describe the denouement of the play. This paragraph should precisely five sentences long, no more and no less. IIIa. Following that, in a single, concise, grammatically-correct second paragraph, employing one or more "qualities" (which you will, of course, place in boldface) from the "qualities of a fine play" section of your text, describe at least one strength of the play’s script. IV. Theme The third section of your report, using a concise and clear single sentence, is a statement of the play's theme, or meaning. Use this precise formula: "The meaning (for which you may substitute moral, or lesson if that is closer to your conception) of the play is xxxxxxxx." Avoid slipping into naming motifs instead of themes by eliminating "weasel phrases," like deals with, examines, and is about.