Name Here

[Student Number]

Suggested Template for a 5000 Word Essay

Intro [500 words]

Para 1: [approx. 150 words]

the general area of discussion, and something interesting to explain why you chose to write
about this topic.

Para 2: [approx. 120 words]

This essay will demonstrate that/ illustrate how

Para 3: [approx. 150 words]

outline sections 1, 2, 3 and 4

Para 4: [approx. 80 words]

The following resources and case studies will inform this discussion.

Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 [1000 words each]

Para 1: [75 words]

What you are going to prove in this subsection.

Para 2: [approx. 120-150 words]

1) your basic claim in this paragraph
2) an example/ examples to illustrate what you mean (possibly with a freeze frame which
you can directly discuss)
3) one or more quotations to back up your claim

Para 3-6: [approx. 120-150 words]

As above

Para 7: [50 words]

With (paras 2-7) in place, it has been established that (). Next, we may consider ().

Conclusion [500 words]

Para 1: [approx. 150 words]

Restate what the central question was

Para 2: [approx. 150 words]

Summarize the main points you made in sections 1, 2 and 3

Para 3: [approx. 150 words]

Restate your conclusion (This essay demonstrated that).

Para 4: [approx.. 50 words]

With more space, () may have also been considered.
 Name Here
[Student Number]

Essay writing Guidelines

Presentation and Formatting

Submit your assignment to the course office and also upload it to the server.
Make sure your printed and digital copies are exactly the same.
Staple the top left-hand corner of the papers. You dont need to put your
assignment in a folder or a plastic case.
Cambria, Times New Roman and Arial are all fine. Use font size 12.
1.5 space your lines.
Add page numbers. If you use Word, click on Insert, and then Page Number.
Leave a blank line between each paragraph this makes the page more readable.
When you mention a film, use italics and the year it was made, e.g. This essay
will discuss Toy Story (1995) and its use of Colour. You only need the year the
first time you mention the film.
The first time you refer to a character in a film, cite the name of the actor in
brackets afterwards, e.g. Woody (Tom Hanks).

Research and Writing

Make notes while you watch your film(s). During the research stage, copy out
any quotations that catch your attention while you are reading material, and also
make a note of any thoughts you have. Once you have your document with notes
and quotations, you can organise them into groups, draw connections between
them and get rid of any that dont seem relevant. You now have the backbone of
a well-researched essay. Fill the text out. Finally, read-through your essay out
loud, check the argument flows and check basics like spelling, punctuation,
grammar. Voil!
Avoid deciding what points you want to make and then scanning around for a
quote that backs up what you were already thinking.
After collecting your books and articles, you might not have time to read
everything. In which case, you may wish to skim each one first or just read the
introduction and conclusion. This will give you a sense of whether it is going to
be relevant, and worth reading in detail.
If you can read and make notes with two articles per day, youll have all the
research done (and probably more than 5000 words) in about 7 days.
Prove that you absorbed ideas from your research, and use this knowledge to
help you form new ideas.
Check the Animation Journal in the library REF 791.4
Wikipedia is best used as a jumping-off point, rather than a resource in and of
itself. In other words, look at the websites used in Wiki rather than quoting the
site itself.

Introduction and Conclusion

The introduction and the conclusion should both be about 10% of the overall
length.
When writing an essay, the introduction isnt usually written first. It might only
be written at the end of your process, and you may not realise what your central
argument is until you have written your conclusion.
Often a central argument is missing from the introduction, its just a matter of
looking at the conclusion and bringing it to the start in the introduction as well.
 Name Here
[Student Number]
The introduction might productively include an idea you disagree with. For
example, Leonard Maltin claims that Tex Averys films rely on visual impact to
succeed. (Maltin, 1987, p.295) This essay will illustrate how sound design is
equally important.

Style

Stay within 10% of the required word count. The further you stray from this,
more will be deducted from your grade.
Sentences should generally be no longer than 30-40 words. If they run too long,
the reader will lose your train of thought.
A paragraph should contain one basic unit of information. Typically, they should
be about 75-150 words/ 5 sentences.
Avoid referring to yourself when writing an essay, e.g. "I think that", or "In my
opinion". Instead, be more impersonal. For example, instead of saying "The
close up shot gives me a sense of", you could say "The close up shot creates a
sense of".
Proof read your work thoroughly before submission. There are almost always
typing errors, misplaced words and badly constructed sentences that could have
been ironed out. Remember to use spell checker, but dont depend on it read it
through as well.
Ask yourself while writing: do you understand what you mean? If you dont
understand the point youre making, the person reading it wont either. Try
reading your essay out loud to yourself, thats a good way to tell if it makes
sense.

Argumentation

Remember: its not just about being correct. Its about forming an opinion and
justifying it.
A range of ideas is valuable, but be mindful not to present a series of good
starting points for discussion without following them through 5 or 6 points per
section is enough.
Briefly define specialist terms like tetratic colour scheme, squash and stretch
or orientalism before using them.
Use only enough historical background as is necessary, and after that stick
closely to whats most important analysis.

Images

If you discuss imagery in the film, freeze frames can be enormously effective.
You might find what you need by doing a google image search. Better still, freeze
frames can also be produced with computer software, such as VLC media player.
It can be downloaded for free from www.videolan.org/vlc
You should discuss the images directly, rather than just have them sit there next
to the text decoratively. You might give them numbers, e.g. "In Fig. 3, the
proportions are more cartoonish but in Fig. 4, they are closer to real life."
You dont need to reference images in the bibliography, or say where in the film
they happen, or what website (if any) you got them from.
Put freeze frames with the text, rather than at the end.
 Name Here
[Student Number]
It can be productive to compare freeze frames, and discuss how they are
different (if it is relevant).

Using Quotations

Broadly speaking, you should aim for about 1 scholarly source per 500 words
so if its a 2000-word essay, 4 good sources is sufficient. If its 5000 words, 10
sources and so on. If you want to use more, this is encouraged.
Aim for around 10% of the word count as quotations (500 words).
As a general guideline, good essays tend to have a quotation in most paragraphs
(about 3 or 4 quotes on each page), although more is fine if it suits your
purposes.
Interviews, magazine articles and Wiki articles arent scholarly sources. You
generally know if its a scholarly source because it will feature referencing and a
bibliography.
Use quotations as springboards for your own discussion. Have an open dialogue
with your sources. Why do you agree or disagree with them? How do they
inform your argument? Say something about them.
Dont start a paragraph with a quotation. Always say something to lead into it,
even if its just Maureen Furniss comments that. Better still would be
something that relates to the quotation, like Maureen Furniss notes the
importance of understanding historical context, commenting.
Ask yourself, is the connection between your discussion and your quotation
clear? If not, either make it clear or delete it.
Source your information, instead of saying something general like Frozen was
popular, you could say how much it grossed and cite where you got your
information from.
Its looks sophisticated if you compare quotations, e.g. X says this, while Y says
that. Play quotes off one another if you can.

In-text Citations

(Note: do your citations correctly. This is a common way to lose marks.)

If its a book or journal article, the citation should look like this: ([author], [year],
[page]), e.g. (Crafton, 2012, p.46).
If you are quoting someone who is quoted from another source, it is (Holloway,
quoted in Smith, 1996, p.52).
If its a website: (Jones, 2014). If there is no date, its: (Jones, n.d.). If it isnt clear
who the author is, its the name of the website, e.g. (cartoonbrew, 2014)
If you quote from the same resource 2+ times in a row, you can write (ibid.)
instead of their name and page again. If its the same source but a different page,
you add the page number, e.g. (ibid., p.38).
Everything listed in the bibliography should be cited somewhere in the essay.
Dont plagiarize. Just add a citation when a text informed your discussion and
you wont risk getting in trouble or losing marks. Check the HE Regulation
document for more details.

You can quote your resources in several different ways:

Quoting single words: most of the characters are made up of calming (Furniss,
1998, p.73) colour schemes.
Quoting longer passages: The narrator serves the purpose of voicing the
'ideological and moral agenda of the film.' (Kozloff, 1988, p.80)
 Name Here
[Student Number]
Citing a source of information without quoting it word-for-word: The
making of Fantasia was a three-year process that required over a thousand
members of staff and cost $1.5 million (Culhane, 1983, p.20).
Shortening a quotation: Paul Wells states that virtually all forms of animation
[] have been predicated on experimentation (2002, p.30-31).
Replacing a word: While Pixar expected success, [John Lasseter] didnt expect
Toy Story to be so influential.
On occasion, you may also quote something lengthier. When you do this,
the quote should have its own paragraph, be single spaced (instead of 1.5
spacing) and be indented. Dont make it too long, no more than 5 or 6 lines.
For example:

In The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation, appeal is defined as:

anything that a person likes to see, a quality of charm, pleasing design,
simplicity, communication, and magnetism. Your eye is drawn to the figure
that has appeal, and, once there, it is held while you appreciate what you are
seeing. (Thomas & Johnston, 1995, p.68)

Bibliography

There are three principal types of referencing, Harvard, APA and MLA. At the
Arts University Bournemouth, we use the Harvard system. Be consistent and
use Harvard all the way through.
Organise the bibliography in alphabetical order according to surname.
This site can do the references for you: https://www.citethisforme.com/
A book reference: Poole, S. (2004) Trigger Happy: Videogames and The
Entertainment Revolution. New York: Arcade Publishing
An article in an edited book: Wells, P. (2011) The Language of Animation, in
Nelmes, J. (ed.). An Introduction to Film Studies. London: Routledge. pp. 229-260.
A journal article: Kirkland, E. (2010) The politics of Powerpuff: Putting the Girl
into Girl Power, Animation: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 5(1), pp. 924.
A website: Amidi, A. (2016). The Remarkable Life of Frank Braxton, Hollywood's
First Black Animator. [online] Cartoon Brew. Available at:
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/animators/remarkable-life-frank-braxton-hollywoods-
first-black-animator-137356.html [Accessed 29 Feb. 2016].
A youtube clip: YouTube, (2016). Film Theory: We FOUND The SIMPSONS!.
[online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3FtIuVNY8k [Accessed
23 Feb. 2016].
A Film: Toy Story. (1995). [film] Hollywood: John Lasseter.
An email correspondence: Niles, A. (2013). Questions for Assignment. [email].
A podcast: Provenzano, N. N. (2012). #NerdyCast Episode 5. [podcast].
#NerdyCast. Available at:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nerdycast/id514797904?mt=2 [Accessed
14 Dec. 2014].
See the AUB referencing guide on the library website if you need more
information (http://www.aublibrary.info/index.php/referencing).

Final Comments

Your essay will be better, and a more pleasant experience to write, if you care
about what youre discussing. Choose a topic that genuinely interests you.
 Name Here
[Student Number]
As you work on your assignment, check your feedback from previous essays.
They are written so that you can take the criticism on board and improve next
time.
If you have referred a written assignment before, it is particularly recommended
that you arrange a tutorial to make sure youre on the right lines with your next
essay.
Theres no short-cut for doing the reading thats just something you have to do.

Additional Support

The subject librarian Alan Turner (aturner@aub.ac.uk) can help you find
research material.
If English isnt your first language, contact Emma Lay (elay@aub.ac.uk) or
Trevor Herndon (therndon@aub.ac.uk) for support. If you have dyslexia or just
want some extra support, you can contact Amber Austin (aaustin@aub.ac.uk) or
Steve White (swhite@aub.ac.uk).

These are probably the most commonly forgotten pieces of advice which its important
you remember:

1.5 space your lines

Do your citations correctly, e.g. (Furniss, 2008, p.74).
Where relevant, provide a citation of where your information came from. Even if
there is no direct quote.
Always say something to lead into your quotation, dont just drop it into the
discussion.
Follow the 4-step introduction plan detailed in the template, especially step two
(This essay will illustrate how). That is arguably the most important
sentence in the essay.

As a simple rule of thumb, the four central things you need to do are as follows: do the
research, use concepts from the course to generate your own ideas, express yourself
clearly, and apply academic protocol. Good luck!