SCHOOL OF LANGUAGE MEDIA AND CULTURE

Department of Journalism, Media and Philosophy

LMC 111/LMCC151: Introduction to Film Studies A

February 2017
Lecturer: Miss J. L. Vermaak

Welcome to the first semester of 1st year Film Studies. The anticipated outcomes of this
course are that students will develop, firstly, a comprehension of the concepts of mise-
en-scene (setting) and mise-en-shot (cinematography), secondly, the ability to utilize
such comprehension in the analysis of the various editing techniques through which
pockets of meaning are created in cinema, and thirdly, against the backdrop of the
above, the capacity to assess the role of all of the above in the constitution of
cinematic narratives.
As such, the first objective of this course is to introduce students to Bordwell and
Thompsons Film Art: An Introduction (9th or 10th edition), in particular chapter four The
Shot: Mise-en-Scene and chapter five The Shot: Cinematography. This is done in
order to develop students comprehension of the concepts of mise-en-scene (setting)
and mise-en-shot (cinematography). In terms of this, initial focus will fall on the manner
in which objects are arranged in a specific frame in order to produce units of meaning
for the audience. That is, the manner in which setting, costume and make-up, lightning
and staging (movement and performance) are employed to communicate specific
messages which the director wishes to convey.
Following on from this, the second objective of this course is to introduce
students to chapter six The Relation of Shot to Shot: Editing from Bordwell and
Thompsons Film Art. This is done in order to develop students ability to utilize their
above comprehension in the analysis of the various editing techniques through which
pockets of meaning are created in cinema. In terms of this, the focus will fall on how
the above mentioned units of meaning relate to each other to form pockets of
meaning. That is, particular attention will be paid to the ways in which the above units
of meaning match up visually (i.e. whether two shots are similar or different),
rhythmically (i.e. whether the pace of the action in two or more shots alternate), and
spatio-temporally (i.e. whether the place and/or time in two or more shots vary);
moreover, in each case, the pockets of meaning thereby produced will be considered.
Finally, the third objective of this course is to introduce students to chapter three
Narrative Form from Bordwell and Thompsons Film Art. This is done in order to develop
students capacity to assess the role of all of the above elements in the constitution of
cinematic narratives. In terms of this, focus will fall on consideration of context, plot and
story, along with cause and effect. That is, the role of cues which intimate the kind of
world within which the narrative unfolds will be discussed, along with both the way in
which the plot of the story relates to this world, and how the plot is the result of every
narrative action having a reaction one which is neither always immediate nor always
foreseeable.
I really hope that you enjoy the course and that you find it valuable and
beneficial to your degree. If you have any further enquiries you can contact me by
phone on (041) 504-4067, by email via janelle.vermaak@nmmu.ac.za, or come and
see me in my office in Room 09 on the 4th floor of the Main Building (0409). Please see
my office door for consultation times.

Link to BA Media, Communication and Culture Programme

LMC 111: Introduction to Film Studies A is a core in the first year of the BA Media,
Communication and Culture programme. LMC 111 provides the theoretical
foundation upon which LMC112: Introduction to Film Studies B builds, and together they
form the first step towards the Video Production and Scriptwriting Streams in third year.
The module focuses on building critical and analytical skills within the discipline of film
theory and analysis.

Rules of the Course

1. If you enjoy the class, you will learn more from it. Dont be afraid to take part
and come up with ideas for making the course exciting and interesting. I
welcome all suggestions and will consider them carefully.
2. If you are enthusiastic about the subject, you will enjoy it and the learning
experience will be a positive one for all of us.
3. Be Critical: Good film analysts read between the lines and think out of the box.
4. Class Attendance: You must attend 80% of lectures in order to gain exam
admission. In practical terms, that means if you miss more than two lectures,
you will fail. Your class attendance will determine whether or not you get
access to the exam, regardless of your class mark. Of course, if you are enjoying
the course, you wont miss any lectures, hence the importance of rules 1 and
2. It is your responsibility to sign the official attendance register each week. If
you have not done so, you will be marked absent for that lecture. Importantly,
if some administrative error results in your name not appearing on the class
register, you must write your name and student number at the bottom of the
register, and sign next to them. It is your responsibility to then notify the relevant
administrators about the error so that they can fix it as soon as possible. If you
are absent from a lecture with a legitimate excuse, I require that you include
the following information on your excuse note and/or doctors certificate
(which must be submitted to me no later than 7 days after your absence): your
name, student number, module code, and date and time of lecture that you
missed. Without this information I cannot excuse you. I do not tolerate students
walking out of my class arbitrarily, unless they have a legitimate excuse. I will
condone leaving my class only under the following circumstances: a medical
reason, a very important phone call (and it must be VERY important) or a
personal reason. The student must discuss the reason for their leaving my class
early at the beginning of the lecture, and then leave quietly so that they do not
cause a disruption to the lecture.
5. Preparation: You must prepare for class as indicated in your course outline. If
you are not prepared for class presentations or discussions, you will not receive
a mark for that assignment or the lecture will proceed without you. Class
preparation and participation is vital for the success of this course. Bring your
course outline, textbook and notes with you to every class.
7. Handing in of assignments: If you want to work in the media world, you must
learn to work to a deadline. No extensions will be granted, and no excuses for
late submissions will be accepted. I do not accept emailed or handwritten
assignments. If work is not printed and handed in on time, it will not be marked.
8. Plagiarism will not be tolerated: This means that you should not use another
persons ideas or words without referencing them and your assignment should
always include original content of your own. Your work must be your own.
Taking things directly from the Internet without attribution is plagiarism!
Disciplinary measures will be taken if you plagiarise and you will automatically
receive zero for that assignment.
9. Please note that all assignments submitted for this course must be
accompanied by the following:
a. A cover page, properly formatted, with a signed plagiarism declaration.
b. The report from an anti-plagiarism program.
c. A full reference page, correctly formatted and complete.
Any assignment submitted without these components will not be marked.
10. Consultation Hours and Contact Details:

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 My office is on the fourth floor of the Main Building, Room 0409. My office
telephone number is 041 504 4067. Please only use my office extension to reach
me and only during office hours. I cannot address student problems after office
hours. I do not appreciate students phoning me on my cellphone (during any
time of the day), and I do not reply to smss and please call mes. I also dont
appreciate messages on Facebook or friend requests. If you have a problem
with the course or need guidance or assistance, please make an appointment
to see me or address the issue with me after class. Alternatively you can send
an email to janelle.vermaak@nmmu.ac.za.
In order to book an appointment with me, you will need to send me an email
with your meeting request and purpose. Please supply suggested times. I will
then reply with an Outlook meeting request that you can accept. This will serve
as your meeting booking. Please ensure that if you are unable to attend a
meeting with me you let me know before the meeting.
11. This is an examination course. You need a DP of 40% (plus 80% attendance of
lectures) to qualify to write the exam.

Evaluation of Students
Evaluation for the course will take the form of one test and two assignments that you
will write during the semester and one exam that you will write at the end of the
semester. Together, the assignments and test will count 100% of your class mark (40%
for each assignment and 20% for the test), and your class mark, in turn, will count 50%
of your final mark. The exam will make up the remaining 50% of your final mark.
However, if you fail to get a minimum class mark of 40% you will not be allowed to write
the exam. Also, even if you obtain a very high class mark but fail to get at least 50% in
the exam, you will fail the course. In addition, students who do not obtain at least 45%
in the exam will not qualify for a supplementary exam.

Assignment Topics for LMC 111

Assignment One:

With reference to all of the theory covered in class to date (including the
material you studied for your test), analyse the opening scenes (more or less the
first 5 minutes) of one of the following films:

Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)

The English Patient (Anthony Minghella, 1996)
The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1994)
The Dark Knight Rises (Christopher Nolan, 2012)
Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000)
Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope (George Lucas, 1977)
Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarn, 2006)

In your analysis of the opening scenes of your chosen film, you need to discuss
the salient elements of mise-en-scene (setting) and mise-en-shot
(cinematography), along with the various editing techniques through which
pockets of meaning are created.

Instructions - Your actual essay must be 1500-1750 words in length, excluding your front
cover page and back reference page. Please note that any parts of your actual essay
that exceed the above stipulated word count will not be marked. When writing your
essay, you must also follow all of the guidelines provided to you in the related essay
workshop. A copy of the essay checklist which will be emailed to you in due course
needs to be stapled to the back of your assignment.

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DUE Monday 3rd April 2017: To be uploaded to the Module Site, along with your Turnitin
report, before 23:55pm.

Assignment Two:

Against the backdrop of the theory on cinematic narrative dealt with in class,
analyse one of the following films:
The Usual Suspects (Bryan Singer, 1995)
Angel Heart (Alan Parker, 1987)
Fight Club (David Fincher, 1999)
Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, 2015)
Primal Fear (Gregory Hoblit, 1996)
Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly, 2001)
Shutter Island (Martin Scorsese, 2010)
Twelve Monkeys (Terry Gilliam, 1995)

In your analysis, you need to identify the units of meaning/pockets of meaning

within the film, and how these relate to the salient cues which intimate the kind
of world within which the narrative unfolds. In addition, discuss both the way in
which the plot of the story relates to this world, and how the plot is the result of
every narrative action having a reaction.

Instructions - Your actual essay must be 1500-1750 words in length, excluding your front
cover page and back reference page. Please note that any parts of your actual essay
that exceed the above stipulated word count will not be marked. When writing your
essay, you must also follow all of the guidelines provided to you in the related essay
workshop. A copy of the essay checklist which will be emailed to you in due course
needs to be stapled to the back of your assignment.

DUE Monday 15th May 2017: To be uploaded to the Module Site, along with your
Turnitin report, before 11:55am.

Please note: Once students have been informed that their essays have been marked,
it is each students responsibility to access their mark and feedback from Moodle.

Textbook
The textbook for this course is Film Art: An Introduction (Ninth or Tenth Edition), edited
by David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson (published by McGraw Hill). You will use this
textbook extensively in LMC112/LMCC152 as well.

Module Outcomes and Taxonomy of Learning

By the end of the module, the student should be able to:

comprehend the concepts of mise-en-scene (setting) and mise-en-shot

(cinematography),
utilize such comprehension in the analysis of the various editing techniques
through which pockets of meaning are created in cinema, and
assess the role of all of the above in the constitution of cinematic narratives.

As a first year module, LMC 111 focuses predominantly on comprehension and

application, insofar as it only proceeds to analysis, synthesis and evaluation in its latter
phase.

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Students are required to exhibit their achievement of the above module outcomes
through appropriately referenced, logically structured and grammatically correct
writing, in which no spelling mistakes occur. Through this writing, during both formative
and summative assessments, they must be able to:
identify the salient components of the theoretical material covered during the
course,
identify the salient components of the cinematic elements that constitute the
research focus of the course,
articulate the relationship between the salient components of the theoretical
material covered in class,
articulate the relationship between the salient components of the cinematic
elements that constitute the research focus of the course,
articulate the relationship between the salient components of the above
theoretical material and the salient components of the above cinematic
elements,
render an appraisal not only of the salient components of the above
theoretical material and the salient components of the above cinematic
elements, but also of their relationship with one another.

Course Outline

The primary lecture will take place on Thursdays from 15:25 16:35 (periods 12 and 13)
in 5 0007
The duplicate lecture will take place on Fridays from 14:05 15:15 (periods 10 and 11)
in 5 0003

Please note that it is your responsibility to find and watch the compulsory films for this
course.

Lecture 01 Thursday 9th and Friday 10th February 2017

- Introduction to the Module
- Expectations of the Course
- Assessments

Lecture 02 Thursday 16th and Friday 17th February 2017

- The Shot: Mise-en-Scene
- What is Mise-en-Scene?
- Components of Mise-en-Scene
o Setting
o Costume and Makeup
o Lighting
o Staging: Movement and Performance

Lecture 03 Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th February 2017

- The Shot: Mise-en-Scene
- Putting it all together: Mise-en-Scene in Space and Time
- Discussions of the following films:
o The Matrix (Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski, 1999)
o Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993)
o Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)
o Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)

Lecture 04 Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd March 2017

- The Shot: Cinematography
- The Photographic Image
o The Range of Tonalities

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 o Speed of Motion
o Perspective

Lecture 05 Thursday 9th and Friday 10th March 2017

- The Shot: Cinematography
- Framing
o Frame Dimensions and Shape
o Onscreen and Offscreen Space
o Camera Position: Angle, Level, Height and Distance of Framing
o The Mobile Frame

Lecture 06 Thursday 16th and Friday 17th March 2017

- Test during lecture

Lecture 07 Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th March 2017

- Essay Workshop

Lecture 08 Thursday 30th and Friday 31st March 2017

- Narrative as a Formal System
- Principles of Narrative Form
o What is Narrative?
o Telling the Story
o Plot and Story
o Cause and Effect
o Time
o Space
o Openings, Closings, and Patterns of Development

Lecture 09 Thursday 6th and Friday 7th April 2017

- Narrative as a Formal System
- Narration: The Flow of Story Information
o Range of Story Information: Restricted or Unrestricted?
o Depth of Story Information: Objective or Subjective?
o The Narrator

Recess: 14th 23rd April 2017

Thursday 27 April Freedom Day

Friday 28 April 2017 University Holiday

Lecture 10 Thursday 4th and Friday 5th May 2017

- Essay Workshop

Lecture 11 Thursday 11th and Friday 12th May 2017

- The Relation of Shot to Shot: Editing
- What is Editing?
- Dimensions of Film Editing
o Graphic Relations between Shot A and Shot B
o Rhythmic Relations between Shot A and Shot B
o Spatial Relations between Shot A and Shot B
o Temporal Relations between Shot A and Shot B

Lecture 12 Thursday 18th and Friday 19th May 2017

- The Relation of Shot to Shot: Editing
- Continuity Editing
o Spatial Continuity: 180 System

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 o Crosscutting
o Temporal Continuity: Order, Frequency and Duration

Lecture 13 Thursday 25th and Friday 26th May 2016

- Exam Workshop
- Lecturer Evaluation

Assessment Schedule and Mark Allocation

Code Description Due Date Mark Allocation

CT Class Test Thursday 16th and Friday 17th March 20%
2017
IA1 Individual Assignment 1 Monday 3rd April by 23:55pm 40%
IA2 Individual Assignment 2 Monday 15th May by 23:55pm 40%

A short note on writing film assignments:

When asked to analyse a film, dont tell the story. A very short synopsis is appropriate,
but the majority of your content should be the analysis. When quoting from the film
(i.e. dialogue), always reference the film.

Include the film on your reference page, and reference the film properly within your
essay.

LMC111 Essay 1 Check List (Essay is due by Monday 3rd April 2017) To be uploaded to
the Module Site, along with your Turnitin report, by 23:55pm.

Instructions - Your actual essay must be 1500-1750 words in length, excluding your front
cover page and back reference page. Please note that any parts of your actual essay
that exceed the above stipulated word count will not be marked. When writing your
essay, you must also follow all of the guidelines provided to you in the related essay
workshop. A copy of the essay checklist which will be emailed to you in due course
needs to be stapled to the back of your assignment.

Form:
____Margins are set at Normal (go to Page Layout/Margins/Normal)
____Page numbers have been inserted on the top right hand corner of each page
____The writing is justified (Ctrl+J)
____The writing is set at 1.5 spacing
____The writing is (typed) in Times New Roman 12 font
____Each paragraph must be separated from the next paragraph by one blank line
____The writing is continuous DO NOT put different sections of your essay on different
pages and DO NOT use any sub-headings in your essay
____All books mentioned in your essay are in Italics, while all articles mentioned are in
double quotation marks
____All quotes follow the format, (Authors surname Year: Page).
____No quotes are longer than two lines, and 2 to 3 quotes appear on each page to
support your argument
____Within all quotes [square brackets] have been used to correct
tense/pronoun/etc., if this is required
____All quotes have been neatly integrated into your argument; that is, ensure that
you lead into the quote to prepare your reader for the message the quote is
conveying
____All quotes have also been followed immediately by a comment on why the
quote is important

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____Under the Bibliography heading at the end of the essay, all sources cited in the
essay are appropriately referenced, according to the Harvard reference system
____All references are in Alphabetical Order, and where the reference is longer than
one line, the 2nd/3rd line is indented
____The essay is the stipulated length (1500 to 1750 words)
____At the end of your essay, you must indicate the word count of your essay in
[square brackets]
____You must include a copy of this checklist behind your essay

Content:
INTRODUCTION (approximately 200-250 words)
MAIN BODY (approximately 1100-1250 words)
CONCLUSION (approximately 200-250 words)

Assignment 01: Mise-en-Scene and Mise-en-Shot

With reference to all of the theory covered in class to date (including the material
you studied for your test), analyse the opening scenes (more or less the first 5 minutes)
of one of the following films:
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)
The English Patient (Anthony Minghella, 1996)
The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1994)
The Dark Knight Rises (Christopher Nolan, 2012)
Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000)
Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope (George Lucas, 1977)
Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarn, 2006)

In your analysis of the opening scenes of your chosen film, you need to discuss the
salient elements of mise-en-scene (setting) and mise-en-shot (cinematography),
along with the various editing techniques through which pockets of meaning are
created.

Outcomes:
Students must be able to:
- Show understanding of mise-en-scene and mise-en-shot in film
- Be able to apply the understanding mise-en-scene and mise-en-shot to a
specific film

Marking Grid:
Instruction to Evaluator: Use the marking scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being excellent, 5
being average and 1 being extremely poor, to evaluate the script. Please tick the
appropriate box.

No. Criteria 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 Does the student show understanding of
Mise-en-Scene?
2 Does the student show understanding of
Mise-en-Shot?
3 Has the student applied their
understanding of Mise-en-Scene
appropriately to the specific film?
4 Has the student applied their
understanding of Mise-en-Scene
appropriately to the specific film?
5 Does the student show the ability to look
deeper into the meaning of film?

8
 6 Does the student show initiative and
include his/her own appropriate
interpretations to the analysis?
7 Is the assignment presented in a
professional manner (i.e. is the cover page
and the plagiarism declaration correct,
and is the font formatted correctly? Is the
assignment neatly presented?)
8 Is the spelling, grammar and sentence
construction correct?
9 Is it clear that research has been
performed around the topic?
10 Have appropriate sources been quoted,
and has the student referenced his/her
sources correctly?

LMC111 Essay 2 Check List (Essay is due by Monday 15th May 2017) To be uploaded
to the Module Site, along with your Turnitin report, before 23:55pm.

Instructions - Your actual essay must be 1500-1750 words in length, excluding your front
cover page and back reference page. Please note that any parts of your actual essay
that exceed the above stipulated word count will not be marked. When writing your
essay, you must also follow all of the guidelines provided to you in the related essay
workshop. A copy of the essay checklist which will be emailed to you in due course
needs to be stapled to the back of your assignment.

Form:
____Margins are set at Normal (go to Page Layout/Margins/Normal)
____Page numbers have been inserted on the top right hand corner of each page
____The writing is justified (Ctrl+J)
____The writing is set at 1.5 spacing
____The writing is (typed) in Times New Roman 12 font
____Each paragraph must be separated from the next paragraph by one blank line
____The writing is continuous DO NOT put different sections of your essay on different
pages and DO NOT use any sub-headings in your essay
____All books mentioned in your essay are in Italics, while all articles mentioned are in
double quotation marks
____All quotes follow the format, (Authors surname Year: Page).
____No quotes are longer than two lines, and 2 to 3 quotes appear on each page to
support your argument
____Within all quotes [square brackets] have been used to correct
tense/pronoun/etc., if this is required
____All quotes have been neatly integrated into your argument; that is, ensure that
you lead into the quote to prepare your reader for the message the quote is
conveying
____All quotes have also been followed immediately by a comment on why the
quote is important
____Under the Bibliography heading at the end of the essay, all sources cited in the
essay are appropriately referenced, according to the Harvard reference system
____All references are in Alphabetical Order, and where the reference is longer than
one line, the 2nd/3rd line is indented
____The essay is the stipulated length (1500 to 1750 words)
____At the end of your essay, you must indicate the word count of your essay in
[square brackets]
____You must include a copy of this checklist behind your essay

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Content:
INTRODUCTION (approximately 200-250 words)
MAIN BODY (approximately 1100-1250 words)
CONCLUSION (approximately 200-250 words)
Assignment 02: Narrative

Against the backdrop of the theory on cinematic narrative dealt with in class, analyse
one of the following films:
The Usual Suspects (Bryan Singer, 1995)
Angel Heart (Alan Parker, 1987)
Fight Club (David Fincher, 1999)
Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, 2015)
Primal Fear (Gregory Hoblit, 1996)
Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly, 2001)
Shutter Island (Martin Scorsese, 2010)
Twelve Monkeys (Terry Gilliam, 1995)

In your analysis, you need to identify the salient cues which intimate the kind of world
within which the narrative unfolds, along with both the way in which the plot of the
story relates to this world, and how the plot is the result of every narrative action
having a reaction. The primary elements that you need to analyse are: Plot, story,
cause, effect, time, space, range of story information, depth of story information, and
the narrator.

Outcomes:
Students must be able to:
- Show understanding of narrative theory in film
- Be able to apply the understanding of narrative theory to a specific film

Marking Grid:
Instruction to Evaluator: Use the marking scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being excellent, 5
being average and 1 being extremely poor, to evaluate the script. Please tick the
appropriate box.

No. Criteria 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 Does the student show understanding of
Mise-en-Scene?
2 Does the student show understanding of
Mise-en-Shot?
3 Has the student applied their
understanding of Mise-en-Scene
appropriately to the specific film?
4 Has the student applied their
understanding of Mise-en-Scene
appropriately to the specific film?
5 Does the student show the ability to look
deeper into the meaning of film?
6 Does the student show initiative and
include his/her own appropriate
interpretations to the analysis?
7 Is the assignment presented in a
professional manner (i.e. is the cover page
and the plagiarism declaration correct,
and is the font formatted correctly? Is the
assignment neatly presented?)

10
 8 Is the spelling, grammar and sentence
construction correct?
9 Is it clear that research has been
performed around the topic?
10 Have appropriate sources been quoted,
and has the student referenced his/her
sources correctly?

Assignment Guidelines

Include the correct cover page (with plagiarism declaration).

Your plagiarism declaration must be signed. If you are submitting via Moodle, a
scanned version of your cover page or signature is acceptable.
It is not necessary to include a contents page for a 4-page assignment.
Include a reference page (this is excluding the number of pages required for the
specific assignment).
Your reference page should be separate.
Submit your work on time I deduct 5% for each day, including weekends.
Reference properly within your essay. Just putting all your references on your
reference page is not enough.
Indicate, in your essay, where your information comes from. Include ALL your
sources on your reference page, and quote from your sources in your essay in-text,
and reference these properly.
DO NOT PLAGIARISE. This means that you will not present someone elses ideas as
your own. These ideas or words can come from a class mate, an ex-student, an
encyclopaedia, book, journal, magazine, newspaper, the Internet, or even a
pamphlet. When you do consult such sources, they have been carefully and fully
acknowledged, both in your assignments, and on your Reference Page.
See
http://www.lib.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/25/resources/Harv
ard%20UCT%202015.pdf, for example.
Reference the textbook. Reference the lecture notes.
Make sure that you have correctly answered the essay question.
Include an introduction and conclusion in your essay, regardless of the topic.
Give the context of the essay; in other words, why you are doing the specific
analysis.
If you are asked to do an analysis, do an insightful, thorough, in-depth analysis, and
link it to the theory that you have learned in your module.
Stay away from sarcasm and attempted humour. Theres nothing worse than a
joke that doesnt work, especially in an academic paper.
Dont ask rhetorical questions. Always ask questions that you can (and will) answer
in the assignment.
Proofread your work. Marks will be deducted for poor spelling, grammar and poor
sentence construction.
Avoid superficiality and dont state the obvious. Delve deep into the analysis, dont
just skim the surface.
Write academically, not casually/colloquially.
Dont make generalised statements. You will not be able to back up what you say.
Back up what you say with relevant research thats properly referenced.
Dont give personal anecdotes or opinions/views unless these are asked for.
Have the facts right, including having the correct spelling for names, etc.
Be objective and dont preach avoid words such as amazing, brilliant,
terrible, etc.
Maintain tense consistency stay in either present, past or future tense. Dont move
between them.

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 Dont write sentences that are too long. Break your sentences up into more
manageable chunks.
Dont use profanity.
No SMS or Mxit language is tolerated.
Dont refer directly to the reader (e.g. you).
Dont refer directly to yourself as the writer.
Dont use words such as therefore, in fact, thus, etc, unless you can
substantiate those statements with properly referenced research.
Quotes must be integrated into your assignment in a logical manner.
Use quotes appropriate to the content being discussed.
Wikipedia is not an appropriate source of reference. Look up the information from
Wikipedias sources.
If you used Google to find information, then give the URL of the specific website
where the information came from and the date that you accessed the site. NOT
the search engine.
www.google.com is not an appropriate source of reference.
Reference websites correctly.
Format your assignment properly make sure that the margins and spacing are
correct and consistent. Also, make sure that you use one font, in one size, in one
colour, throughout your essay.
Dont decorate your assignments the plain cover page is more than adequate.
Print on only one side of the page. Do not print on both sides.
Do not email your assignment to me. You will not be able to sign the plagiarism
declaration.

Generic Assignment Evaluation Criteria

When I grade papers I strive to evaluate whether a student has presented ideas in a
way that reflects integration of course material and critical thinking skills. I give grades
according to my expectations for a particular assignment relative to the material
covered in class up to that point.

Overall Presentation

The following characteristics reflected in the assignment are taken into account in
marking assignments:

Overall clarity
Clear thesis statement
Understanding of issues
Interaction with material
Analytic ability
Synthesis of material
Formulation of ideas
Use of arguments
Use of resources
Clear conclusion
Structure and organization
Style
Grammar and Spelling
Footnotes and Bibliography

Note: Content items are weighted more than stylistic items

Evaluation of Content

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85-89, A, Outstanding. Superior understanding of the subject matter. Evidence of
original thinking and an extensive knowledge base. Careful, concise, critical analysis
with a clear and well argued hypothesis based on the material. Shows a capacity to
analyze, synthesize, and evaluate material. Shows a grasp of all the scholarly issues
involved. Shows evidence of learning being extended beyond the initial learning
situation. Clear thesis and conclusion. Well-researched and documented. Stylistically
flawless.

80-84, A-, Excellent. Superior understanding of the subject matter. A careful analysis
with some precision and attention to the details of the material. Shows some critical
capacity and analytic ability and some original thinking. Needs a bit of fine-tuning of
the details. Clear thesis and conclusion. Good research and documentation.
Stylistically flawless.

75-79, B+, Very Good. Solid understanding of the subject matter. Good analysis and
some critical reasoning. Reasonable understanding of relevant issues and familiarity
with the material. Demonstrates a solid understanding of the relationship or
connections among the basic concepts. Needs to be more concise or precise in
details and more careful in forming arguments. Stylistically sound.

70-74, B, Good. Generally accurate account of the subject matter with acceptable
analysis and some critical reasoning. Some interaction with relevant material.
Demonstrates some understanding of the relationship or connection among the basic
concepts. Needs more precision and attention to details and greater precision in the
use of arguments. Some careless stylistic errors.

65-69, B-, Fine. Generally accurate description of the subject matter and an adequate
grasp of the critical issues and ideas involved. Demonstrates rudimentary
understanding of the relationship or connection among the basic concepts. Needs
more attention to detail and better use of arguments. Some careless stylistic errors.

60-64, C+, Average. Acceptable treatment of the subject matter. Demonstrates an

understanding of the basic facts, vocabulary, details, and elemental concepts. Shows
an ability to deal with simple issues arising out of the material. Needs to explore the
subject matter more fully and formulate ideas more clearly. Closer attention should be
given to stylistic elements including sentence structure and paragraph organization.

55-59, C, Adequate. Generally acceptable treatment of the subject matter and issues.
Demonstrates an awareness of the basic facts, vocabulary, details, and elemental
concepts. Impressionistic or vague at points. Shows that the learning experience was
profitable. Lacks clarity in formulating the issues and shows little or no evidence of
critical reflection on the issues or data. Closer attention should be given to grammar,
spelling, and punctuation.

50-54, C-, Minimally Acceptable. Adequate understanding and treatment of the data
and issues, but imprecise, impressionistic or vague. Lacks clarity in expressing the issues
and shows no evidence of critical reflection on the issues or data. Major problems
related to issues of style.

0-49, F, Inadequate. Sloppy, imprecise or careless discussion of the material with little
or no evidence of critical reflection. Stylistically flawed.

Used with permission, and adapted from Richard Ascoughs Assignment Evaluation
Criteria 2007, Queens University, Queens Theological College, Department of
Religious Studies.
URL: http://post.queensu.ca/~rsa/evaltion.htm

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