Jillian Sayre's Courses

Is film (college) composition? For the past few weeks, you have been "writing" with cameras, but is film a viable learning tool for the writing classroom? In this 3-5 page reflection paper, you are going to make a case for film as composition or for film as distinct from composition.

To do this, you will need to engage with the discussion of composition that we read in class (College Composition):
- Which definition of composition do you agree with and why?
- Are none of these definitions applicable to the modern university system? Remember that these definitions of composition rely on different understandings of the university itself and that these arguments were composed in the 1970s. Has the idea of the university changed since then? Has composition?
- Can you forward a definition that is more apt than those in the articles? Are their criteria that none of the authors consider?
A good way to start thinking about these questions is to ask yourself: why take a writing class? Yes, I know it's required. But why is it required? What do you learn when you learn to write and why is it considered an important part of your college education (so important that it is required)?

Once you've established that groundwork, or through establishing that groundwork (depending on how you organize your paper), you will make an argument about the place of film in this structure. Important here is your evidence. Your evidence for the paper will be your own writing from this course. Through a thoughtful comparison and contrast with your other work - be it formal papers (1.1 and 1.2), blogs, reports and other short writing - you should be able to show how film is the same as, similar to, different from, etc. the current structure of composition in the classroom. This is ultimately a reflection paper, and your argument should be shaped by a reflection on the process of composition in your media project and in your more traditional writing for the course.

As always, formatting requirements are the same for all papers