1. Effective Arguments: Paper Structures and Choosing Criteria
Fall 2018

2. Paper Structure: Introduction
Introduce your object of analysis
Title
Creator
Important parts (starring actors, etc)
Summary—what is it about?
Why is this important to evaluate?
Against the grain
Thesis statement

3. Paper Structure: Body Paragraphs
Criteria match—what makes a good x, and why? How does your work match as a good/bad x?
Example: good movies have good cinematography, music, actors, etc. This makes them good because…

4. Paper Structure: Body Paragraphs Cont’d
Topic sentence--Criteria (A,B, or C) are important/crucial in defining Y (the category) because...
Criteria match--X has (a lot of, exceptional) A, therefore it is a good Y.
Evidence--cite examples from X to prove that it has exceptional A
Connecting to thesis statement. "Because X has A, it is a good Y."

5. Conclusion Why is this important?
Would you recommend this work to anyone?
What could the author/creator do to improve?

6. Creating Criteria
In order to create an effective evaluation, you must consider what makes something (objectively) good/bad.
Consider: what is the purpose of this kind of work (horror film, comedy film, hip hop record, etc)?
When evaluating something, it is tempting to think “because I like it/dislike it.”
Think beyond this—why do you like or dislike a thing? What criteria do you use that makes you like/dislike something? Convince me that the categories you choose are important.

7. Example: Horror Film Criteria
Purpose of a horror movie: To frighten!
My ideal horror movie contains:
Sympathetic characters
Haunting imagery
Tension-building tone

8. Is Gerald’s Game a good horror movie?
Sympathetic characters
Main character—victim of abuse, a fighter
Haunting imagery
Dog eating husband
Stranger in the room
Tension-building tone
Slowly builds paranoia through hallucinations

9. Television Screening Comedy: The Office Drama: Call the Midwife
Sci Fi: The 100
Cartoon: Bojack Horseman
Reality: The Great British Baking Show

10. ICE 9: Television Screening
Were you familiar with this show before watching it? How?
Were you interested in the show before watching it in class? Why or why not?
What do you think makes a good show in this genre? List a few criteria.
Do you think this episode fulfilled the criteria of a good show in this genre? Use one example per criteria you listed in question 3.