| Home | Schedule | Assignments | Grades | Conduct |
I am here to help you succeed, but your active participation and willingness to keep pace with all assignments are essential to your success in the course. (For online courses, class attendance and participation are measured in terms of timely and thorough completion of weekly assignments, video lectures, films, quizzes, and exams.) Note that your presence or absence in the classroom determines only your attendance grade; your participation grade depends upon your demonstrated involvement with and completion of our assigned material during class discussions (or in a timely and thorough manner in online courses).
All assignments are due on time; I strongly discourage late papers, as they will not earn you full credit for your work. For each day past the due date, your paper grade will drop by a letter grade; papers late in class lose 1/3 a letter grade and papers late the same day lose 1/2 a letter grade. That said, I do understand that life often competes for our time, so definitely come to me if you're struggling with due dates so that I can help you succeed!
Please provide an official documentation for make-up tests, late papers, or incompletes. If you know in advance that you need to miss a quiz, exam, or due date, contact the instructor in advance too. To obtain alternative formats and request accommodations, please contact the Disability Services Coordinator, 678-466-5445, disabilityservices@clayton.edu
We will have short daily quizzes on your readings and films in the first five minutes of each class. These quizzes are always closed note and may consist of true/false, multiple choice, and/or short answer questions. Always bring two pens and two pencils to class to take your quizzes and class notes. See the Conduct page for details on Academic Integrity, which is required for all quizzes.
The exams will consist of closed-note short answer, multiple choice, true/false, and clip-analysis essay questions. Always bring two pens and two pencils for in-class exams and quizzes, and follow instructions carefully for all exams to avoid plagiarism or other academic misconduct. See the Conduct page for details on Academic Integrity, which is required for all exams.
Working together as a small group, you will apply your knowledge of film form to a specific series of images in an assigned film and present that knowledge to the class. See the Shot-by-Shot Project Description for complete instructions on the assignment. See my Comments Guide for a key to understanding my comments on your papers and for suggestions on how to write your very best work.
Attendance and Participation are mandatory. See the Grades page for details.
You will create an individual written or video essay that analyzes an entire film. See the Film Analysis Essay Description for complete instructions on the assignment. See my Comments Guide for a key to understanding my comments on your papers and for suggestions on how to write your very best work. Graduate papers require more original thought and critical thinking—never a compilation of someone else’s ideas. So graduate students will complete a longer 8-10 page paper, in which you perform your analysis of one of the assigned films.
You will write short "think-piece" responses in a film journal weekly during the first part of the term, and intermittently thereafter. See the Film Journal Description for complete instructions on the assignment. See my Comments Guide for a key to understanding my comments on your papers and for suggestions on how to write your very best work.