Analyzing Batman: The Killing Joke

This is it! This week is all about drafting, revising, and submitting your first really big project, Essay #1. I have no other assignments to worry about this week; focus on writing, revising, editing, and turning in the paper.

Re-linked from last week, here is the essay prompt:

1C Fall 23 Essay 1.pdfOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReader Download 1C Fall 23 Essay 1.pdfOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReader

When you are ready to turn the essay in, make sure you have saved your file as a word or pdf document. Pages and google docs have options to “download as” or “export” the file type. I need the paper to be a .doc or .pdf so I can make the paper itself when I grade.

The basics for this paper:

It is worth up to 100 points. It is due through Canvas by Friday, September 22, no later than 11:59 p.m.

No matter what happens, turn SOMETHING in. Late or missing papers receive no credit. But a paper–no matter how bad–turned in on time will get SOME credit and can be revised for a new grade. That revision is your safety net. See the syllabus in the upper left for details.

Once you are ready to submit a FINAL draft, do so here:

Essay #1: Analyzing Batman: The Killing Joke

What if you want to make changes to a submitted draft? Can you resubmit it? Yes! As long as you resubmit it before the due date and time, however. I will always grade the draft I receive closest to the final due date and time but which isn’t late.

If you want draft feedback, I am available to help several different ways: you may email me a draft, partial or complete, anytime between now and Thursday, 9/21, by noon. I need a little time between rough drafts and final drafts to catch up reading and commenting, and I am encouraging you to draft SOONER this way, too. Send the draft through Canvas or email me at [email protected]. You can send a file or even just copy and paste the writing into the email or message.

I also have drop-in office hours, as I always do, on Tuesday and Thursday. See the office hour link to the left for details.

And you may email me questions anytime. Speaking of questions, I LOVED Discussion #3. I was so happy to help answer questions, even the random ones. Consider reviewing your classmates’ questions and my answers to see if any might help you write a better Essay #1:

Discussion Board #3: Ask the Teacher

The rest of this week’s Canvas page is devoted to advice. Please read this over carefully to maximize your work:

1.) ESSAY ADVICE. Here is a big one: How to structure your body paragraphs; how to develop them; how to write topic sentences; how to conclude this paper; how to introduce this paper; and more advice too. Read this like your Essay #1 grade depends on it:

1C Body, Conclusion, and Introduction B.pdfOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReader Download 1C Body, Conclusion, and Introduction B.pdfOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReader

Download this. Read it. Read again in the middle of the week. And then read it again before you turn your final paper in. Trust me.

2.) QUOTING TEXT. Do you have to quote The Killing Joke? Yes! Should you quote McCloud and/ or my lecture on visual art? Yes!

So here are some relinks to documents:

Citing Text Effectively.pdfOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReader Download Citing Text Effectively.pdfOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReader

Understanding Comics (The Invisible Art) By Scott McCloud (2).pdfOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReader Download Understanding Comics (The Invisible Art) By Scott McCloud (2).pdfOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReader

Killing Joke copy.pdfOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReader Download Killing Joke copy.pdfOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReader

Ways to Describe Drawn Art (Combined) copy (1).pdfOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReader Download Ways to Describe Drawn Art (Combined) copy (1).pdfOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReader

By the way, when formatting the title of The Killing Joke, do you underline that title? Put the title in quotes? Italicize the title? Well, what did I just do?!?

Book titles are always italicized. So The Killing Joke and Understanding Comics, being books, get italicized titles. Shorter works get quoted. So my lecture “Ways to Describe Drawn Art” gets quoted.

Why do we do this? Why not italicize everything or quote everything? To prevent confusion. Sometimes a larger work has smaller works named within it, like how a TV show (Game of Thrones) has episodes with their own individual titles (“Battle of the Bastards”) or a newspaper (New York Times) has articles within in, each with their own titles (“President Farts, Economy Blows Up”). Sometimes the larger named work even has a smaller named work within with the SAME NAME (the album Thriller has a song in it called “Thriller.” And the album Kid A also has a song in it called “Kid A”). We italicize one and quote the other for clarity.

3.) DRAFTING BODY PARAGRAPHS. HOW do you draft these body paragraphs exactly?

Well, I have specific advice on the prompt itself and under the Body Guidelines post above.

But I found an old video of mine where I basically take a scene and go from description to analysis, writing notes to a finished paragraph. This is my way of SHOWING you one way to drafting a body paragraph.

This is a long video. It’s optional. Maybe skip to the end to see the paragraph I come up with, then go back to the start to see how I got there.

https://screenpal.com/watch/cYQXexJeceLinks to an external site.

4.) WHAT I GRADE FOR. When I grade, what am I grading FOR? I posted this last week, but maybe now you care more:

What I Grade for and Tricks to Make the Grade (2) (1).pdfOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReader Download What I Grade for and Tricks to Make the Grade (2) (1).pdfOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReader

It includes advice about writing, too. I have created a rubric for this essay that is a direct reflection of what I’m saying: 70 of the 100 points of this essay come from detail, clarity, support, and insight. For this essay, though, because it’s our first, I have added categories for MLA formatting, thesis statements, and topic sentences. I want to see those basic essay strategies used correctly so we don’t have to keep discussing them for future papers.

5.) FORMATTING. Speaking of MLA formatting, your paper must be MLA formatted! The free, nearly universal guide to MLA formatting is the famous OWL (Online Writing Lab) at Purdue University.

Here is their MLA formatting page.Links to an external site.

And here is a sample MLA formatted essay.Links to an external site. Copy this, except with your name, my name, and so on.

Formatting is easy. It’s TOO easy. When a student gets it wrong, it’s needlessly sloppy.

Speaking of which: My name is spelled “O’Brien.” If you misspell my name, it just doesn’t look good.

If you put “English 1A,” it also looks bad.

If you put the wrong date, it looks bad.

Anyway, this is too easy, I can’t say it enough. There’s no good reason to get this wrong. It’s usually when a student RUSHES that the sloppiness happens.

6.) ESSAY TITLES. Every essay should get a title, and crafting good titles is a lost art. Are you ready for next-level advice? Remember when I said good writing is the presence of excellence, not the absence of error? Well, here is an example of how to add excellence to your work:

Title Formula copy 2.pdfOpen this document with ReadSpeaker docReader

Requirements: 950

English1C,Essay1GuidelinesBody,Conclusion,andIntroductionEveryessayhasthreemainparts:theintroduction,thebody,andtheconclusion.Thethreepartsgointhatorder,andtheseshouldbefamiliartermstoyou.Let’srevieweachofthemnow,movingintoourfirstessay,butalsotouchingonwhatGOODversionsofthemalldo.First:Whichofthethreepartsisthemostimportant?Theintro?Thebody?Ortheconclusion?Theansweristhebody.Thebodyisnotonlywheremostofyourwritingwillgo,butitiswhereallyoursupportforyourthesiswillbeplaced.Thethesis–themainclaimyouarearguingfor–isveryimportant,butitonlytypicallytakesasentenceortwotowrite.It’stheSUPPORTforthatthesiswherethingsgetspecific,developed,andcomplicated.Andjustlikeevaluatinganargumenthingesonanargument’spremises,thesuccessofanessaylargelydependsonthesuccessofthebodyparagraphs.Therefore,Isuggestyoualwaysstartdraftingbodyparagraphsfirst.AndsoIwillstartwithbodyguidelinesherefirst.BodyParagraphGuidelines:●Youdon’tnecessarilyneedtohaveyourthesiscompletelyinmindyet.Havealoosesenseofwhatyouwanttosayinyouressay–atleastpickyourtopic–butotherwise,itpaystostartwritingabodyparagraphasearlyasyoucan.Why?Becausereally,youarefindingyourargumentintheactofwritingyouressay.Youarenotgoingtohaveitallmappedoutandpre-thoughtbeforehand;thattakestoolongandusuallyleadstosimple,safeessaysanyway.Asyoubegintoformsupport,thethesiswillbecomeclearertoyou.Asyourthesisbecomeslockeddownlater,thenyoucangobackandrevisethebodyparagraphstomoredirectlysupportthatfinalmainclaim.●Bodieshavemultipleparagraphs.Whereasanintroductionisoneparagraphlongandaconclusionisoneparagraphlong,yourbodyneedsmanyparagraphs.Forthisessay,youwillwritefourseparatebodyparagraphs:oneforeachofthefourscenesofthestory.Iknowthisseemslikeanobrainer,buttherearealwaysafewstudentswhohaveonelongparagraph–andonlyonelongparagraph–foranessaybodyonthefirstpaper.Donotdothat.Essaybodieshavemultipleparagraphs,andthisessayshouldhaveexactlyfourbodyparagraphs.●TrickQuestion:Howmanysentencesshouldabodyparagraphhave?Answer:Asmanyasitneedstobegood.Somestudentsgettheideathataparagraphcanonlyhavefoursentences(orsixoreightoramaximumoftensentences).Thisideathataparagraphcanonlyhave“x”numberofsentencesisabsurd.Letyourparagraphbeaslongoras

shortasitneedstobeinordertobegood.Sinceyouaredevotingonebodyparagraphtoonescene,noticethereareaLOTofpanelsyoumightlookat(orjusttwoorthreepanels),andaLOTofdetailsforeachpanel.Youwon’tlookateverydetailofeverypanel,butthebestpaperswillincludemanydetailsfrommanypanels.Thattakestime.Youmustdescribethosedetails(thattakestime).Andthenyoumustinterpretthemeaningofthosedetails(thattakestime).Sodon’tbesurprisedifyourfinaldraftbodyparagraphsbecomequitelong,likeafullpageortwoormore,even.Letthemflow.You’llknowwhentostopbecauseyouwillhavenothingmoretosay.●Bodyparagraphsabsolutelyneedtopicsentences.Thefirstsentenceofeachbodyparagraphisknownasthe“topicsentence.”Itplaysapivotalroleintheparagraphbecauseittellsthereaderexactlywhatishappeningintheparagraphtocome.Itactslikeathesisstatementinthatrespect,exceptit’sathesisfortheparagraph(andnotthewholepaper).Makesureyourtopicsentencetellsthereaderwhatyouaredoingexactlyintheparagraph(Example:“ThesceneatthejailcellbetweenBatmanandthefakeJokerrepresentsourfirstinstanceofhowBatmanandJokerarevirtuallyidentical,notatalloppositesorenemiesliketheyfirstappear”).Idon’twritetopicsentencesuntilAFTERIhavedraftedtheparagraph,however,becauseIdon’tfullyknowwhatmyparagraphclaimwillbeyet.●Quoteandrefertothetexts.Dialoguematters.Soundeffectssometimesmatter,too.Lookforwordsthatshedlightonthemeaningofthescene.It’snotonlywhatcharacterssaybuthowtheysamethem.Quotethewordsifyouusethemastheyappearinthetext.Usemy“CitingTextEffectively”postforthedetails.WhenyouciteTheKillingJoke,put(MooreandBolland)withthecorrespondingpdfpagenumber.Whenyourefertoartofaspecificpanel,namethework,page,andpanel.ButnoWorksCitedpageisrequiredforthisessaybecauseIgaveyouallthesourcesandoutsidesourcesarenotallowed.●Developingabodyinfourmoves.Ihatetheideathatgoodwritingcanbedoneusinga“formula.”Butthereare“moves”goodwriterstendtousetofleshouttheirwork.Herearefourgoodmovesanyandeverybodyparagraphcanuse,andyoucanusethemasoftenasyouwant,andthesearemovesItouchoninmy“HowIGrade”lecture:○Forexample,…/Forinstance,…—introduceaspecificdetailorpanelormomenttoprovideaspecificinstanceofsomethingyou’retalkingabout.Themoreexamples,thebetter.○Inotherwords,…–restateforclarity.Rephraseyourideainnewwordstomakesureitmakesfullsensetoyourreader.○[opinion]because[reason]–Iencourageyoutoshareopinionsandimpressionsandideas.Sayyouwrite“redrepresentspassion.”IsthataFACT?No,ofcoursenot.YetInonethelessthinkyoucanarguewhy“redrepresentspassion”withreasons.Youmightsay“Redrepresentspassionbecauseweassociateredwithlove,hearts,andblood,allemotionalelementsinourlives.”Seehowthatworks?Getinthehabitofalwaystryingtobackupyourideas.

○Thedeepermeaningofthisis…–Iusuallysavethisfortheendofabodyparagraph.Whenyou’veintroducedlotsofdetails,offeredideasandreasonsforthemeaningofthosedetails,takeastepbackandlookforthedeepermeaningofthatparagraph’sfindings.Bespeculative.Bebold.Butlayoutsomepossibilitiesandexplainyourself.Itmakesthewholeparagraphdeeperandmoreinteresting.●Yourfirstroughdraft:Ilovearawroughdraft.Getitdown.Letideaspourout.Bealittlecrazy,even.Butitgetstheprocessofgatheringevidenceanddetailsstarted.UsuallythatfirstroughdraftisREALLYrough–it’sshort,it’ssimple,andit’srarelyverydetailedordeep.Ifyouturneditinasafinaldraft,you’dprobablygetaD(ifthat).Butyouneedtostartroughbeforeyoucangetsmooth;there’snootherwaytodoit.Sogetthatroughdraftdownassoonaspossible.Thelongeryouwait,themoreyourfinaldraftlookslikearoughdraft(andthemoreyourfinalgradelookslikealetterdeeperintothealphabet).Partofmy“rawroughdraft”processisdisablingspellcheck,grammarcheck,andstylecheck.Don’tletcolorfulwigglylinesdistractyoufromwriting.Instead,checkeachofthethosethingslaterwhenyou’realmostdoneandneedafinaledit.●Revisetocleanoutbadideasorimprovegoodones.Revisioniseverything;everygreatwriterreliesonrevisinganuglyroughdrafttomakeitlookbetter.Soonceyourroughdraftisdone,comebacklaterandstartrevisingit.Ifyouhaveanideawithoutanydetailsordefense,getridofit.Butifyouhaveanideathat’sinteresting,askyourself,howelsecanyouimproveit?Canyoufindmoreexamplesofthatidea?Moredetailsthatlinktoit?Canyourestateitforclarity?Canyouprovidemorereasonsforit?Layerondetailstomaketheideastronger.Revisionisallabouttakingwhatalreadyexistsanddeterminingwhatstaysandwhatgoes,andifitstays,howdoyoumakeitbetter?Timeonceagainisyourmainresource.Ittakestimetore-read,torevise,tothinkthingsover,tobrainstormformoreideas,tore-evaluatewhatyou’retryingtosay.Movethroughrevisiononeparagraphatatime.Takebreaks.Takenaps.Drinkcoffee.Textyourfriends.Takeyourdogforawalk.Italladdsuptohelpingyoupaceyourselfandkeepyourmindfreshforrevision.●Asyourbodyevidencerevisesandimproves,startdraftingandkeeprevisingyourthesisstatementtoo.Yourthesisflowsfromyourevidence.Ifyourevidenceisgettingdeeper,yourthesismustreflectthatnewdepthtoo.Sothetwowillkeepchangingtogetherasyouwork.That’sagoodandnormalpartofthewritingprocess.Don’tletyourthesislimityourideas,anddon’tletyourideasshackleyourthesis.Letthemworktogetherandchangetogetherasyougo.YourfinalthesismightupbeingVERYdifferentthanwhereyoustarted.That’sok;morethanok,it’sexciting.——-Onediting:

Onceyourbodyandthesishavetakendecentshape,theywilleventuallyneedtobeEDITEDforspellingandgrammar.Thateditingisalittlepainful,becauseyouneedtocrawlthrougheachsentenceanddoublecheckyourchoices.ButIliketodothatinthefinaldaybeforeIsubmitthepaper.Ifyouedittoosoon,twobadthingscanhappen:1.)yougetsofixatedon“fixing”youforgettogeneratesmart,creativeideas;2.)you“fix”somethingthatyouenduptakingoutorchanginglateranyway,wastingyourtime.Soonceyourbodyisdrafted,waitamomentforediting.Let’smoveontotheintroductionandconclusionfirst.Sometricksforediting:grammarly.com;grammarcheckandspellcheckonyourwordprocessor(turnthembackon);andreadingtheessayoutloudslowly.Theearhearsmistakesbetterthantheeyecanseethembecauseweareusuallyfarbetterspeakersthanwriters.Wehavealotmorepractice.GoodwritingshouldSOUNDgood.——–Nowthatthebodyiscovered,whatabouttheothertwopartsoftheessay,theintroductionandtheconclusion?Whatismoreimportant:theintroduction?Ortheconclusion?Eventhoughintrosarereadfirst,theconclusionisactuallymuchmorepowerfulandimportant.That’sbecauseoncethebodyisdone,it’sthenext,morelogicalparttoworkon–itflowsfromyourbodyparagraphsmoresmoothlyandsignificantly.Conclusions,whenhandledeffectively,carrymoreweightandmakeyourdiscussionstronger,whileintroductionsdon’tneedasmuchtimeorenergytobegood.Yet90%ofyouarewritingconclusionswrong.Solet’stalk.ConclusionGuidelinesFirst,westartwithwhatNOTtodo:Donotsummarizeyourpaper.Donotsummarizeyourpaper.(“Butmypastteacherstoldmeto!”Good.Trackthemdownandtaketheircollegeclass.Ifyoustayinmyclass,though,donotsummarizeyourpaper.Iamnotyourpastteacher.Iamyourcurrentteacher.Trustme,youruniversityprofessorswantyoutostopthisaswell.)

Donotsummarizeyourpaper.(“ButIhaveALWAYSsummarizedpapersinmyconclusions!”Idon’tcare.Thatonlytellsmeyouhaveneverformallywrittenacollege-levelpaperwhichmakesmeequalpartssadforyouandupsetatourschoolsystem.)Donotsummarizeyourpaper.(“AreyousayingtoNEVERsummarizeapaperinaconclusion?”No.Sometimesyouwill.Butnotthispaper.Andnotanypaperinthisspecificclass.)Iamserioushere.ConclusionsassummariesDOexist,butforveryspecificcontexts,likehighschoolsorwhenyouwriteepic,complicatedessaysingraduateschool.Sinceyouareneitherinhighschoolnorgradschool,don’tdoit.Tosummarizeanessaythatisrelativelyshort–andevenifyourfirstpaperistenpagesormore,it’sstillrelativelyshortinanacademicsense–isbothunnecessaryandinsulting.Anywakeful,engagedreaderknowswhatyouressayjustsaidbecauseyoujustsaidit.Tosayitagainaddsnothingbutneedlessrepetition.Don’tdothat.Sowhatdoyoudoinstead?AnotherNOT:Donotaskbroad,randomquestionstosoundsmart.Aconclusionshouldfeelconclusive,notopenendedandvague.Sowhatdoyoudoinstead?AnotherNOT:Donottellthereaderwhat“lessons”youpersonallylearned.That’sinsultingthereaderoryourself,dependingonhowyouphraseit.Youareanadultwritingtoadults,andadultsdon’ttalkabout“lessons”theylearn.Sowhatdoyoudoinstead?Youdrawconclusions.It’scalleda“conclusion”becauseitistheplacewhereconclusionsyouhavedrawngo.Letmeexplain.Wheneverwegatherdataorevidence,wecometosomesortofideaorclaimorthesisor“conclusion”fortheargument(anargumentconclusionbeingthemainopinionyouarecommunicating,yourthesis).Itmightbe“ColonelMustardkilledthebutlerwiththecandlestickinthelibrary”or“Globalwarmingisworsethanever”or“DonaldTrumpneverwantedtoactuallygetelectedPresident.”Whateveryourthesisis,that’sthelargerideaorclaiminplay.Youhavespenttheentirebodysectionofyouressayexplaininganddetailingandsupportingthatmainclaiminthethesis.Bythetimeyourbodyiscomplete,thereadershouldbefullyonyour

side,persuadedbyyourevidence,reasoning,andexamples.Soinotherwords,yourmainideasoranswersarefirmnow.Thecaseisclosed.Butsowhat?Whatfollowsnow?Whatisthesignificanceofthisthesis?Whydoesitmatter?Whatisthereadersupposedtodonow?Whatcanchangenow,basedonwhatyoujustargued?Whatarethetakeawaysfromthiscaseofyours?Howdoesthisconnecttomeaningintherealworld?Answeringoneormoreofthosequestionsiswhatareal,academicconclusionaccomplishes.Ittakesthethesisandrunswithit.Ratherthanmerelyrepeatingthethesisandwhyit’sright,youtakethethesisanddoworkwithit.Soif“ColonelMustardkilledthebutlerinthelibrary,”youmayconcludeanynumberofthings:first,weshouldarresthimimmediately;second,theColonel’srelationshipwiththebutlerisonethatparallelsmanyofotherrelationships,andweneedtobemindfultopreventfuturemurders;orthird,wereallyneedtostopbuyinglargercandlesticksthatmightkillsomeone.Maybeweshouldinstallsecuritycamerasinthelibrary,too.If“Globalwarmingisworsethanever,”youmayconcludeanynumberofthings.Maybeyoucanproposewaystosloworhaltorreverseglobalwarming.Maybeyoucanmakepredictionsaboutwhatnowwillhappensinceglobalwarminghasbecomesobad.Maybeyoucandiscussallthewaysweshouldhaveactedearliertopreventthisfromhappening.Andif“DonaldTrumpneveractuallywantedtogetelectedPresident,”youmayconcludeanynumberofthings,likewhatDIDTrumpwant,ifnottogetelected?Doesitmatterwhetherhewantedtogetelectedornot?HowdoesthischangeourcountryorourgovernmentortheofficeofthePresident?Shouldwealtercandidacyrequirements?IswhatTrumpdidabadthing,agoodthing,amixofboth?Conclusionsarebytheirnatureseveralthings:1.)Conclusionscontinuetheworkofyourbody.Thatmeansyourideasmustsmoothlyflowfromthebodyandextendfromtheideasofthebody,yetnotcompletelyrepeatthoseideas.Sosometimesyouhavebeentoldnottohave“new”ideasinaconclusion.That’snotentirely

accurate.It’ssomewhatnewideasinthatyouhaveneversaidthembeforeintheessay.Butthey’renotCOMPLETELYneweither,meaningoutofnowhere(ifyourthesisisaboutglobalwarming,don’tconcludeaboutfootballorsomethingirrelevanttothattopic).2.)Conclusionsarespeculative.Youdon’tneedtowriteanewessayforanewthesis.Youdon’tbringinnewsourcesor“proof.”Youhaveearnedtherighttoofferlooser,broaderideas.Youstillshouldtrytobesomewhatspecificandexplainyourself,tosupportyourideasinyourownwords.Butyoudon’thavetobequiteasthoroughaboutitasyouwereinthebody.Infact,aconclusionoftenmentionsclaimsthatcouldbecomefuturethesisstatementsinfuturepapers.(Inscience,thisisquitecommon,likearelayraceamongreallysmartpeople.)3.)Conclusionsaredeep,meaningful,andconstructive.Theyaddsomethinginterestingandimportanttothediscussion.Theworldisbig.Youressayissmall.Theconclusionisathoughtfulwaytoconnectthesmallessaytothelargerworld,andinsodoing,itmakesthepaperastrongerdocumentandtheworldabetterplace.Conclusionsaretypicallyneglected,unfortunately.You’retired.Thatbodytookalotofwork.Youmaynotfeellikegettingdeepanymore.That’stoobad,though,becauseagoodconclusionmakesthewholepaperresonate.I’vereadsomanytight,thoroughessaysgetabsolutelyshatuponbylazy,rushedconclusions.Tome,oneofthehallmarksofgreatwriting,andalsooneofthosebasicthingsthatseparatethe“A”papersfromthe“B”ones,isthequalityofthought,connection,andefforthereattheveryend.Everyargumentyoumakehasimplications,sotrytoexploretheminthatconclusion.Butonemorenote:Iliketospendalotofenergyonmylastsentenceortwooftheconclusion.It’sthecapper.It’sthebowonthepackage.It’sthefinalgoodbye.Iwanttoleavethereaderonastrongfinalnote.SoIliketoseekoutonefinalmessageorideathatIfeelreallycapturesorcatapultsthediscussionintosuperdeepormeaningfulterritory.ImaypickametaphororanalogytodramatizeapointIwishtomake.Imaychoosemorewordsmorecarefullytocraftaclever,strongerfinalthought.Don’tendwithavaguestatement.Don’tendabruptly.Don’tendonaquestion.Endstrong,firm,deep.Ifyoupickthedichotomytopic,youmayconsiderhowweoftendividepeopleinto“opposites”andhowthataffectspeopleandhowthatcanbeinaccurateordamaging,etc.Ifyoupickthepsychologytopic,considerwhatyousayaboutinsanityinthisstoryandapplytotherealworld.Wealldeal,tovaryingdegrees,withsanityandinsanity.Whatdoesthestorysay,then,aboutourrealworldpsychology?

Ifyoupickthetraumatopic,youmaywishtocommentonhowtheuseoftraumainthisstoryreflectshowitcanbeorisusedinreallife.Maybeyouorsomeoneyouknowhasexperiencedtrauma(don’tover-shareorcompromiseyourprivacyortriggeryourtrauma,butdofeelfreetoshareifyouarecomfortabledoingso).Whatallofthesedoisrelatethefictionalworldofthisstorytotherealworldofourlives.Trytodothat.Howlongshouldconclusionsbe?Probablyalittleshorterthanameatybodyparagraph–conclusionsdon’tneedquotes,afterall–butstillthickerthanyouareprobablyusedto.Theshortconclusionisthehallmarkof“nottryingveryhard,”whichisnotgoingtohelpyourcredibilityorargumentativeeffectiveness.Atthesametime,thoughyouwanttostillexplainandsupportyourself,youarenotexpectedtouseASmuchevidenceasabodydoes.Sothere’slesspressure,really,overall.IntroductionGuidelines:Finally!Thefirstparagraphofyourpaper,butthelastonetowrite.Andtheleastimportantofthethreemainpartsofanessay.Don’tworry.Ifyouhavedraftedyourbodyparagraphsandconclusionindetail,theintroisnoweasytowrite.First,donotstartyourintroductionwitha“hook.”Youdonotwantafamousquoteeither.Hooksareforworkswhereyouareworriedyourreadermaynotbuyorreadyourwriting.Here,Ihaveaskedyouquestionsandit’sonlyfairthatIstayforyouranswers.Hookscanlookclicheandjuveniletoo,probablybecausesomanyyoungpeopleusethem.Insteadofstartingoffwithahook,goimmediatelyintothetopicorsubjectofyouressay.IwouldmentionthetitleofTheKillingJokeimmediately.IwouldnameAlanMooreastheauthorandBrianBollandastheartistimmediately.Iwouldquicklysummarytheplotofthestoryintwo,maybethreesentencesatmost,forcontext.WhenIsayimmediately,Imeanyourfirstsentenceshouldstartwith:InTheKillingJoke,writtenbyAlanMooreandillustratedbyBrianBolland,[…]Thenlaunchintoasummaryofthestorythatisbriefbutclear.

Thenpivottothespecifictopicyou’vechosen:thedichotomybetweenBatmanandJoker;orsanity/insanity;ortraumaandhowitmotivatesus.Bringupyourtopicclearly,andconnectthattopicbrieflytothetexttoshowhowtheyrelate.Thispartoftheintrotakesanothercoupleofsentencesorso,nothingmajor.Andthenpivottowardthemostimportant–andfinal–partoftheintroduction:thethesisstatement.Athesisstatementalwaysgoesattheendoftheintroduction.Yes,therecanbeexceptions–theimpliedthesis,forinstance–butinundergradacademicessays,itis99.99%thecasethatathesisstatementgoesattheendoftheintro.Ifit’sNOTthere–ifitissomewhereelseormissingentirely–youcausemassiveconfusion,whichshouldneverbeyourgoalinanessay.Athesisstatementdoesnotneedtobeoneandonlysentence,though.Spendtwoorthreesentencestostateathesis,ifyouneedthespace.Itdoesn’tmatterbecauseyou’reaccomplishingthesamegoal,whichistopresentyourmainanswerstothemainquestionsoftheessayprompt.Thesisstatementsshouldfeelsimple,really,whichiswhyit’ssokeytofinishthebodybeforeattemptingtowritethefinalversionofthethesis.It’salmostimpossibletopreviewopinionsyouhaven’tcomeupwithyet.Nonetheless,thesisstatementsgoconsistentlywrong.Usuallythemainissueislackofdetail.Here’sanexampleofapoorthesisstatement:INEFFECTIVETHESIS:IwillanalyzethemeaningofTheKillingJoke.Thatstatementissimpler,butit’sneitherspecificnorentirelyaccurate.Itdoesn’tpreviewthespecificclaimyou’lleventuallyargueanditdoesn’tevenclarifywhichtopicyou’refocusingon.Avoidvaguethesisstatements.Theyinviteweakanalysisonyourpart,andasateacherwhohasreadprobablythousandsofweakthesisstatementsinmycareer,IcantellyoumyheartsinkswhenIreadsomethingvaguelikethat.Worseyetisthis:INEFFECTIVETHESIS:TheKillingJokeisafamousBatmanstory.Butwhatisitsdeepermeaning?That’snotathesisstatement.Thatisnotevenastatementatall.Itisaquestion.It’soktoaskquestionsinyouressay,butyoumustalwaysanswerthemimmediately.Askingaquestionforathesisislikealawyerasking,“Amurderhasbeencommitted,butwhodidit?”andnot

answeringthequestion.Wait,ifyou’rethelawyer,shouldn’tyoualreadyknowwhoyouthinkdidit?WhyareyouaskingME?WheneverIseeavague–ormissing–thesisstatement,Idonotautomaticallyassumeit’saterriblepaper.Ineedtokeepreadingeveryotherparagraphtoknowwhatgradetogiveit,andsometimestherewasjustasimpleomission.Butmostofthetime?Thevagueormissingthesisstatementisaredflagthatthestudentdoesnotknowwhattheyarearguing.Itisthefirstsignthatthereisnoargumentorthatthepaperisallsummary,etc.Agoodthesisstatementusuallyformsoverstagesduringthedraftingprocess.Thatis,youstartoffsimpleandalmosteasy,andthenslowlyadjustitandreviseittomakeitmorecomplicated,meaningful,andinteresting.Thisisagoodreasonnottowaittodraft;thesooneryoudraft,thelongeryouhavetoreviseyourwork.Whatifanessayhasparts?Thenathesismustcoverallthemainparts.Insodoing,youmayneedmorethanonesentence.That’sperfectlynormal.Athesisstatementcanbeoneortwoorthreesentences–asmanyasitneedstoanswerthequestionandstatethemainclaimsofyouressay.Ingradschool,Ioftenneedawholethesisparagraphbecausethereweresomanyideasinplay.Soyourpaperherehasparts,lotsofthem.Youhaveoptionsforagoodthesis,then.Let’smoveontoso-sothesisstatements:MEDIOCRETHESIS:InMooreandBolland’sTheKillingJoke,wecanseetheissueofsanityandinsanityexploredatlength.Atleastthetextandtopicareclear.Butwhat’swrongwiththatthesis?Onceagain:whatisthemainclaimoropinionyouaretryingtoarguefor?It’snotspecificatall.MEDIOCRETHESIS:InTheKillingJoke,JokerandBatmanareoppositesofeachother.Ok,onceagainthetopicandtextareclear,whichisgood.Buttheissuehereisthattheclaimitself–whichisdefinitelyamorespecificopinionthananyoftheearlierexamples–isreally,reallyDULL.Itisobvious.It’sanopinionmostpeoplealreadyacknowledge.Youwantsomethingmorespecific,butalsosomethingmoreboldandinterestingandinsightful.Someofthebestthesisstatementsaresurprising,even.Herearesomeexamples:

EFFECTIVETHESIS:IwilldemonstratethatinTheKillingJoke,JokerisactuallyaninnocentvictimwhileBatmanistherealcriminalresponsibleforthesufferingofothers,includingJokerhimself.EFFECTIVETHESIS:IwillarguethatTheKillingJokepresentsevidencethatallpeopleareinsane;it’sjustthatsomepeoplechoosetousesanityasanillusiontocoverupthepainofthatinsanity,whileothers,namelytheJoker,useinsanitytoescapefromthepainofreality.DONOTCOPYTHOSETHESISSTATEMENTS.Oratleastdoyourownversionofthem.Doyougettheidea?Sointroducingthetext(title,author,artist,andplot);plusyourtopicandhowitrelatestothetext;plusyourthesisstatementequalsintroduction.Easypeasy.———-OurformattingforthisessayandallfutureclassessayswillbeMLA.WheneverIhaveanMLAformattingquestion,IgotothefamousOWLatPurdue.IthenselectMLA.AndeveryquestionIeverhaveisansweredtheresomewhere.Googleit:OWLatPurdueMLA.(https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/?_ga=2.19623804.558179429.1522454400-1709346682.1522454400)IfyouwanttoseeasampleMLAessay,checkthisout:https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/13/Youcancopythis,andjustchangethespecificdatafieldsfortheonesthatapplytothisclass.It’seasy.Butit’stooeasytogetwrong.WhatImeanis,eventhoughit’sasmallandsillythinginitself,wheneverstudentsdon’tgetformattingright,they’resendingamessagetotheteacher.Thatmessageis,“Idon’tcare.Icouldn’tbebotheredtocheckthis.I’mjustgoingtowritethisinstead,andI’llassumeyoudon’tgiveashiteither.”Goodluckwiththat.Nooneexpectsyoutomemorizeformattingguidelines.There’snoneed.Youlookitup,youcopyitcarefully,andyoumoveonwithyourlife.Itshouldn’ttakemorethanafewminutesoutofyourlifetogetit“right.”

Havingsaidthat,afullhalformoreofyouwillgetMLAformattingwrong,ontheheadingitselfeven(whichissupereasytogetright).Provemewrong.———-Abouttitles…IhavesomesexyadviceabouttitlesthatIusuallygive.Titlesarealostart,andI’vehadgreatsuccessinthepastteachingstudentshowtowritefantastictitles.Knowthatanessaytitleshouldneverbe“Essay#1.”Itshouldn’tbethetitleofanotherperson’swork,either.Youshouldneverjustcopythetitleontheprompt.Instead,itshouldbeaspecificpreviewofwhatyouressayabout.Also,alwaysHAVEatitleatall.Don’tleaveitblankorleaveitout.IwillpostaseparatelectureonwhatIcallmy“TitleFormula.”Iwillwalkthroughthestructureandstrategyofthisapproachwithexamples.Sincewearehere,though,letmesomeexamplesofhowthattitleformulamightlookforapaperlikethisone:TwoGuysinaLunaticAsylum:HealthyInsanityinTheKillingJokeBloodMoney:TraumaandClassinTheKillingJokeI’mbeingalittlecleverthere,butitdoessetupthetextandthetopic,andevenpreviewsthethesisalittle.Becreative.Moreexamples,becausewhynot:What’sGreen,Purple,andBlueAllOver?Joker’sDepresioninTheKillingJokeDon’tWalkontheFlashlight:TraumaandDistrustinTheKillingJokeTheEnemyofMyEnemy:HeroicFalseDichotomiesinTheKillingJoke

Iexpecteveryonetoattemptthistitleformulaforthisessay(andeveryessayafter).Itdoesnothavetobesuperfunny,clever,orstylish,butitmustreflectthestrategyIlayoutinmylectureandfollowtheformatyouseeabove.

Foryourfirstessay,youwillapplyconceptsfromScottMcCloud’sUnderstandingComicsaswellasmyonlinelectures(especially“HowtoDescribeDrawnArt”)toformanargumentaboutBatman:TheKillingJoke,writtenbyAlanMooreandillustratedbyBrianBolland.Remember:Anargumentisanopinion(a“conclusion”)supportedbyreasons(“premises”).Themainopinionofyourpaperwillbeyourthesis;themainpremisesofyourpaperwillbethematerialyoudescribeandanalyzeinyouressaybody.First,pickoneofthefollowingtopicstohelpnarrowdownwhatyourspecificargumentwillbeabout:●ThedichotomybetweentheJokerandBatman,ascharacters,asthe“villain”versusthe“hero,”as“good”versus“evil”(Aretheyreally“goodversusevil”?IsthereaspecificreasonwhyBatmanis“good”andJokeris“bad”thattheaveragereaderdoesnotrealize?)●Sanityversusinsanityandwhatmotivatespeopletodowhattheydo.(IstheJokersimply“crazy”?Orissomethingmorecomplexandmorehumangoingon?Howdoesthatchangehowweperceivethecharacter?)●Trauma,specificallythepainpeopleexperienceandhowitmotivatesthem,howtheyrespondandcope(donotsimplysay,“TheJokergoesthroughtraumasothat’swhyhebecomestheJoker.”Thatistooobvious.ExplorethespecificnatureofJoker’strauma.WhydoesJokerrespondtohistraumaoneway,whileBatmanrespondstohisowntrauma–thekillingofhisparents–adifferentway?Oraretheyrespondingdifferently,afterall?WhydoesCommissionerGordonhandlehisowntraumadifferentlythanJokerorBatman?)(Theremaynaturallybesomeoverlappingoftopics,butitstillhelpstofocusononetopicfornowforthepurposeoftextualanalysis,brainstorming,anddrafting.)Second,lookforhowAlanMooreandBrianBollandexplorethatspecifictopicwithinTheKillingJokebychoosingfourspecificscenestofocusyourattentionon.Analyzehowthosefourscenesdepict,explore,orcommentonthespecifictopicyouhaveselected.Thesescenescanreceivebodyparagraphsdevotedtoeachofthemoryoucanspendoneparagraphondescribingandanalyzingoneelementofart,dependingonhowyouwanttoorganizeyourwork.(Spendonebodyparagraphanalyzingeachsceneforatotaloffourbodyparagraphs.)

A“scene”inthiscontextisasequenceofpanelsthatfollowstheactionofspecificcharactersinonespecificsetting.Mostscenesinthisstorylastoneortwopagesandcovertentotwentypanelsorso.Ifindoubt,askmebyemail.OneofyourfourscenesMUSTbethe“joke”sceneattheendofthenovelwhereJokertellsBatmanajokeandthetwolaugh,endingthestory.Thesearethefinaltwopagesofthestory.Basedonthesefourscenes,yourgoalistoformaspecific,mainclaimoropinioninterpretingwhatTheKillingJokeseemstocommunicateaboutthattopicyouselectedabove.Thatclaimwillformyourthesis.Yourthesisclaimshouldbebalancedbetweendescriptionandinterpretation.Toomuchsummarywillformanobvious,simplethesiswithnothinginterestingordeeptoargue(examplesoftoodescriptive:“BatmanistheheroandJokeristhevillain”or“JokerwantstomakeGordoninsanebecauseitwillproveonebaddaycanchangeanyone’slife”),andtoomuchinterpretationwillformtoospeculativeandimaginativeapaperwithnotenoughsupporttopersuadethereaderthatyouareright(“JokerisreallyJesussentbyGodtosaveGothamCity”or“Batmanishallucinatingtheentirestory;Jokerdoesn’treallyexist.”).Youareseekingabalancewhereyourargumentisbothgroundedinthetextbutsufficientlyinteresting,insightful,andoriginal.AnalyzeboththewordsandactionsinthetextofTheKillingJokeandwhattheartandvisualsofTheKillingJokecommunicate(suchasthroughline,shape,color,panel-to-paneltransition,whateverelementsyoufeelaremostrelevanttohelpyoumakeyourcase).Visualsshouldformalargepercentageofyourevidenceforthispapertobeconvincing,andyoumustuseconceptsfromMcCloud’sUnderstandingComicstomakeyourargumentevenmoreconvincing.QuoteMcCloud’stextanduseMcCloud’sterminologytohelpyoudescribeanddissectthescenesyouhavechosen.NOTE:YouareNOTallowedtouseanysourceforthispaperbeyondmylectures,UnderstandingComics,orTheKillingJoke.Outsidesourcesincludewhatothercriticsorreadershavesaidaboutthenovel,andthosesourcesarestrictlyforbidden.Ifyouquoteanoutsidesource,yourpaperwillbegradeddown.Ifyou“borrow”someoneelse’sideasthroughplagiarism,evenifbriefly,yourpaperwillreceiveazero.ThisneedstobeYOURanalysis,yourideas,andyourworkondisplay.However,usingyourownknowledgegainedfromexperienceorotherclasses–notquotedfromoutsidesources,butknownpreviouslybyyoudirectly–isperfectlyacceptableandencouraged.Separateofthisprompt,Iwillpostguidelineson“Body,Conclusion,andIntroduction,”“CitingEffectively,”“TheTitleFormula,”and“WhatIGradeFor”onCanvasduringWeeks#3and#4.Thesereadingsarticulatemygradingandwritingstandards,includingsamplesandstrategiesforexcellent,“A”-levelpapers.

TheseguidelinesandgradingpostswillalignwithagradingrubricforthisessaythatconstitutemultiplecriteriaIwillbespecificallygradingfor,detailedbelow.GRADINGCRITERIA●MLAformatting=5points●TitleFormulaEssayTitle=5points●Formattingtitlesoftexts=5points●Introduction=5points●ThesisStatement=10points●TopicSentences=5points●CitingTextEffectively=5points●Detail=15points●Clarity=15points●Support=15points●Conclusion=10points●OverallInsight=5pointsTotalPossiblePoints=100pointsTheessayrubriconCanvaswilldetailmorespecificcommentsaboutwhatfulfillingeachcriteriaitemmeansexactly.Theonlinepostswillfurtherexplaineachcriteriaaswell.TherubricwillbevisiblewhenIposttheformalassignmentlinkduringWeek#4.DEADLINESandIMPORTANTDATESYourfinaldraftisdueonlinebyFriday,September22,nolaterthan11:59p.m.DuringWeek4,underthe“Assignments”tabandlinkedtotheCanvasfrontpagewillbetheessayassignmentsubmissionlinkprompt.Click“submitassignment,”andthenuploadyouressayfile(chooseawordorpdffileformatplease).Onceyouclick“submit,”yourpaperwillbeofficiallyturnedin.Youmaysubmitmultipletimesifyoumakeanychanges.Iwillalwaysreadandgradethesubmissionthatisnewest,uptothedeadlinedateandtime.Toensureacademichonesty,youressayfilewillberunthroughaplagiarismdetector(Turitin).Ifyourfilecannotbescanned,thenitwillnotbegraded.Makesureyouareusingtheproperfile

format(pdforwordfile).IfIseeafilethathasnotpassedthroughtheplagiarismsoftware,Iwillreachouttoyouandwewilldeterminehowtoconverttheessayproperly.Anylatepaperreceivesnocredit.Anymissingpaperreceivesnocredit.Anylateormissingpaperresultsinawithdrawalfromthecourse.Seethesyllabusfordetailsofthesepolicies.YouhavetheoptiontoshowmearoughdraftofyourpaperanytimebetweennowandWednesday,September20,by11:59p.m.Ifyouareinterestedinroughdraftreview,emailmeacopyofyourpaper(attachedasapdforwordfile)[email protected],eitherinpersonoronzoom(IhaveofficehoursonThursdaymorning,September21–Icanreviewdraftslivewithyouifyoumissedtheemaildraftdeadline).Roughdraftsareoptional.Noonelosesanypointsiftheysendnothing.Dowhatyouwillorwhatyoucan.Atthesametime,itreallypaystogetfeedbackfromateacher.SoIurgeyoualltoemailmeadraft,evenifit’spartial(aparagraphortwo).Pleasedonotsendmefourdifferentdrafts,though.Trytosendmeonesoliddraftonce,andthenwe’llgofromthere.Youmayemailmequestionsasoftenasyoulike.IfIhavealreadyansweredyourquestioninanguidelinespost,Iwillsayso,butotherwise,Irealizealotofthingsmaycomeupasyouwrite.Emailme.I’mheretohelp,eachandeveryday,untilthepaperisdue.Furthermore,youwillhavetheoptiontorevisethispaperforanewgrade.Seethesyllabusfordetailsaboutthecourse’srevisionpolicy.RevisionsforEssay#1areduenolaterthanFriday,October13,11:59p.m.Inanemergencyofanykind,contactmeatpobrien@mtsac.edu.Evenifyoucanonlyturninablankdocumentontime,thatatleastwillallowyourevisethepaperlaterforanewgrade.Ifyouareworriedabouthowtogetstarted,hereismysuggestedorderfordraftingthispaper:●ReadTheKillingJokeslowlyandcarefullyatleastonemoretime,especiallynowthatyouknowwhattheessayis.Ifanysceneorevenpanelisreallyconfusingyou,consideremailingmeforhelp.●PickthetopicabovethateithermostinterestsyouorwhichstandsouttoyouinyourreadingofTheKillingJoke.Ifyouaredebatingbetweentopics,considera.)whichtopicdoyouSEEmosteasilyinthestory?Andb.)whichtopicINTERESTSyoupersonallymorethantheothers?●ReadTheKillingJokeyetagain,thistimelookingforthespecificsceneswhichseemtomostrelatetoyourchosentopic.Makenotesofthesechapterswithpost-ittabsor

orinyournotebook.Keeptrackofpagenumbers.Hint:Theweirderasceneis,oftenthemoreinterestingandrewardingitsanalysisturnsouttobe.●Narrowdownyourlistofscenestoatleastthree(thejokesceneattheendisrequired,soitwillbeyourfourthscene,somarkittoo).Pickthescenesthatseemmostrelevantorinterestingregardingyourtopic.●Readthosespecificscenesslowlyandanalytically.Lookateverypanel.Analyzeline,color,shape,scale,movement,soundeffects,transitions,style,dialogue–everylittledetailthatmayformevidenceforyouressaylater.Makenotes.Becreativeandgoslowly.Ifyou’renotsurewhetheranideaofyoursisstrongenoughorifyou’reworriedyou’regettingtooweirdor“outthere,”consideremailingmeforfeedback.UseMcCloud’stermsandconcepts.Don’tbeafraidtobealittlecreative.●Basedonthenotesyou’veassembledandyourearlyideas,begintoformaclaimaboutwhatAlanMooreandBrianBollandaresayingaboutthattopicinTheKillingJoke.Yourclaimshouldbeopinionatedandthereforedebatable.Agoodclaimisnevertooobvious(“MooreandBollandbelieveJokeriscrazy”)ortooliteral(“MooreandBollandpresentBatmanasaheroandJokerasavillain”)butsomethingmoredaring,deep,andengaging.Makesurethatclaimflowsfromyourevidence–thatis,youarebeingimaginative,butyouarealsoabletoactuallydemonstrateyourclaimwiththeexamplesyou’vefound.Ifyou’renotsurewhethertheclaimisstrongenough,consideremailingmeforasecondopinion;Icanmakesuggestionsiftheclaimisn’tquitestrongenoughyet.●Draftthatthesisstatement.Thendecide,whatisthebestwaytopresentacaseforthatthesis?Youcouldcreatebodyparagraphsaroundthescenesthemselves,spendingoneparagraphanalyzingonesceneatatime(Irecommendthis).Youcouldcreatebodyparagraphsaroundoneanalyticalelementatatime,suchasoneparagraphdevotedtodialogueandanotherdevotedtocolor,etc.Whateverstructureyouchoose,findyourbest,mostrelevantpieceofevidenceanddraftitfirst.Thenpickyoursecondbestanddraftitnext.Alwaysputyourbestevidencefirstandleastbestlast.Consideremailingmeifyou’renotsureaboutastructureorifyou’redebatingbetweendifferentstructuresanddon’tknowwhichisbetter.●Revisewhatyouhavewrittenforbetterdetail,addingquotesandmoreexamples.Iwillpostguidelinesabouthowtocitethetexteffectively,bothintermsofproperformattingandgoodstyle.Explainyoursmallerclaimsorrewordthoseclaimsthatmaybevagueorconfusing.Askyourself,WhatelsecouldIaddtomakethisideastronger?Trytolayeronextramaterialtomakeeachparagraphstrongandconvincing.●Addtheintroandconclusion.Addanessaytitle.FormatyourpaperfollowingtheMLAguidelinesIprovideonlineduringweek4.Reviewallmypostedadvicequicklyonemoretimeandmakeanysmalladjustmentstobesureyouarefollowing

thatadvice.AllguidelinesthatIpostonline,Iexpectyoutofollow.IneedtoseeyouTRYit;thosewhodon’tfollowpostedguidelineswillbemarkeddown.●Editwhatyouhavewrittenforpunctuation,spelling,andgrammar.Readitoutloud.Havesomeoneelsereaditoutloud,ifyoutrustthem.Ifoneofyoursentencessoundsstrange,reworditforclarity.Ifyouhaveanytechnicalquestionsaboutpunctuationorgrammar,consideremailingmethosequestions.(Maybeeventrygrammarly.comoraWritingCentertutoronline.)Ifindoubt,keepyoursentencessimpleanddirect.●Saveyourfinaldraftasawordfileorpdf.Submityourpaperonlinebefore11:59p.m.onFriday,September22.CollapseintoabucketandstartreadingMaus,Part1,byArtSpiegelman.Re-evaluateyourplaceintheuniverse,feelmomentaryyetauthenticprideatataskwellexecuted,andbeforeverhauntedintellectuallybythenovelandtopicyoujustexplored.●IfANYTHINGgoeswrong–technicallyorinyourlife–reachouttomeASAP.LetmehelpyouhoweverIcan.

Citing Text Effectively Before we get into it, letÕs lay out some very basic basics. To ÒciteÓ means to ÒquoteÓ which means to Òuse someoneÕs exact words.Ó We tell the reader that these are someoneÕs exact words by putting those exact words within quotation marks. Quotes have a beginningÑstarting off with one pair of quotation marksÑand must have an ending with a second part of quotation marks. If you forget one pair, itÕs like a computer program; the output is going to be very messed up and confusing. What we call ÒtextÓ is literally anything with meaning. Text can include a book, a song, a painting, a gesture, a color, a flag, nearly anything, as long as it communicates something that someone (like you) finds meaningful (this excludes shits in toilets, then, or clouds in the sky, and even then, who knows for some people). In an English class, ÒtextÓ usually means Òwords typed out that are read.Ó This can be a book, an essay, an article, a website, but whatever it is, itÕs usually read. There are exceptions, like quoting movies or TV shows or speeches or youtube videos. But academically in English, itÕs usually words typed out. So the phrase Òciting textÓ means in this context Òquoting the exact words of an author who has written something meaningful.Ó Now letÕs start with fundamental formatting. Citing CORRECTLY Part of any paper that incorporates text is USING the text effectively. Since your first paper requires that you cite primary texts, it’s important to understand how to best to format and incorporate direct language into your paper. As a college-level English class, we use MLA formatting. That means no endnotes or footnotes but parenthetical documentation. ÒParenthetical documentationÓ means that you will tell the reader where your quotes comes from in parenthesesÑthese (things). And when you quote a text, 90% of the time you put two pieces of data in those parentheses, and those are the authorÕs last name and the page or pages you are quoting. Put only one space between the authorÕs last name and that page number, and make sure you put your period OUTSIDE the final parentheses. So a proper quote looks like this:

James Baldwin says that his father Òwas defeated long before he diedÓ (Baldwin 1). See how simple? Quote in the sentence; parentheses begin; authorÕs last name, one space, page number; end parentheses; period at the end of the sentence. HUGELY IMPORTANT EMPHASIS: Anytime you use someone elseÕs words, you must put quotation marks around those words. To ÒquoteÓ someone means to put quotation marks around their words. If you use their words WITHOUT using quotation marks, you have royally messed up the fundamental formatting of a citation. If you use their words without quotation marks AND you donÕt even name the person whose words these are, you are doing something even worse: you are plagiarizing. Plagiarism is using the words (and ideas) of someone else without giving them proper credit. ItÕs a huge no no. It will result in an instant zero on the assignment, and it can result in the instant failure in the class. In some schools, it gets you expelled (hint: the really, really good ones). So if in doubt about where to quote someoneÕs exact words or not, always put quotation marks around someoneÕs exact words. You should know this already. Ignorance is not bliss, nor is it an excuse. These are the basics. Citing WELL But now I want to explain good, effective USAGE of quotes. This is more style and strategy than technicality, but it matters if your goal is to write excellent work (versus merely “good enough”). First of all, why is quoting text so effective at all? It’s because quoting represents the best textual evidence you can provide. Rather than summing up loosely, you are showing the reader, directly, that a specific speaker said what they said. It comes straight from the horse’s mouth, in other words, and it’s hard to accuse you of getting someone wrong if you are using their own words. Nonetheless, if all you do is quoteÑsentence after sentenceÑit’s not effective. That’s primarily because it’s lazy. Anyone can copy and paste text. Also, your goal is to represent text accuratelyÑquoting really helps with thatÑbut also clearly. If you are just quoting the original text constantly and no more, you’re not clarifying anything. The purpose of summary, for example, is twofold. First, you want to show your audienceÑin this case, me, your teacherÑthat you understand the text well enough to summarize it clearly.

Second, you want to make the original arguments as clear as possible, setting the table for your later evaluation. Note, then, that constantly quoting without anything more does not fulfill either purpose. The teacher has no way to knowing whether you understand what you’re quoting, and the original argument probably doesn’t get any clearer, either. So donÕt overquote. Therefore, it’s key to balance citations with your own explanations. Text rarely speaks for itself; thus, you ought to break it down and explain its meaning more clearly. Sometimes I call this “translating” the quotes. Make them understandable in modern, common-sense English. There are a couple of main ways to do this. Sometimes a simple restatement will do. That is, right after a quote, start a new sentence with the phrase “In other words,” and then re-present the quote inÑwellÑother words (of your own). Sometimes an illustrating example is best. What I mean is, present some example or instance of the quoted concept that SHOWS what it means (this is what dictionaries are doing when they present sample sentences using the words they define). This example can be modern, or even personal, assuming it’s relevant. Now, how MUCH explanation should each quote get? That’s entirely up to you. Some teachers like the ratio of quotation to explanation in roughly equal proportion (meaning, citing in one sentence, you’ll spend about one more sentence explaining the quote). Other teachers in our department prefer a ratio of 1 to 2, meaning that for every one quote, you spend two sentences afterwards explaining it. I don’t want you, however, worried about numbers. Some quotes will be clearer and need less explaining; others will be dense and complicated and many need four sentences of interpreting. Just try to follow this rule of thumb: the more complicated or dense or confusing your original quote it, the more you should explain it. That’s ultimately a judgment call on your part. (If in doubt, though? Explain it more. Over-explaining is a much better “problem” than not explaining enough.) In addition to balancing citations with your own explanations, there are some rules worth following about the citations themselves. First, never ONLY quote in a sentence. Take the following two sentences as an example: Socrates isn’t willing to leave prison just because Crito wants him to; Socrates wants a good argument for leaving. “Dear Crito, your zeal is invaluable, if a right one; but if wrong, the greater the zeal the greater the evil; and therefore we ought to consider whether these things shall be done or notÓ (Plato 55). The first sentence of the above example is fine; it sets up the quote. But what is happening in that second sentence? It is ALL quote. It starts with a quotation mark and ends with a quotation mark, with nothing else anywhere inside.

This is called a “floating quotation” or “hanging quotation,” sometimes a “naked” quotation. It is floating or hanging because it just exists, in space, without any attachment or connection to anything else within its own sentence. Even though the first sentence helps set the quote up, that alone is not enough. Every sentence you write MUST contain some of YOU in itÑan introductory phrase, a comment, a transition, some of your own language. Otherwise, the quote is “naked” in the sentence. This is probably the most common rookie quoting error I see from student writers. But it’s not technically wrong; you are not violating mechanics or grammar or punctuation. But style is definitely compromised. It reads chunky and ugly; it’s lazy, too, like you wouldn’t bother to set the quote up at all. There’s an easy fix for this, if you’re not sure how to keep a quote from hanging on its own. Simply add “Socrates says,” to the front of the quote. That’s not a lot of dressing, but it’s enough to prevent the naked quote. (Note, too, that I write “Socrates SAYS,” present tense. That is the standard verb tense to use for citing. Even though Socrates said this long ago, we still say he “says” this and Crito “says” that. No matter how old or how new your source material is, you use present tense when referring to it. ) Whenever you have a phrase like ÒSo and so saysÓ make sure to put a comma after it BEFORE the quoting begins. Alternately you can use the word ÒthatÓ instead of the comma. So examples: Socrates says, ÒThis hemlock doesnÕt taste half badÓ (Plato 540). Socrates says that ÒThis hemlock doesnÕt taste half badÓ (Plato 540). Are you sick and tired of the word ÒsaysÓ all the time? No problem. You have a thousand options. I will list the first ten options that pop into my head: Socrates states Socrates asserts Socrates explains Socrates posits Socrates argues Socrates believes Socrates replies

Socrates stresses Socrates proclaims Socrates alleges Within reason, be creative. Or keep using Òsays.Ó Who cares, really? Back to my original point: I recommend that you never quote whole sentences in a row. Yes, there are times when a block quote or one quoted sentence is wise. I call that the Ògolden quoteÓÑsomething so eloquent and so perfect for your use and your essay that to take even ONE word away would would you intellectually and spiritually. It happens. But super rarely. Overall, quoting an entire sentence word for word isÑto use the word againÑlazy. It shows no control, no discrimination nor care on your part. Do you really want to keep these long, complicated sentences intact? Is that really being as clear as you can be? Instead of quoting whole sentencesÑeven one sentenceÑI strongly urge you to cite key words and phrases only and fill in the rest with direct paraphrase. Pick out only the words or phrases you think matter the most. This allows you to stay rooted in the text. But by leaving out the words and phrases you don’t need, you’re trimming the fat, making the idea clearer and tighter. So consider a few variations of the above quote: ORIGINAL: “Dear Crito, your zeal is invaluable, if a right one; but if wrong, the greater the zeal the greater the evil; and therefore we ought to consider whether these things shall be done or not.” (floating, overcomplicated) OK BUT WEAK OVERALL: Socrates says, “Dear Crito, your zeal is invaluable, if a right one; but if wrong, the greater the zeal the greater the evil; and therefore we ought to consider whether these things shall be done or not.” (no longer floating, but still overcomplicated) BETTER: Socrates tells Crito that his “zeal is invaluable, if a right one,Ó yet if Crito’s zeal is “wrong, the greater the zeal the greater the evil;” therefore, Socrates believes they “ought to consider whether these things shall be done or not.” (less complicated, but still lots of quoting) EVEN BETTER: Socrates believes that Crito’s “zeal is invaluable,” but only if it’s a “right one.” That’s because if the zeal is “wrong,” then “the greater the zeal the greater the evil.” Therefore, Socrates wants them to “consider” rationally the argument for escaping before rushing into action. (much less complicated; shorter, cleaner sentences with just a pepper of key words and phrases)

From that last example, you can perhaps see that sometimes controlled citing can be smoothly blended with explanation. It doesn’t have to be some awkward ping pong match of quote to explanation to next quote to next explanation. The two can be blended smoothly, reserving extra restatement and illustrating examples as needed for the harder, denser concepts. Advanced Citing Quoting is all about control and clarity. You have considerable freedom when citing. Nerd question #1: Why do some people sometimes use ellipses in quotes and sometimes donÕt? First, an ellipsis is the punctuation mark of dot dot dot, represented as . . . . ItÕs three dots with spaces between them. Yes, there were four dots in the last sentence, but thatÕs because I ended the sentence with a periodÑa fourth dot. Keep up with me. I warned you it was a Ònerd question.Ó But since youÕre a nerdÑor should aspire to beÑlet me explain how and when to use ellipses. Here is the rule: First, you use ellipses anytime you remove something from a quote. So if you remove the first part, any middle part, or the end of a sentence, you ought to put an ellipses there. BUT ONLY if what you quote COULD be mistaken for its own sentence. That is, what you choose to quote still needs a subject, verb, and a relatively complete thought. So to clarify that this is NOT the original sentence, you put ellipses to inform the reader that you are removing some words. Why remove words at all? To control and clarify the quote, of course. Some words, you just donÕt need. Maybe theyÕre not relevant to your essay. Maybe theyÕre an aside or tangent or just plain filler. It doesnÕt matter. YOU get to remove pieces of a sentence if you think it makes the quote clearer and more controlled. You just have to inform the reader when and where youÕve done this with ellipses. So note: if you quote a single word or phrase, no ellipses required. Why not? Because no one will ever mistake a single word for a complete sentence. The same is true for phrases. ThatÕs another reason why picking out single words and phrases to quote is so direct and efficient; it reduces the bullshit around your formatting. Even so, let me show you examples of proper ellipses in action. LetÕs start with a sentence from one of our readings:

ÒAnd if the word integration means anything, this is what it means: that we, with love, shall force our brothers to see themselves as they are, to cease ßeeing from reality and begin to change itÓ (Baldwin 4). Great sentence, but letÕs say I want to avoid the floating quote and chop off a small section in the front; hereÕs what I would do: Baldwin says, Ò[. . .] if the word integration means anything, this is what it means: that we, with love, shall force our brothers to see themselves as they are, to cease ßeeing from reality and begin to change itÓ (Baldwin 4). Whoa, all I took out was one word?!? Yep, in this case, thatÕs all I did. LetÕs chop off more from the front, just to try it out: Baldwin says, Ò[. . .]we, with love, shall force our brothers to see themselves as they are, to cease ßeeing from reality and begin to change itÓ (Baldwin 4). Ok, much more was taken that time. But notice, thereÕs still a LOT of sentence left, and that part that is left does indeed contain a subject and verb and complete thought. So we NEED that ellipses there to let the reader know not to mistake this quote for the full original sentence. Let me chop the end now: Baldwin says, ÒAnd if the word integration means anything, this is what it means: that we, with love, shall force our brothers to see themselves as they are [. . .] (Baldwin 1). Nice. Let me chop some middle: Baldwin says, ÒAnd if the word integration means anything, this is what it means: that we, with love, shall force our brothers [. . .] to cease ßeeing from reality and begin to change itÓ (Baldwin 4.). You like that? LetÕs do ALL THREE AT ONCE: Baldwin says, Ò[. . .] the word integration means [. . .] that we, with love, shall force our brothers to see themselves as they are [. . .]Ó (Baldwin 4). (Whoa, IÕm getting dizzy with my quoting power now.) The point is, first, formatting omissionsÑthe times when you remove pieces of a quoteÑis key but easy, and, second, it gives you maximum control of the text. Choose only to quote the pieces you need and want; thereÕs no excuse for lazy overquoting. But third, notice that all my versions of the original quote still REPRESENT Baldwin; I am still capturing his ideas and spirit. If you

remove pieces of a quote to twist an authorÕs words, you are violating academic honesty and an eagle-eyed professor will slam you hard (with a bad grade, that is). ThatÕs about as ethical as video taping someone, then editing the footage to misrepresent someoneÕs actual actions. Be in control, but never forget to respect the author. Nerd question #2: WhatÕs with all those brackets in the above examples?!? I mentioned the dot dot dot, but I never mentioned the brackets. Why add those? ThatÕs because authors started using ellipses for dramatic effect: Jane and Diane walked into the sunset, hand in hand, a new adventure awaiting them . . . Once authors started to use the ellipses for dramatic impact (the typographical equivalent of the dissolve or fade-out), then academics like you and I needed to start using brackets. Brackets in a quote have a specific meaning; they tell the reader, ÒHey, I am adding this partÑitÕs NOT in the original text.Ó Like omissions, you have considerable control over brackets in order to add, well, whatever you want (as long as you remember your goals: control and clarity, and of course faith and respect to the author). So here is a new sentence from the Baldwin text: I know your countrymen do not agree with me about this, and I heard them saying, ÒYou exaggerateÓ (Baldwin 3). Say I decided to make that quote less sexist in its languageÑwhy is it ÒcountrymenÓ after all? Did Baldwin really mean to exclude women? I sincerely doubt it. Using ÒmenÓ to mean ÒpeopleÓ was more common and accepted in the 1960s. So letÕs use a light modernization: Baldwin says, ÒI know your countrymen [and countrywomen] do not agree with me about this [. . .]Ó (Baldwin 3). Or say you are concerned that parts of that sentence are vague out of context. No worries, brackets to the rescue: Baldwin says, ÒI know your countrymen do not agree with me about this [that his nephew is raised in a culture where he is Òexpect to make peace with mediocrityÓ] [. . .]Ó (Badlwin 3).

As weird as that looks, thatÕs correct, formatting wise. You can add comments in brackets; you can add definitions or clarifications; you can alter verb tense or phrasing; just so long as you do so for control and clarity and respect for what the author had in mind. Nerd question #3: What if you quote someone who themselves made a mistake, say in spelling or grammar? Can you correct their grammar as a favor to them or do you leave it alone and risk the teacher thinking YOU make the mistake? So say a certain person-about-to-be-elected-President tweets: Wow, every poll said I won the debate last night. Great honer!(tweeted 2/26/16Ñthen deleted). Say you want to quote this, but youÕre worried about the misspelling of the word ÒhonerÓ when it should read Òhonor.Ó You have two options. One is to correct the spelling, but put the correction in brackets as a way to clarify, ÒHey, I changed this.Ó The second option is quote the original error, but then add in brackets the word Òsic.Ó HereÕs how those options could look: Trump tweets that it was a Ògreat hon[o]rÓ to be considered the best candidate at the debate. (See that precision bracket usage? Maximum control, folks. The world is yours.) Trump tweets that is was a Ògreat honer [sic]Ó to be considered the best candidate at the debate. ÒSicÓ is Latin for Òthey fucked up, not me.Ó Or maybe itÕs shorthand for ÒSic erat scriptum,Ó which means something like ÒThatÕs how it was written,Ó arguably ÒDonÕt look at me, I didnÕt write thatÓ or perhaps an abbreviation for Òshit is crazy.Ó Look at the control you have! Ellipses! Brackets! Latin! Nerd question #4 (last one, I swear): What if you are quoting quotes? What?!? Well, consider the same original sentence as a little earlier: I know your countrymen do not agree with me about this, and I hear them saying, ÒYou exaggerate.Ó Say I want to quote all that, as it is. Can I just pop ÒBaldwin saysÓ in front of it and then slap quotation marks around it all? No. The quotation marks YOU use would create confusion with the quotation marks HE used. So what do you do? You convert HIS quotation marks to apostrophes, and then use quotation marks around that. It looks like this:

Baldwin says, ÒI know your countrymen do not agree with me about this, and I hear them saying, ÔYou exaggerateÕÓ (Baldwin 3). Stare closely at the end there, before the parentheses. You will see an apostrophe, then a pair of quotation marks. Wow. Three floating tails in a row. But thatÕs how you do it. I would say this is just like how in algebra you sometimes switch to brackets to avoid confusion with parentheses inside a formula, but most of you suck too much at math to get that reference. Math burn! I kid, I kid. (What if you quote a quote within a quote? Then you switch the quote within that quote you quote back to quotation marks, but convert the quote quoting the quote to apostrophes and keep your own quoting quotation marks only. Yep. Fun with punctuation.) So in summary: Quoting words is the same thing as citing words. Citing text is important. Formatting citations is easy and should follow MLA guidelines: quotation marks around exact words, parentheses name authorÕs last name and page number with only one space in between, with a period after the parentheses to end the sentence. Your goals are to control quotes and keep them clear and respect the authorÕs original meaning. You have a hundred different tools for controlling and clarifying quotes, and some of those tools include citing single words and phrases; ellipses; and brackets. If you ever, EVER use someone elseÕs words (or ideas) without giving them credit or if you ever, EVER quote someoneÕs words but then proceed to misrepresent their meaning, youÕve screwed up terribly and youÕre in trouble and youÕre going to hell now for serious. At least two of things is true, anyway. Be paranoid. Be careful. Be mindful of the original author youÕre citing and the reader trying to understand your meaning.

Ways to Describe Drawn Art In order to effectively analyze a comic, you need to be able to describe what you’re seeing in careful detail. This post is about ways to describe what you’re looking at–both things to look ​for and various words you might you to describe those elements ​with​. Right away, let me clarify an important difference between ​description​ and ​interpretation​. “Description” is an effort to accurately capture what is actually happening. You want to convey through your words what your eye is seeing. You are not judging what you are seeing–you are just trying to make it as clear, specific, and accurate as possible what you are seeing. If you don’t describe enough, the reader may feel confused or your ideas become too vague. If you don’t describe enough, you also don’t leave yourself raw material to interpret later. Think of “description” as getting the fundamental, non-controversial building blocks of what you will eventually use to make a judgement. It’s like main visual “evidence” of your eventual argument. “Interpretation” is the next step in that you look over what you have described and try to find patterms of meaning based on that description. Your subjective judgement now enters the picture, meaning any given reader will find your interpretation opinonated and potentially wrong. Nonetheless, your judgement is based on what you described, and the more you describe, the better your interpretation will become. This interpretation is trying to find deeper meaning, to connect the neutral details to non-neutral generalizations and ideas. If you don’t interpret enough, the reader will feel like you’re not doing anything important–you’re “summarizing” a work, not actually arguing it or making any point. Your essay becomes flat, robotic, meaningless. So description and interpretation work together. But there is a proper order to what goes first: You’ve got to describe first, then interpret second. Let me now break this down piece by piece, and then we can apply the concepts in an on-line assignment. 1.)“Line” The “line” of a drawing is that most basic tool any drawing artist can use. When pencil first hits page, the artist moves the pencil in a series of lines, and those lines have their own styles and effects.

Look at how lines overall combine to form the image. Lines can be: ●“Simple” (small, straight, nothing remarkable in themselves. Not many lines used.) ●“Complex” (lots of variation, longer, more angles, lots of lines used) ●“Clean” (lines are smooth, lots of clear space between lines) ●“Rough” (lines have blurrier edges, lots of “muddy” space between lines, or lines overlapping) ●“Thin” (the width itself of the line is relatively small) ●“Thick” (the width of the line is fatter) ●“Faint” (the darkness of the line is lighter) ●“Bold” (the darkness of the line is darker) ●“Straight” (the lines tend to be angular, basic, more geometric) ●“Curvy” or “Flowing” (lines tend to be more round) One way to apply these terms immediately can be to fonts. Yes, the fonts we use when typing on a computer convey visual information, and there’s a reason there are so many font options; each font conveys its own style which in turn communicates its own kind of message to readers. Take the following examples: CourierArialComic SansLobster  Right away, you might tempted to reach for terms of interpretation, like “old fashioned” or “boring” or “professional.” Don’t do that (yet). We want to capture more accurately and neutrally what the font is showing, and for this exercise, I want you to use the words above on the bulleted list. So look at the “Courier” font above for a moment. Let’s pick three words from the ten words listed above, whatever three words seem to most accurately capture what “Courier” is doing. To assist, look at the other fonts too and notice what makes them different. Differences and contrasts are often our best tool for describing something. Compared to the other three fonts, Courier appears to be “faint.” It’s less bold more light overall. Compared to the other three fonts, Courier also looks “thin.” The lines of the letters themselves look less thick overall than the other three fonts. And finally, compared to the other three fonts, Courier also seems fairly “clean.” I see a lot of space between the letters; letters do not crowd into each other.

We could keep going, but three descriptive words for one font is a great start. We can now make a claim like “Overall, the lines of the Courier font appear faint, thin, and clean.” This looks like a topic sentence of a smaller paragraph, maybe; it’s a claim, but not a deep or complex one. Let’s do this together one more time, except with Arial. Again, look at Arial, look at the descriptive words above, and pick three that stand out, especially as Arial relates to the other three fonts. What words stand out to you as accurately describing the Arial font? Words I chose are “simple” (the lines are very basic, small, and straight–nothing fancy. The smaller lines that form a letter are either missing or very simplified); “bold” (although it’s not super dark, it’s definitely on the darker side compared to the other three fonts, especially Courier); and “straight” (the lines are more angular; the lines of each letter are fairly straight versus curved). This then could lead to a claim like “The Arial font uses simple, bold, straight lines.” A simple claim, but it communicates description fairly well. Now you try it by yourself. Look at Comics Sans and then Lobster (yes, “Lobster”–I admit, I’ve never seen that font before in my life). Pick three words from the list above. But use the other fonts as points of comparison. ​Description always benefits from comparison​. I’m not joking, try it. Just mentally, to yourself. I want to point out that all four fonts look “clean” to me. I guess that makes sense; fonts are pixelated images automated on our computers. It’s hard to create a “rough” or blurry font, accordingly. But look at how thick Lobster appears to the other fonts. Lobster is also more curvy and flowing. And notice that Comics Sans is like a bolder, slightly more complex more version of Courier. The lines are still straight, but they curve off to the side. We now have a basic handle on the lines used in four fonts. But what do these descriptions mean​? Let’s ​interpret​ the descriptions we’ve assembled. Courier is faint, thin, and clean–what message might that communicate? Fainter lines are easier on the eyes. Thinner lines are less attention grabbing. Clean lines are readable–but boring. Add it all together, and my first thought is “inoffensive.” There’s nothing special or remarkable about

Courier as a font. It’s easy to read, but it also doesn’t stand out. Because the lines are so simple and thin, I am also tempted to say the font appears more “old fashioned.” It almost looks what an old typewriter would produce. When hammered keys were crafted from metal, you couldn’t get too complex, and pressing the key produced the depth of darkness, so unless you’re punching the typewriter, it produces a lighter image. “Inoffensive” and “old fashioned” may seem like descriptions, but no, they are more opinionated, more subjective, more judgemental. They also add more meaning to the discussion. Where description explains ​what​ we’re seeing, interpretations captures ​why​ it matters. Let’s jump to interpreting Lobster now. From a description of it as, say, bold, thick, and flowing, what impressions might we draw from that font? What messages might it convey? Well, it looks more like hand-writing. The shape of the letters is cursive (some of you may even have trouble reading that Lobster font as a result). The boldness and fatness of the lines seem to convey more emotion and personality, and the flowing cursive adds a sense of being casual, personal, friendly. Notice, you may not agree with me–this is more subjective, more opinionated. But I’m not making up an opinion based on nothing. I am using the descriptions of the font to form my judgements, so whether someone agrees with me or not, I am at least being reasonable​. Let’s move through some more elements of drawing beyond the line now, and now that we have a little more practice, we can move more quickly: 2.) “Shape” When lines come together, they form shapes, and shapes are really only slightly more complicated than lines themselves. Nonetheless, shapes and their–well–​shape ​create impressions and meaning. Some ways to describe the shapes within a drawing: ●“Angular” (straight lines, shapes form edges, edges form shapes like rectangles and squares) ●“Curvy” or “rounded” (curved lines, fewer to no edges, shapes like circles and ovals) ●“Symmetrical” (the shapes on one side match the shapes on the other, more even) ●“Assymetrical” (shapes don’t match sides; more uneven) ●“Long” or “elongated” (meaning shapes stretch more up and down, vertically) ●“Wide” or “stretched” (meaning shapes move more left to right, horizontally) ●“Organic” (shapes more accurately capture what we see in the real world)

●“Geometric” (shapes are simplified, less realistic, and look more like basic shapes) ●Any word that has a shape in in (“circular,” “oval,” “squared,” “triangular” and so on) Now consider this drawing: Don’t worry about the lines (though I see bolder, curved lines here, simple and clean). Look at the shapes contained within the drawing. The bubbles form more obvious shapes. But there’s also the overall shape of the fish and the shape of the features on the fish to consider. I see curves; longer shapes for the stripes down the middle; lots of circular and oval shapes; an overall less realistic, more geometric image overall. These descriptions then lead me to an interpretaion that this drawing is childish (childlike?); cute (probably because it is so childlike); and basic (nothing fancy about). Not very impressive, either, if I’m going to be really judgemental. In contrast, consider this image:

The shapes I see here look more symmetrical (look at the repeating scale pattern, the even fin shapes); elongated (the overall position of the fish is more vertical); and curved. This leads me to an interpretation that this drawing, compared to the first one, is more complex and refined; there’s something majestic and beautiful about this fish (it would make a decent tattoo, to be honest); yet it blends realism with a simplified geometrical symmetry to be highly stylized and more “artsy.” I don’t think a child could have drawn this. Shape and line overlap–literally and figuratively. You could comfortably add talk of the second fish’s clean, bold lines to a description of its geometric patterms. And you could effectively discuss the first fish’s bold, thick lines alongside its circular curves. Likewise, both descriptions add more data to what interpretive impressions the drawing communicates. 3.) “Movement” Though images are by their nature static, artists nonetheless create the impression of motion or stillness with their art. When we see lines to indicate movement, we see movement: And when the characters within a panel are positioned a particular way, we also intuit their movement:

These actions can be described as “flowing” or “moving” or “kinetic” or “dynamic.” When not moving, we can say the movement is “static” or “still”: Between panels, we see movement, too. Is the action of the nearby panels moving somewhere else quickly (in which case, we might say “fast paced”) or slowly? This speed of action and nature of movement connote interpretations of the drama or action or emotion of the scene. 4.) “Scale” Scale refers to the relative size of things, and in this case, the things being drawn or depicted. There are different things to consider when it comes to scale. One is the size of the things

themselves within a panel, compared the objects around them (or just space around them). Another is the size of the panel itself compared to panels around it. Because scale and the size of an image is so often used in film, terms from film often work here, so some language regarding scale includes: ●Simple size terms like “large” or “small” ●Alternative to “large” might be the film term “closeup” and alternative to “small” might be the film term “long shot” (“medium shot” is the film term for “middle sized”). So within a panel, consider this: Contrasted with this: The distance between us and the things we are looking at create emotional distance, so to speak, so being able to describe that the scale of a woman’s face is large (first panel) while the scale of a neighborhood is pulled back or distant (second panel) can then lead us to interpretations about what the artist is conveying.

That’s scale within one panel. Now let’s look at two examples of scale among a series of panels: Don’t worry about the words of this comic. Notice that the panels are all the same size, depicting the same basic action. 12 panels on one page means small-scaled panels. Contrast that to what is often called the “splash” page:

This is also one page of comics, meaning the size of the panel equals the size of the entire page. More image is therefore crammed into that one panel, creating a much larger scale. Much like space in cinema and real life, the smaller something is, the more removed it can feel. The larger something is or the closer we are to something, the more emotionally gripped or focused we tend to become. These, like line and shape, form another decision the artist makes when showing their work, allowing us to describe one more detail than we can later interpret. ——- These four elements–line, shape, movement, and scale–are hardly the only things we can look for within a comic to describe and then interpret. I will add more elements in class, and we will then add yet more elements as we continue Scott McCloud’s ​Understanding Comics​ (color is a big one). But these give us a decent starting point. ———————- I want to extend these focal points to add elements from ​Understanding Comics​ and to narrow our overall focus on comics (versus paintings or photographs). 5.) Color: ​The beauty of describing color in any image is that we are taught how to do this almost the moment we begin to learn language itself. It starts with whatever colors we see, from

primary colors like “blue” and “red” to more complex, more subtle variations like “cyan” or “fuscia.” Ok, I admit, I still don’t personally know what “fuscia” is, but in your case, choose the color words you are most comfortable with. Sometimes a particular color or combination of colors dominate an image or comic. Sometimes it’s the colors of the items in the image, but other times it’s like a colored filter on the image itself: The above example has a strong blue filter, affecting the entire image. The absence of color is also noteworthy. Though black and white was once a practical reality to save costs, it has become an artistic choice among modern artists (very parallel to movies and television). This too, then, is worth pointing out, and it too likewise carries a different emotional interpretation than something in full color. When it comes to color, also consider more general characteristics like: ●“Vibrant”–the colors are especially deep and intense.

●“Dull”–though the color is present, it is more faint. ●“Simple”–maybe only primary colors are used (blue, green, red, yellow, black, and white).

●“Complex”–the art reflects many different shades of colors, a richer complexity (like hues of orange or violet, blending primary colors is more subtle ways)

Interpreting color​: Again, we have years of practice interpreting the potential meanings of color. Whenever we get dressed, we make color choices to reflect our moods and the ways we wish to be perceived by people around us. Those same interpretations hold true, more or less. Red can signify passion, emotion, anger, violence, love, or blood. Blue can be calming or cold. White can mean innocence (or death, depending on your culture). Black can mean mystery (or death, depending on your culture again). We all have our sense of what different colors mean. But always consider context. Sometimes a comic displays faint colors because it’s old; the print was never deep to begin with or perhaps faded over time. But when a modern artist ​deliberately makes a new comic faint, then we realize they are sending a more thoughtful message, which we then can interpret. 6.) Sound: ​This seems like an utter contradiction–an image producing sound?–but comics is known among things for its passionate use of sound effects. It may be Batman punching out villains:

It could be a mix of some kind of verbal utterance mixed with a sound: The sound effect itself sometimes becomes as iconic as any character:

Sound effects mix beautifully with motion lines and movement, of course, especially when they are used together to convey actions. But when we describe sound effects in an image, we can both name the word itself (“thwip” or “snikt”) and describe the WAY it it presented (“thwip” in black bordered, white slanted letters, with each letter moving downward and to the right of the letter in fron of it). Add to sound effects any other effects to indicate the sounds living things make beyond mere speech acts (words): “Hh”? It’s a word–and not a word–but definitely some kind of utterance that manages to communicate something meaningful.

Or another example: Comics frequently depict music playing, too: Interpreting sound effects​: An image or comic never NEEDS any sound effect at all. That means everytime we see a specific use of the sound effect, it’s a choice to include it versus to leave it out. Maybe older comics used sound effects for dramatic effect, but modern comic writers and artists are making smarter, more deliberate choices. In the context of the larger image, then, we always want to consider and connect its potential meaning.

And meaning can come from any number of places: where and when a sound effect is “heard” (or not); how that effect is depicted from word choice to design style to how large it is represented; and how that sound effect corresponds or contrasts with the other elements of the comic, particularly action and movement. 7.) “Panel-to-Panel Transitions” Like sound effects, the ideas of panels side by side is somewhat unique to comics (though as McCloud points out, not 100% unique). The juxtaposition of panels–how they transition to each other, their order, their relationship, their connection, their contrast–is a major part of analyzing comics. And luckily, Scott McCloud does an excellent job of categorizing these transitions and discussing their potential meanings in Chapter 3 of ​Understanding Comics​. We’re going to use his descriptions and terms, then, for our own ways of talking about panel-to-panel transitions. His six categories, to review from pages 71 through 74 (and beyond): 1.“Moment -to-moment”–when the transitions between panels represent small spans of time, requiring very little “closure,” as McCloud points out. We see the same subjects performing more or less the same actions, just moving slightly in space and time. In terms of its meaning, this slows the action down and creates a more thoughtful pace, like characters are reflecting or the reader is supposed to focus more thoughtfully on the action.

2.“Action-to-action”–when we see the same subject among panels performing different actions, such as punching in one panel, then kicking someone else in the next. More time is passing and more space is potentially being traveled, but not much more than “moment to moment.” The pace is faster here, but we don’t need to perform as much closure to follow what is happening. By focusing on actions, we feel the action–the movement, the kinetic qualities of art.

3.“Subject-to-subject”–we stay within one broad scene, but our focus shifts among different subjects, moments, and actions. Maybe one panel shows one character speaking, then a different character speaking in the next panel, for instance. Because we are seeing less common areas between panels, more closure is required on the part of the reader, and more effects can be created, effects relating to pace or drama or emotion.

4.“Scene-to-scene”–like how a movie or TV show cuts from one place to another, panels sometimes transition to whole new locations between panels. These are transitions are often accompanied by cues such as narration (“Meanwhile . . .”) or labels (“New York”) or other cues (such as revisiting scenes previously depicted which we’re expected to remember). Many writers and artists create scene-to-scene transitions between pages, especially pages which they know we will be turning to (whenever we open a typical comic, we see two pages in front of us–one on the left, one on the right. Once we finish the page on the right, we physically “turn the page,” giving the artist a natural place to transition scenes). These larger jumps create yet more closure, and they can be jarring if the reader isn’t paying careful attention.

5.“Aspect-to-aspect”–within a scene, the “eye” or focal point may shift to different areas of the situation, much like how we look at various parts of the space around us. McCloud calls this effect a “wandering eye” (72), and the writer/ artist has considerable freedom of what to choose to focus on next. The connection and contrast between panels here can create a distinct mood or deeper meaning beyond the literal movement between time and space. 6.“Non-sequitur” transitions–in Latin, the phrase “non sequitur” means something like “it does not follow.” Though we expect there to be a logical smooth connection between panels–one “following” the previous one in an order we too can follow clearly–sometimes a writer or artist depicts a panel that has no obvious connection whatsoever to the previous panel. This makes closure especially difficult, if not impossible, yet we must always ask nonetheless, “Why THIS? Why did the writer or artist choose this image in this panel in this order, and what potential meaning does that create?” Resist the urge to dismiss non-sequitur transitions as insane or wild or “artsy.” Always reach for some closure, for some meaning in the effort to understand and analyze and interpret the comic in front of you. (This transition is really rare, or if it happens, it doesn’t happen for long. After all, too many non-sequitur transitions in a row and the reader becomes too confused to follow the action at all–and probably stops reading.) To be clear, a lot of these transitions blend with each other, so don’t feel too strict or upset if you’re not sure exactly how to categorize a specific transition. If you see a blending of transitions, say so and interpret what you see. It’s more about becoming

aware of the transitions themselves, learning to articulate what those transitions are, and then finding ways to find meaning in those artistic choices. 8.) ​Overall “place” on the McCloud triangle of art–​on pages 51 through 53 (and beyond) of Understanding Comics​, McCloud tries to explain the three “vertices” or broad areas of comic art:

That’s a lot of examples above. But broadly speaking, this is a very useful way to summarize or generalize all the smaller, specific decisions an artist makes–line, shape, color, scale–and contextualize the specific style of the comic in front of you with all the others ever made. So let’s be clear what these three corners each mean: reality, meaning/ language, and the picture place. Reality is the world our eyes deliver to us. It is specific, vivid, and concrete. It is rich with details, but by itself it contains no (or very little) human interpretation. It is the world of photographs that have never been “touched up,” the world of the camera pointing at the same things our eyes see every day:

Art drawn “realistically” attempts to recreate what our eyes see, matching the detail or design or color of the world as it is, unbiased: When done realistically, the drawing doesn’t even seem like a drawing but like a photograph. The above image was drawn in pencil. THAT is realistic.

But just because the art is realistic doesn’t mean there’s no “art” or meaning behind it. Even realistic art contains within a hundred thoughtful, artistic choices: Why depict THIS subject? Why depict this subject THIS way? And if it’s a comic, it still may contain words and transitions and scale and color to consider. We can still interpret “realistic” art, in other words, just as critics can analyze the art of photography. Words to describe art or comics that fall closer to this side of the triangle can include “realistic,” “detailed,” “specific,” “complex,” or “objective” (or anything synonymous with those terms). —- Art can move away from the “realistic” in two directions on McCloud’s triangle of art: upward toward the “picture plane” or toward the right side toward “language/ meaning.” Let’s move up. The top of the triangle is meant to capture images–things we see–but without the form we associate with objects in the world (cars, people, apples). Images in the picture plane are images that are “images of” something else but images AS themselves. Not a picture of a person or a city or Einstein but a picture with its own lines, shapes, and colors not trying to depict any specific subject:

We can describe this style as “visually abstract” or “geometric” or “nonrealistic” or even “elemental.” It’s very hard to describe, notice. Rarely do comics themselves fall completely under this abstract style, but remember, the triangle is meant to form a range of styles: it’s not “this” or “that” but a three-angled spectrum of possibilities. Consider the following:

There are still words in the comic and you can still pick out objects and subjects, but the overall style is highly unrealistic, much more geometric and line and shaped based than any effort to depict reality as we see it. —– I’ve saved words for last. We still SEE words in a comic. We see them, anyway, whenever we read–like how you are reading right now. But reading no longer follows what our eyes see as objects in the world (the realistic corner) nor what our eyes see as elemental lines and shapes as images in themselves (the picture plane). Reading involves a complex understanding of lettering, spelling, vocabulary, punctuation, grammar, syntax. . . all abstract concepts of the mind. “Abstract” is another term McCloud uses for this “language” portion of the triangle, but by itself, “abstract” isn’t clear enough. Art can be both abstract and wordless, after all. No, the abstract meaning of words is how our eyes engage the image–reading letters, spelling them out in their order to apprehend a word, which combined with other nearby words forms a sentence, and so on–in order to intellectually “see” what a writer communicates. In your typical English class, words are all you usually read. And we well know, fiction and poetry particularly are open to interpretation and meaning. But EVERYTHING we read is open to interpretation too, even a news story or a researched scholarly article from a medical journal. We read the words to interpret their meaning. The relationship between images–both realistic and abstract–and words is what makes comics so special. I would argue even more than movies where dialogue is a key element of the overall cinematic experience or than music where a singer’s lyrics for a key element of the overall song’s effect, we see words in a comic and have the opportunity to read them at ​our ​speed. Lyrics in a song and dialogue in a movie come to us “live” at the speed of real life (usually). The words of a comic can be read as slowly or quickly as we choose, just like any novel or book. And we can re-read or jump back and forth in time anytime we want in a comic, far more easily than any song or movie, anyway. We know comics can contain dialogue, the speech between characters. But comics are also unique for carrying “thought balloons” where characters think words silently to themselves in puffy clouds. We sometimes have narration, like any novel, in rectangular boxes explaining simple setting, other times telling the story from a third person point of view, oftentimes in modern comics told from a first person point of view of one specific character or even the writer

themselves. Add sound effects–depicted in words–and the amount of words on any given comic page can be as abundant and dominant as any image. Some comics are more “wordy” or “textual” than others: There can sometimes be so many words to read, you almost forget to look at any accompanying images, or the images get eclipsed. We will need to spend a separate lecture on the analysis of words in comics, but to McCloud’s point, the more “wordy” a comic is, the further along the triangle to the right it falls. Other descriptions can include “dialogue heavy” or “verbose.” In a way, we are more used to using words to describe words. McCloud’s point is just that different comics fall closer to that language corner than others. —– Placing any given comic on this triangle, again, serves the purpose of drawing a more general sense of what makes that comic unique or different from other comics. It is either a good place to start in order to give the reader a basic sense of the overall comic’s style, or it’s a good place to go later in your description after you have already described line, shape, color, and other specific visual elements.

Many artists will shift styles within the comic itself for differing effects, sometimes for just one panel. Pay attention to these shifts and try to note what those shifts might signify. —————– Our total list of what to look for in any given image (including and especially comics) is now: ●Line ●Shape ●Movement ●Scale ●Color ●Sound Effect ●Panel-to-Panel Transitions ●General Place on the McCloud Triangle of Art Whenever you describe a comic, your goal is to gather as many details as you can, much like how a detective assembles clues. The more you find, the more evidence you have to work with. Learning to focus on these different elements and practicing how to articulate what you see are ways to serve your eventual interpretations. After all, what is hardest part of writing if not finding something to ​say​? The above tools hopefully give you more options. Unless otherwise specified, too, you do have options. Whenever you are analyzing a comic for an essay, you can choose to focus on certain elements over others; it all depends on which elements seem most noteworthy to you, most meaningful and interesting and outstanding (in this meaning literally the details that “stand out” to you). I don’t expect you to cover all eight elements above on every panel of every page of every book. Except maybe for this week’s online exercise. See the posted assignment online for details.

What I Grade for and Tricks to Make the GradeWhy grade at all? What is the PURPOSE of a grade?●Not to punish or reward●Not to avoid error or parrot what the professor says●To give you a score by which you can measure your current status, in this case, as awriter. It’s more like a diagnosis which then helps us–you and your teacher–determineways to adjust to do better next time.●If you know ahead of time what a teacher looks for in an “A” paper, you can aim directlyfor those elements. Trying to get the high grade amounts to following the teacher’sadvice, which is how we learn (no grading = no incentive to learn).The Five Main Elements I Grade for:1.) ESSAY BASICS●Do you demonstrate the academic standard for the “essay” at thecollege level? Formatting? Title? Introduction and thesis statement? Bodyparagraphs and topic sentences? Conclusion?●Follow the guidelines: Everything is laid out in detail. Do not assume youautomatically “know it already.” A lot of what you THINK you know is outdatedor wrong for the college level. Read the guidelines; follow the guidelines; askquestions; show rough drafts to be safe.2.) DETAIL●Specific wording (draft general wording first, then revise for detail later)●Provide examples (show, don’t tell)–”For example, . . .” “For instance, . . .”○Types of examples you may use:■Historical■Current events■Personal experience■Works of fiction■Hypothetical (“suppose . . .”)●For summaries or research, examples show up in the form of citations.●If you have required texts, examples include citations.●For arguments, examples show up in NEW supporting examples (“new”meaning ones you choose to bring into the discussion to support yourpoint and NOT only quoted from the main texts)

3.) CLARITY●Clear enough grammar (Writing Center, proofread, word choice,grammarly.com)●Restatement (“In other words, . . .” “That is, . . .”)●Examples–show what you mean4.) SUPPORT●Every claim has support (“x because y”)●Support should be true and relevant●Examples can form evidence (supporting examples)5.) INSIGHT●Thoughtfulness; significance; authenticity●Craft a strong conclusion (see my guidelines on Canvas)●Connect the essay parts to real-world issues or events●Bring your own sense of “self” and credibility with you; if you care, show youcare. Comment, observe, respond, choose examples that reach the audience.A “C” paper often does the above fundamentals with “enough” elements to pass. It possibly doesone or more elements really well while it does other elements poorly, so it evens out to a “C.” Bydefault, a “decent” paper gets a “C.”A “B” paper usually does the above fundamentals better than just “enough.” There are extradetails, the clarity is good, the support is solid, and so on. What keeps this essay from a highergrade is some issue with part of the essay (like a weak introduction and conclusion, or oneelement above is relatively poor while the other elements are all excellent).An “A” paper does all of the above far beyond what is “enough.” It is thorough. It is direct andclear throughout the entire paper. It is well supported. It is seriously engaged with thoughtfulcommentary throughout the discussion, but especially the conclusion. All the guidelines arefollowed well, and the result is an essay that is specific, thoughtful, substantial, and at place inany university.The differences between the above grades often comes down to one key word: Development.Development is probably the single biggest issue with student writing: not enough details orexplanations or support. “Enough” is a “C.” An “A” representsexcellence, and excellent essaysare thorough, thoughtful, and well developed (much more than “enough”). “B” papers aresomewhere in between.

Rubric:●Certain parts of this first essay process are basic but need to be handled effectively as partof fundamental essay writing. These include formatting, titles, introductions, conclusions,topic sentences, and thesis sta

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