The essay will be a comparative discussion of some relevant aspect or theme in any two texts or
movies discussed in class, with two conditions: (1) the student has not already discussed either
of those titles in a response paper previously; and (2) at least one major text or movie is selected
for the comparison. The essay will address the assigned texts or shows and their discussion in
class and tutorial. Students are responsible for coming up with their own topics for the essay –
again, that’s part of the assignment.
To ensure a good start on the assignment, each student will clear a one or two sentence summary
of a proposed topic (mentioning the titles to be compared, of course) with the TA. As part of the
process of working up the essay, a student has the option of submitting a brief outline specifying
the ways in which a cleared topic will be addressed and arranging to discuss the outline with the
TA. An outline should be one to two typed pages of prose; no point-form outlines, please.
Neither the outline nor the meeting will be graded.
In summary, each student is required to select his or her own topic, to formulate an argument that
engages some interesting aspect of two course titles in a reflective way, to demonstrate the
argument with appropriate exegesis, and to present everything as elegantly as possible.
