UPDATED : 04/29/2002  

A number of you have been asking for more specific direction regarding your final paper in this course.  Here are some guidelines.

Goal of the Paper:  Semiotic Analysis and ideological evaluation of a a current television series.

What that means practically is that you're going to look at the semiotics of several episodes of the program to determine what the series producers are saying about some aspect of modern life or culture.  You don't have to write about everything they're saying, but several themes should appear as you examine the program.  Pick one or two or three which are related and discuss how the creators of the program make their point as they produce the show...

For example:  What is the program saying about the profession of medicine? about heroism? about villainy? gender roles? the nature of childhood? faith?  diligence? patriotism? marriage? parenthood? etc.?

Structure of your paper:  Make sure you have a beginning, a middle, and a clear conclusion which pulls it all together.

How to do that. 

Introduction:

I would begin by specifying the themes which you will be discussing and how they relate to the series as a whole.  Have they developed over time? Have they always been there? Have they changed? Are they connected in some way?  A paragraph about the show, its origin, creators, network affiliation, etc. would also be appropriate at this point.

Body:

I would then address each of themes individually.  Be sure you follow a parallel type of structure, so if you talk about theme 1 and begin with analysis of how lighting conveys that theme, then when you discuss theme 2, begin with lighting as well.  For each theme I would methodically address the various semiotic manifestations.  That doesn't mean you have to be boring, just organized.

Use headings and sub-headings. They really help a reader understand your structure and follow the progress of the paper.

Substantiate what you say. 

• Be sure to cite specific episodes 

• Describe how the concept is conveyed through sign and symbol visually and aurally.  Don't say, "the director used lighting to emphasize that John was a bad guy."  Do say, "In a scene in which John tries to persuade Mary to go with him, the fast fall-off lighting created dark shadows around his eyes and face.  The angle of the fall-off accentuated the diagonal lines of his nose and jaw, and further gave the impression that something wasn't right.  When he said, " --------quote---," and camera moved in for a close-up, the harsh diagonals were magnified, as all the semiotic tools to indicate villainy were used."

• If you have quotes from directors or producers of the program, use those to reinforce the observations you make about the program.

I strongly recommend you write from an outline.  The outline will help you organize your thoughts and you'll have a better paper.

Conclusion:

Here you must pull it all together.  Briefly summarize what you told me you were going to say, what you said, and finally why we should care.  Make sure I understand what Dr. Huddleston calls the "so what?"  

Format:

Use APA style and be sure to cite your sources.

I will need a hard copy and a copy of the paper on disc.  Please save your paper on the disc as an .rtf file (rich text format), a .txt file (ascii dos text) and a .doc (word).   If I have those and I need to change format, I should be able to do so.  It is my sincere hope, I won't need to worry about doing that at all.

Length:  15 Pages minimum.

Due:  Tuesday, May 7, 2002

Value of the Paper:   300 points

If you have any questions or would like me to look at an outline or rough draft, please don't hesitate to contact me.

 Copyright, 2002 Janet McMullen

Email Dr. Mc: jmcmulle@unanov.una.edu 

Return to Dr. Mc's Home Page

.