Dear White People – is the name of the film.

Here are the first steps to follow when writing the proposal for the critical analysis of a film:

Step 1: Watch the film

At this step, you watch the film several times to get its gist. This is very important because it enables you to understand different aspects of the film which is crucial in writing a good critical analysis. To watch the film critically implies that you must watch it attentively, with no distractions,  and take notes while watching it. If you are watching the film using a DVD player or a computer, rewind, and pause to understand the crucial parts of the movie or those that stand out to you the most. 

Step 2: Engage with the film critically

At this step, start engaging critically with the film that you want to analyze. This is very important because it will enable you to come up with a strong critical analysis essay. Identify and focus on a single concept or theme that dominates the film. For instance, you can focus on how the film relates to a specific historical or current sociocultural event or crisis dramatically without compromising facts. You can also focus on the use of various devices such as dramatic irony and overlapping dialogue.

Step 3: Outline your critical analysis

Writing the outline of a critical analysis will enable you to present your critical analysis in a more organized manner. Writing an outline entails determining the information that you intend to include in the analysis, where to place it in the critical analysis summary, and how to place the information. In this step, create rough headings for the different sections. Outlining a critical analysis is simply planning how to write a critical analysis of a film and this makes the actual writing easier.

Developing research questions

It is likely that at some point during your degree you will be required to create your own research question. The research question states the specific issue or problem that your assignment will focus on. It also outlines the task that you will need to complete.

There is no universal set of criteria for a good research question. Different disciplines have different priorities and requirements. A good research question for a history paper will differ from a good research question for a biology paper. In general, however, a good research question should be:

Clear and focused. In other words, the question should clearly state what the writer needs to do.

Not too broad and not too narrow. The question should have an appropriate scope. If the question is too broad it will not be possible to answer it thoroughly within the word limit. If it is too narrow you will not have enough to write about and you will struggle to develop a strong argument (see the activity below for examples).

Not too easy to answer. For example, the question should require more than a simple yes or no answer.

Not too difficult to answer. You must be able to answer the question thoroughly within the given timeframe and word limit.

Researchable. You must have access to a suitable amount of quality research materials, such as academic books and refereed journal articles.

Analytical rather than descriptive. In other words, your research question should allow you to produce an analysis of an issue or problem rather than a simple description of it.

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED READING MATERIAL: 

ARTICLE ON TIPS FOR WRITING RESEARCH QUESTIONS: For further assistance on how to write solid research questions, read this article:  https://www.scribbr.com/research-process/research-question-examples/Links to an external site. 

ARTICLE WITH TIPS FOR PROPOSAL WRITING: Students have used this guide on how to write an essay proposalLinks to an external site. and find it helpful.

VIDEO IN HOW TO WRITE RESEARCH QUESTIONShttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF2FQeP5wpILinks to an external site. 

ALSO READ THIS ARTICE FOR HELP WRITING YOUR RESEARCH QUESTIONS: https://healthdisparities.vcu.edu/media/health-disparities-new-site/docs/Research-Questions_WS-handout.pdfLinks to an external site. 

ASSIGNMENT PROTOCOL

This proposal must include:

the movie you have chosen for your project.

the two sociological (2) elements you have chosen to analyze your film for your project found in the
How Does Our Society Work? assignment, Week 2. 

a clear idea of your final project’s theme/topic, designed by you. 

the reason[s] why you chose the movie for your intended project.

• the two (2) research questions you want to be answered from doing your investigation: one descriptive (describes your chosen sociological elements within the film’s plot and/or its main character[s]; the when, where, how, and why of something), and one comparative (compares how your chosen sociological elements contrast one another within the plot of your film and/or its main character[s]).

research questions are presented in the proposal but only responded to in the final project.

• Important: You must submit a tentative bibliography and/or list of citations you plan to use in your PowerPoint. For this proposal, the required amount of citations is three (3) on a separate page, not included in the overall word count.