Addendum to ENG 281 Syllabus

Addendum to ENG 281 Syllabus: You need to set up a blog on Blogger

The blog will be your online journal and you will post your responses to/analysis of the films you view.

Basic requirements for written responses for credit in the course:

1) Develop an understanding of the film's themes and/or meanings

2) Develop your critical perspective on/about the film

3) Frame your response around a specific point you would like to make, or theme you would like to discuss, or a particular scene/aspect/aesthetics of the film

4) Make sure to refer to the film and directly connect your argument to the film.

5) 300-500 words (but you can always feel free to write more). These responses can always serve as the basis for the longer essay assignment.

6) Give all film responses a title (feel free to be creative).

7) You are required to do 9 responses on films that are required viewing during the semester.

Grading of your film responses will consist of:

Credit = contains critical thought and a clear discussion of the film with a focused statement/analysis/argument

Revise = a good attempt, but some problems (which will be explained by the professor) that need to be addressed before you can receive credit -- you will be required to revises the response and repost it if you wish to receive credit

No Credit = sloppy writing (repetitive basic writing mistakes), failure to develop a clear statement/perspective in your response, lack of reflection on the film and/or no attempt to seriously address it.


During the semester there will be opportunities for extra credit. These are a list of the opportunities:

1) Any response beyond the required 9 responses on the required course films that is accepted for credit will be counted as extra-credit.

2) The films screened for the Fall 2012 Bluegrass Film Society
. Attend any film and write a response on your blog.

3) I will mention films that are screening in town from time-to-time if I think they are relevant to our course. I will also mention films on DVD that can be watched and responded to for extra credit.


You need to write a post on your blog (300-500 words) of your extra credit film response (make your title to the post like this: “Extra Credit: ‘title of the response’). Similar to the regular film responses, I will comment on the extra credit responses and state whether you will receive credit for it (see “no credit” description above for why you would not receive credit).

Each extra credit can count toward one point on your final grade, with up to 10 extra credit points possible.