Eng201 Writing and Research
Adaptation Analysis
Overview:
Research commonly begins by asking questions. One question that has been asked a lot in the past century is: what would a literary work look like if presented on screen? You have likely seen many of the adaptations that came from such a question, perhaps your favorite book being made into a movie, or a comic book being made into a Saturday morning cartoon series.
The research necessary to create an adaptation, and the conversations that take place before, during, and after the resulting work's release, require an awareness of audience, purpose, and context. Who, for example, was the audience for the original work, and who should be the audience for the adaptation? Was Peter Jackson's purpose for The Lord of the Rings films the same as J. R. R. Tolkien's purpose for the books? Why or why not? Further, due to the nature of a written or graphical work that is adapted, conversations take place about what to include, what to change, and how viewers familiar and unfamiliar with the original work will react. It is likely, for instance, that the audience for the film adaptation of Jaws might not have been as happy had the marine biologist died at the end, as he does in Peter Benchley's novel, and likely that many fans of The Hobbit were not happy with some of Jackson's changes.
For the first essay we will become a part of the process, in preparation for entering more complex conversations.
Assignment:
Please select an adaptation and examine the relationship between the original work and the adaptation. The original may be a short story, novel, poem, comic book, etc, and the adaptation may be a television program or film. Compare the original to the adaptation. What remained the same? What changes were made?
After you have established and examined the relationship between the original source and the adaptation, please evaluate and analyze the rhetorical choices made in translating the original to the final product. Your focus should be a detailed consideration of the original work's rhetorical situation and the rhetorical situation of the adaptation, and should go beyond the common "like/dislike" and/or "good/bad" binary reactions or discussions of adaptations. In order to accomplish this, you will need to determine criteria by which to evaluate the adaptation, and be able to present and discuss those criteria in ways your audience can understand. One of your prelimary tasks will be to research the art of adaptation and the adaptation in order to help decide which criteria will work, and how to use those criteria with the adaptation.
Your essay should be a rhetorical analysis of the adaptation, and your analysis should be the focus of the essay.
The draft you submit to me must include a half-page to full-page reflection. See Essay 1 Reflection for specific requirements. Drafts which do not have a reflection and which have not been submitted for peer evaluation will not be accepted and will not receive credit for submission.
Goals and expectations:
- 4-5 pages typed and double-spaced, with an appropriate heading and descriptive title.
- A specific and arguable thesis statement, with sufficient context to set it up.
- Clear and logical organization, including a strong introduction, conclusion, well-developed supporting paragraphs, and effective transitions.
- A minimum of six sources. The film adaptation and the original source count. The other sources must be academic. You may use film reviews from credible sources, however the majority of your sources should be academic.
- Use of specific, concrete details in each body paragraph which not only identify the specific claims and evidence you examine, but which also provide specific examples and details to show the significance of those claims and evidence.
- An engagement with your sources that creates a conversation about the subject and your primary and secondary sources.
- Clear use of MLA or APA documentation styles to document all ideas not your own. Drafts without a works cited/reference page will not be accepted; works cited/reference pages do not count toward the page requirement.
- Revised drafts should demonstrate careful proofreading and revision, including but not limited to revising thesis statements, organization, grammar, and sentence mechanics.
Our overall goal for this essay is to begin working closely with sources, to show the conversations taking place with sources, and to find ways to enter the conversation.
You are required to submit a draft to the appropriate topic thread in Blackboard for peer evaluation by the start of class on Friday, September 18. A draft is due to me on Monday, September 21, by the start of class, either in print or to the appropriate dropbox in Blackboard, and will be returned with my feedback on Monday, September 28, so please plan appropriately.
Note: All drafts may be randomly checked for plagiarism. Sources may be randomly checked to verify credibility and authenticity.