Movies are among the most important art forms in the modern world, commanding bigger audiences and more attention than almost any other. As a result, the study of cinema has grown up alongside the rise of movies.
Currently, there is a large and active academic community dedicated to exploring movies, the production, and their cultural impact. If you are about to write a paper about a movie, you will want to be sure to read our step-by-step guide to developing an effective paper that will show that you have a deep understanding of cinema and a command of the issues involved.
7 Easy Steps to Write a Paper about a Movie
1, Read the assignment and rubric
As should be obvious, before you write a paper, you need to know what you are writing about. The assignment will give you the parameters of the essay you are about to write, so you want to make sure that you have read the assignment carefully and understand every part of it. Similarly, many instructors provide a rubric which gives you a point-by-point breakdown of how you will be graded and evaluated. When you read the rubric, it can serve almost as a cheat sheet to outline exactly what you have to do to earn maximum points on your assignment. If there is anything you don’t understand in either the assignment or the rubric, be sure to contact your instructor for clarification before you write.
2, Watch the movie
This might seem like the absolute most basic thing that you need to do, but there is no way to write an effective paper about a movie without actually watching the movie. As you watch the movie, you will want to take notes about what you see, so keep a notebook or your laptop handy. For an effective paper, you’ll likely want to watch the movie twice, the first time to gain a general impression of the film and to experience the emotions that it seeks to evoke. For the second viewing, you should carefully explore the nuances of the film, taking detailed notes about the production design, pacing, themes, and other features that will be directly relevant to the question you will explore in your paper.
3, Research the movie
Once you have your initial impressions, and typically between your first and second viewings, you should begin to research the movie. One way to do so is to read reviews of the film to see what professional critics said. For older titles, particularly famous ones, there is likely also academic writing on the subject which will give you scholarly insight into the film. The most famous movies may even have books about them, either documenting their production or analyzing their impact. Similarly, you should read what the cast and crew had to say, both in contemporary interviews and in later recollections and memoirs. The more information that you have about the movie, the more insight you will have as you work to develop a thesis about the film.
4, Develop your thesis statement
In order to discuss your topic, you need to have a point of view about the movie. A point of view comes from developing your own idea about the film and its relationship to the essay question. Ask yourself what you can say that is unique or different. How does your take vary from those of other people who have also written about the movie? Your thesis should explain what your paper will demonstrate or prove, and it should be unique to you, reflecting your unique conclusions about the movie under discussion.
5, Outline your paper
Using your thesis statement as a guide, you need to outline your paper and carefully develop each of the main points you will use to support your thesis. An outline acts as a roadmap for your paper and lets you work through the structure and support before you start writing. This ultimately saves you time as you write because you always know what you need to discuss next and you won’t waste time with tangents that end up going nowhere. The more effort that you put into your outline before you write, the easier the writing process will be once you sit down to complete your essay.
6, Revise and proofread carefully
When you have finished the first draft of your paper, you aren’t done. The next steps are arguably the most important. You need to go back and carefully revise what you have written for clarity, accuracy, and to make sure it is easily understood. Every paper benefits from being revised, so think about your audience and how they will perceive your paper. Similarly, proofread at least twice to ensure that you catch grammar, punctuation, spelling, and syntax errors that might not be obvious on the first run-through.
7, Consider professional help
If you’ve tried to write a movie paper and are still coming up short, you can pay someone to help by contacting a company like WriteMyPaperHub and telling them to write your papers for you. Surely you may wonder: “Who will write my paper for me within some hours in an expert way?” Professionally written movie papers can give you insights you might never have thought of on your own. Online experts can write essays for you, helping to free you from writer’s block and giving you a model that you can use like an outline to help power through your toughest movie papers.
Final Words
We hope our expert guidelines provided by a team of professional academic writers will help with your struggle in preparing future reflection and reaction papers about a movie. Along with step-by-step tips you can find plenty of free samples and examples you can use as a model for your writing.