Observational Analysis Of The Movie The Silence Of The Lambs

Guidelines for Writing about Film

Please read and follow these guidelines carefully. Failure to do so will result in lowering of your grade.

When you are writing about movies, you sometimes encounter concerns that emerge less frequently in other subjects. This handout alerts you to some of these concerns and how to handle them, as well as to my preferences for mechanics in your papers. As film scholars, it is your responsibility to know and understand these mechanics for writing about film, and essay grades will be affected by how well you follow the guidelines.

Be sure to consult this handout in preparing your formal papers—and in preparation for your examinations as well.

Film Titles

Titles of films should always be underlined or italicized (consistently one way or the other) and properly capitalized, whether they are included in your paper's title or referred to in your text.

NEVER PUT TITLES IN QUOTATION MARKS.

Also, you must make sure you are writing your film titles correctly. Getting the title wrong is sloppy and unforgivable when writing about the film. If you are unsure of the spelling, look at IMDB.com for help.

Although the female roles in Being John Malkovich are strong ones, the movie still focuses primarily on male fantasies and needs.

First Mention of Film Titles - Citing the Last Name of the Director and the Year of Release.

Always give the name of the director and the release date of films you discuss upon the first mention of the film's title. For example, “In The Graduate (Nichols, 1967) . . . “

This is a very important element of writing about film, and if you do not do this, you will have points taken off. You only have to mention the last name of the director and the year of release on the first mention of the title.

All later mentions of the title do not need to do this.