METACRITIQUE
WRITING GUIDELINES
GUIDE TO REVIEWING PLAY SCRIPTS AND PLAY PERFORMANCES
Submit on the Moodle / Turnitin Link
TEN PARAGRAPHS
Third Person in All Paragraphs
MARGINS:
STANDARD MARGINS. THE FIRST LINE OF EACH NEW PARAGRAPH COUNTS OFF 5 SPACES.
PAPER:
WHITE BOND STOCK.
FONT:
12 FONT: TIMES NEW ROMAN.
SPACING: (PROFESSORIAL DISCRETION)
SINGLE SPACE INSIDE PARAGRAPHS.
SINGLE SPACE BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS.
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USE CURRENT MLA 8.
PARAGRAPH:
INDENT EACH NEW PARAGRAGH 5 SPACES. BEGIN PARAGRAGH WITH
(P1), (P2), (P3), (P4), (P5), (P6), (P7), (P8), (P9), (P10).
LABELING MAKES IT EASIER TO READ WHEN MOODLE JUMBLES TEXT.
FORMAT:
THESE ARE FORMAL CRITICAL REVIEWS, NOT CREATIVE WRITING ASSIGNMENTS. WRITE IN THIRD PERSON.
USE YOUR OWN WORDS AND YOUR OWN THOUGHTS. DO NOT COPY ANOTHER WRITER'S IDEAS OR WORDING.
IF YOU DO USE ANOTHER’S WORDS – CITE THE AUTHOR!!!!
BE CREATIVE AND TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS.
BE PATIENT WITH YOURSELF AND BEGIN TO CRITIQUE.
EACH PARAGRAPH MUST WRITTEN AS FULL THOUGHTS--
BETWEEN 5 AND 15 SENTENCES.
A PERFECT PARAGRAPH CONTAINS EIGHT SENTENCES.
IF THE PAPER IS NOT IN FORMAT, YOU WILL EARN ZERO POINTS!
FOCUS:
READ EVERYTHING PROVIDED TO YOU FOR THE VIEWING. WATCH EACH VIEWING CAREFULLY. ALWAYS TAKE COPIOUS NOTES. CONNECT THE DOTS.
KEEP ASKING YOURSELF:
‘WHY THIS WORK?’
‘WHO CARES?’
‘IS IT RELEVANT?’
CLUSTER IDEAS IN YOUR HANDWRITTEN NOTES.
NEXT, OUTLINE YOUR IDEAS INTO THE PARAGRAPH FORMAT.
DRAFT A FIRST COPY. READ IT OUT LOUD. LET IT SIT OVERNIGHT. EDIT IT AND CRAFT THE SECOND DRAFT.
READ OUT OUD AGAIN. REFINE IT.
NEXT, GIVE THE THIRD DRAFT TO A FAMILY MEMBER, TEACHER, OR FRIEND.
ASK IF THE WRITING IS CLEAR AND MAKES SENSE TO THEM. ABSORB THEIR NOTES AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
THEN DRAFT A FINAL, FOURTH COPY.
WRITE IN FORMAT.
PROOF EVERYTHING A NUMBER OF TIMES.
THE POINT IS TO TAKE TIME WITH THE WRITING.
IF YOU TAKE THESE PRECAUTIONARY STEPS, YOU WILL DO EXTREMELY WELL!
HAVE FUN! APPLY YOURSELF! DO YOUR OWN WORK!
PROOF:
ALL WRITING IS TO BE DRAFTED, REVIEWED BY A FAMILY MEMBER, TEACHER, OR TRUSTED PEER, AND SUBMITTED FULLY PROOFED AND IN FORMAT ON MOODLE.
CLICK ON THE LINK PROVIDED IN EACH WEEK MODULE THAT WILL CONNECT YOU TO TURNITIN.
FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS AND TIMELINES ON THE MOODLE PAGE ONLY!
IF YOU WANT ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE, VISIT THE WRITING CENTER.
SUBMISSION:
PAPERS MUST BE SUBITTED AS PER THE SYLLABUS CALENDAR!
LATE PAPERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED OR COUNTED!
CITE:
EVERYTHING THAT IS NOT YOUR IDEA!
CITATION MODEL:
MLA 8 (SEE GUIDELINES IN WEB LINK).
PARAGRAPH ORDER PROTOCOL
(1-10)
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
PARAGRAPH 1 – Third person (No use of ‘I’ or ‘We’ or ‘Us’.)
ALL INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION INCLUDES THE NAME OF THE PLAY, DATE OF PUBLICATION (AND PRODUCTION PREMIERE), AND THE PLAYWRIGHT.
READ THE PLAY SCRIPT A FEW TIMES ON MULTIPLE LEVELS
AS PER THE PRITNER/WALTERS ANALYSIS PROTOCOL.
FOR THIS FIRST ANALYTICAL PARAGRAPH READ THE PLAY SPECIFICALLY FOR DIALOGUE, STAGE DIRECTIONS, AND OVERALL MOOD.
TAKE COPIOUS NOTES. ORGANIZE YOUR THOUGHTS.
NARRATIVIZE THE KEY ASPECTS OF THE UNIFYING DRAMATIC STYLE OF THE PLAY SCRIPT.
DO NOT WRITE IN BULLETS OF INFORMATION – DEVELOP A CLEAR AND REFINED ANALYTICAL NARRATIVE PARAGRAPH!
THIS PARAGRAPH IS THE BEGINNING INTRODUCTION OF THE PLAY TO THE READER, SO START WITH A STRONG BEGINNING AND PUSH YOURSELF TO THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT THE ELEMENTS OF THE PLAY, ESPECIALLY THE OVERALL DELIVERY OF THOUGHT, THEME, AND CONFLICT.
TAKE CARE TO EXPLICATE WHAT YOU WANT TO COMMUNICATE!
EXPLICATE MEANS TO ANALYZE, INTERPRET, AND EXPAIN FULLY.
GATHERING INFORMATION
PARAGRAPH 2 - Third person (No use of ‘I’ or ‘We’ or ‘Us’.)
TAKE NOTES ON THE GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE PLAY: TIME, PLACE AND VALUES.
CONSIDER HOW ‘POLITICS, ECONOMICS, RELIGION, ETHNICITY, FAMILY, AND CULTURAL VALUES AFFECT THE CHARACTERS’ THINKING, LANGUAGE AND BEHAVIOR.’
(READ COURSE READER: ANALYSIS OF DRAMA AND THEATRE, PRITNER, 2004, PPS. 3-4).
ALSO IDENTIFY HOW THE PLAY IS DELIVERED TO THE AUDIENCE.
IS IT IN A FORMAL PROSCENIUM THEATRE WITH A FOURTH WALL (STANDARD THEATRE)?
IS IT CIRCULAR (FLEXIBLE STAGING OR MODIFIED ARENA)?
IS IT SIMILAR IN DESIGN TO THE GREEK AND ROMAN ERAS?
IS IT OUTDOORS OR IN A SITE-SPECIFIC LOCATION?
NOTE THE ELEMENTS OF THE THEATRICAL SPECTACLE AND HOW ALL THE INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTS INTERACT WITH THE ACTORS, SINGERS AND DANCERS ON STAGE TO CREATE THE ENTIRE EFFECT.
LASTLY, HOW IS THE ENTIRE STAGE SCENOGRAPHY (COSTUMES, PROPS, STAGE DESIGN, LIGHTING DESIGN, SPECIAL EFFECTS, MEDIA) PRESENTED TO THE AUDIENCE?
ORGANIZE THESE OBSERVATIONS INTO DEFINITIVE STATEMENTS AND WRITE WITH CONCRETE IMPRESSIONS WHICH ORGANIZE THE FACTS OF THE PLAY’S SCRIPT AS YOU HAVE OBSERVED THEM AS UNIQUE, SEPARATE ELEMENTS—AS WELL AS THE OVERALL THEATRICAL EVENT.
INTERPRETATION
PARAGRAPH 3 - Third person (No use of ‘I’ or ‘We’ or ‘Us’.)
FURTHER ANALYZE THE SITUATIONAL CONTEXT OF THE PLAY BY CONCENTRATING ON SPECIFIC CHARACTERS IN DEPTH.
TAKE NOTE OF PARTICULAR ASPECTS OF THE PLAY’S DYNAMIC.
COORDINATE A LIST OF OBSERVATIONS THAT STAND OUT TO YOU BASED ON THE FACTS OF THE PLAY’S DIALOGUE AS EXPRESSED BY EACH CHARACTER.
PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO WHAT EACH CHARACTER SAYS AND TO WHAT THOSE CHARACTERS SAY ABOUT OTHER CHARACTERS YOU ARE ANALYZING.
DOES THE DIALOGUE CHANGE THROUGHOUT THE PLAY BASED ON THE CONFLICT THAT EMERGES?
PAY ATTENTION TO THE RISING AND FALLING LEVELS OF TENSION AND RELEASE.
IDENTIFY EACH CHARACTER’S COMPLEXITIES, CONTRADICTIONS, UNIQUE ATTRIBUTES, CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES, AND LABEL THE TYPE OF PERSON THE CHARACTER REPRESENTS AND SYMBOLIZES.
SYNTHESIS
PARAGRAPH 4 – Third person (No use of ‘I’ or ‘We’ or ‘Us’.)
ANALYZE THE DRAMATIC CONFLICT AND HOW IT MANIFESTS THROUGH THE PLAY’S MOVEMENT OF DRAMATIC ACTION (ARC). TRACK HOW THE HERO (PROTAGONOST) JOURNEYS THROUGH THE PLAY’S EXPOSITION (THE WORLD IN BALANCE), TO THE INCITING ACTION (THE CONFLICT GENERATED BY THE ANTAGONIST), TO THE FIRST POINT OF COMPLICATION (THE CONFLICT HEIGHTENS BETWEEN PROTAGONIST AND ANTAGONIST), MOVING ONTO THE SUBSEQUENT COMPLICATIONS, THEN ONTO THE MAJOR REVERSAL OF FORTUNE THROUGH A SIGNIFICANT POINT OF DISCOVERY THE PROTOGONIST LEARNS, WHICH BRINGS ABOUT A POINT OR RECOGNITION (THIS IS A PIVOTAL MOMENT IN THE PLAY WHEN KEY INFORMATION IS REVEALED, AND A GREATER AWARENESS COMES TO THE PROTAGONIST). ONCE THAT KNOWLEDGE IS GAINED, FOLLOW HOW THE PROTAGONIST MOVES INTO THE CRISIS POINT (A POINT OF NO RETURN). THIS CONFRONTATION LEADS TO THE CLIMAX OF THE PLAY (THE HIGHEST POINT OF TENSION WHEN A COMPLETE CLASH OF FORCES BETWEEN THE PROTAGONST AND ANTAGONIST OCCURS), WHICH ONCE FOUGHT AND WON, DELIVERS THE CONFLICT OF THE PLAY RECONCILED. THE FINAL CONCLUSION RENDERS THE WORLD THAT HAS FALLEN OUT OF BALANCE INTO A DENOUMENT (NEWLY RESTORED WORLD IN BALANCE). CHANGE HAS OCCURRED TO EVERY CHARACTER AND THE WORLD IS NOT AS IT WAS. (REVIEW JAMES BONNET’S HANDOUTS FOR DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF MYTH AND STORY STRUCTURE AND THE HERO’S JOURNEY)
EXPRESS A FORMAL, STUDIED OPINION AND EMOTIONAL RESPONSE TO THE PLAY’S STRUCTURE.
SYNTHESIZE AND ANALYZE HOW THIS DRAMATIC SCRIPT RESOLVES ITS CONFLICT
IN THIRD PERSON.
PRAISE AND/OR CRITICIZE.
SUMMARY OF FORMAL ANALYTICAL OPINION
PARAGRAPH 5 - Third person. (No ‘I’ or ‘We’ or ‘Us’.)
SUMMARIZE AND DISTILL WHAT THE PLAY SCRIPT IS ABOUT IN A DIFFERENT AND MORE CONCISE WAY THAN THE ABOVE ANALYTICAL PARAGRAPHS.
DEBRIEF—AT A DISTANCE—WITH AN EXPRESSED AND STUDIED FORMAL IMPRESSION ABOUT THE LAYERS OF THE PLAY’S THEMES, CHARACTER’S, AND DRAMATIC ACTIONS, WHAT YOU THINK IS ORIGINAL ABOUT THE OVERALL CONTENT OF THE PLAY’S SITUATIONAL CONTEXT, AND HOW IT AFFECTS THE READER. COMPLETE THIS EXPLICATION WITH AN ARTISTIC, QUOTE, OR PHILOSOPHICAL STATEMENT FROM THE PLAY AND QUOTE IT IN WORKS CITED.
NEXT SECTION IS THE PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
FOCUS: READ EVERYTHING PROVIDED TO YOU FOR THE PERFORMANCE VIEWING.
WATCH THE FILM PERFORMANCES A COUPLE OF TIMES
AND WATCH THEM CAREFULLY.
TAKE COPIOUS NOTES.
CONNECT THE DOTS.
KEEP ASKING YOURSELF:
‘WHY THIS WORK?’
‘WHO CARES?’
‘IS IT RELEVANT?’
CLUSTER IDEAS IN YOUR HANDWRITTEN NOTES.
OUTLINE YOUR IDEAS INTO THE PARAGRAPH FORMAT.
DRAFT A FIRST COPY. READ IT OUT LOUD. LET IT SIT OVERNIGHT. EDIT IT AND CRAFT THE SECOND DRAFT. READ OUT LOUD AGAIN. REFINE IT. ASK A PARENT, TEACHER OR FRIEND TO READ THE THIRD DRAFT AND GIVE NOTES. ABSORB THEIR NOTES AND RECOMMEDNATIONS.
THEN DRAFT A FINAL, FOURTH COPY. WRITE IN FORMAT.
PROOF THE FINAL DRAFT AT LEAST A COUPLE OF TIMES.
REMEMBER THIS IS A PROCESS!
PROOF: ALL DRAFT WRITING IS TO BE IN THE ABOVE ORDER OF PARAGRAPHS, EDITED, AND REWRITTEN FOR PUNCTUATION, GRAMMAR, SPELLING, CITATIONALITY, QUALITY OF ANALYSIS, ORIGINALITY, ACCURACY OF DETAILS, FORMAT, EXPLICATION, AND CLARITY OF THOUGHT.
PERFORMANCE DETAILS
PARAGRAPH 6 – Third person (No use of ‘I’ or ‘We’ or ‘Us’.)
ALL INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION:
THE NAME OF THE PLAY; PLAYWRIGHT, DIRECTOR; PROFESSIONAL VENUE, ETC.
WHEN RELEVANT, NAME THE DESIGNER, CHOREOGRAPHER, LEADING ACTORS:
EG: Violet Weston (Meryl Streep); Beverly Weston (Sam Shepard);
PRODUCER, THE NAME OF THE THEATRE.
(WHEN APPLICABLE TO A FILM REVIEW: THE DATE THE FILM WAS VIEWED).
NARRATIVIZE THE OVERALL STYLE, INTENT AND THEMATIC FOCUS OF THE WORK VIEWED.
NO BULLETS OF INFORMATION – ONLY A NARRATIVE PARAGRAPH! THIS PARAGRAPH IS THE BEGINNING EXPRESSION, TO THE READER SO WRITE WITH DEEP THOUGHT, QUESTIONS, AND FINESSE.
TAKE CARE TO EXPLICATE WHAT YOU WANT TO COMMUNICATE!
MACRO - OVERVIEW
ANALYZE, INTERPRET, AND EXPAIN.
PARAGRAPH 7 - Third person (No use of ‘I’ or ‘We’ or ‘Us’.)
THE UNIVERSAL (GENERAL) INFORMATION REGARDING THE CONTENT OF THE PLAY
(AND / OR FILM, IF AVAILABLE AND REQUESTED).
DO NOT SUMMARIZE THE PLOT!
COVER ONLY ONE OF THE MAJOR ELEMENTS OF ARISTOTLE’S POETICS BELOW:
PLOT: SEQUENCE OF DRAMATIC ACTIONS THAT PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STORY AND THE RELATIONSHIPS OF THE PEOPLE INVOLVED.
PLOT CAN BE LINEAR, CIRCULAR, PARALLEL, ASYNCHRONOUS, ETC.
IT IS UNDERSTOOD THROUGH TIME AND THE DIRECTION OF THE SEQUENCE OF ACTIONS.
CHARACTER: PERSONALITIES OF THE INDIVIDUALS IN THE STORY. CHARACTERS ARE ALSO SYMBOLIC AND REPRESENT ASPECTS OF OUR SELF, IDENTITY, CULTURE, SOCIETY, MORALS AND MORES OF THE TIME THE PLAY IS DEMONSTRATING.
THEME: THE MESSAGE, MEANING, VALUE, AND PURPOSE OF THE WORK.
THE SOUL AND SPIRIT OF THE WORK.
MUSIC: INSTRUMENTAL, CULTURAL AND PERSONAL RHYTHMS OF THE PLAY OR PEOPLE WHO POPULATE THE WORLD OF THE PLAY. THIS IS THE UNIVERSAL HEARTBEAT THAT PULSES IN THE WORK.
DICTION: BOTH VERBAL AND NON-VERBAL MODES OF COMMUNICATION.
THOUGHT AND FEELING.
THE MIND AND BODY OF THE WORK MANIFESTED IN PERSON.
SPECTACLE: THE VISUAL CONTENT OF THE PLAY
(INCLUDE FILM, IF APPLICABLE).
SPECIFICALLY, ALL ENVIRONMENTAL STAGING THAT INCLUDES PROPS, STAGE SETTING, LIGHTING AND COSTUMES, SCENIC DESIGN ELEMENTS, AND PHYSICAL ELEMENTS IN RELATIONSHIP TO ONE ANOTHER
(MISE-EN-SCENE).
CONVENTION: THE ACCEPTABLE MORALITY, CUSTOMS OR IMPLIED STYLE
AND MODE OF BEHAVIOR GIVEN TIME FRAME, MILIEU AND LOCATION OF PLAY.
THIS PARAGRAPH IS ABOUT REFLECTING ON THE BIG PICTURE AND SHOULD REFLECT WHAT MADE THE WORK INTERESTING.
MICRO - PARTICULAR ANALYSIS
PARAGRAPH 8 - Third person (No use of ‘I’ or ‘We’ or ‘Us’.)
SELECT A PARTICULAR (SPECIFIC) ELEMENT THAT STOOD OUT TO YOU AND WHY
AND USE THE SAME LIST AS ABOVE IN P 2,
BUT SELECT A DIFFERENT CATEGORY TO EXPLORE.
REFLECT IN DETAIL IN THIS PARAGRAPH HOW THE WORK IS EXEMPLARY AND UNIQUE.
FOR INSTANCE, HOW DID THE MUSIC WORKED AS A MOTIF?
WHEN, WHERE AND WHY IT WAS EFFECTIVE?
WAS A SIGNATURE STYLE WAS ESTABLISHED?
CONTRAST AND COMPARISON
PARAGRAPH 9 – Third person (No use of ‘I’ or ‘We’ or ‘Us’.)
CONTRAST AND COMPARE THE PLAY SCRIPT
WITH THE PLAY PRODUCTION.
(ADD THE FILM VERSION, IF REQUESTED OR APPLICABLE).
IDENTIFY WITH SPECIFIC DETAILS BOTH THE
SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES OF THE TWO FORMS: PLAY SCRIPT AND LIVE PLAY PERFORMANCE .
ANALYZE WHAT WORKS AND WHY IN EACH GENRE: SCRIPT AND PERFORMANCE.
SUMMARY DISTILLATION
PARAGRAPH 10 - Third person (No use of ‘I’ or ‘We’ or ‘Us’.)
SUMMARIZE AND DISTILL WHAT THE PLAY PERFORMANCE IS ABOUT IN A DIFFERENT AND IN A MORE CONCISE WAY THAN ABOVE.
RECOUNT WHAT WAS EXPERIENCED, WHAT WAS FELT.
ANALYZE THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THE WORK IN TOTAL (SCRIPT AND PERFORMANCE).
COMPLETE THIS METACRITIQUE WITH A FINAL ARTISTIC, QUOTE OR PHILOSOPHICAL STATEMENT – CITE!
(ALL IN THIRD PERSON).
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ONCE AGAIN!
FOCUS: READ EVERYTHING PROVIDED TO YOU FOR THE PERFORMANCE VIEWING.
WATCH CAREFULLY.
TAKE COPIOUS NOTES.
CONNECT THE DOTS.
KEEP ASKING YOURSELF:
‘WHY THIS WORK?’
‘WHO CARES?’
‘IS IT RELEVANT?’
CLUSTER IDEAS IN YOUR HANDWRITTEN NOTES.
OUTLINE YOUR IDEAS INTO THE PARAGRAPH FORMAT.
DRAFT A FIRST COPY. READ IT OUT LOUD. LET IT SIT OVERNIGHT. EDIT IT AND CRAFT THE SECOND DRAFT. READ OUT OUD AGAIN. REFINE IT.
ASK A PARENT, TEACHER OR FRIEND TO READ THE THIRD DRAFT AND GIVE NOTES.
ABSORB THEIR NOTES AND RECOMMEDNATIONS.
DRAFT A FINAL, FOURTH COPY.
WRITE IN FORMAT.
PROOF EACH DRAFT A COUPLE OF TIMES
AND
YOU WILL DO EXTREMELY WELL!
PROOF: ALL DRAFT WRITING IS TO BE EDITED AND REWRITTEN.
CITE: EVERYTHING THAT IS NOT YOUR IDEA OR COMMON KNOWLEDGE—INCLUDING FILMS AND BOOKS!
CITATION MODEL: MLA 8
Refer to Owl Purdue
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
FORMAT: IF THE PAPER IS NOT IN FORMAT,
ZERO POINTS WILL BE GIVEN!
REFER TO THIS DOCUMENT FREQUENTLY.
HAVE FUN! APPLY YOURSELF! WORK SMART!
CITE: EVERYTHING THAT IS NOT YOUR IDEA OR COMMON KNOWLEDGE—INCLUDING FILMS AND BOOKS!
CITATION MODEL: MLA 8
Refer to Owl Purdue
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
FORMAT: IF THE PAPER IS NOT IN FORMAT, POINTS WILL BE DEDUCTED.
~
If the paper submitted has ignored these guidelines - no points will be awarded.
~
DOUBLE SPACE
(Unless otherwise noted by Professor Larkin)
EDIT
PROOF
READ OUT LOUD
NO CONTRACTIONS
ITALICIZE TITLES
REFER TO THIS DOCUMENT FREQUENTLY.
HAVE FUN! APPLY YOURSELF! WORK SMART!