Play Script Literary Analysis Guidelines

WRITING PROTOCOLS
GUIDE TO REVIEWING PLAY SCRIPTS
Submit as Hard Copy, via Email, and on Moodle

FIVE PARAGRAPHS

Third Person in All Paragraphs, except Paragraph 4

MARGINS: STANDARD MARGINS.  THE FIRST LINE OF EACH NEW PARAGRAPH COUNTS OFF 5 SPACES.

PAPER: USE ONLY WHITE BOND STOCK.

FONT: 10 - 12 FONT:  TIMES NEW ROMAN.

SPACING: SINGLE SPACE INSIDE PARAGRAPHS.  

SINGLE SPACE BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS…

THIS IS FOR EASE OF READING ONLINE.

PARAGRAPH: INDENT EACH NEW PARAGRAGH 5 SPACES. BEGIN PARAGRAGH WITH (P1), (P2), (P3), (P4), (P5). 
IT MAKES IT EASIER TO READ IN CASE THE TEXT GETS JUMBLED IN MOODLE.

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.  
BE CREATIVE AND TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS.  
BE PATIENT WITH YOURSELF AND BEGIN TO CRITIQUE. 
EACH PARAGRAPH MUST BE IN FULL THOUGHTS—BETWEEN 5 AND 15 SENTENCES. 
A PERFECT PARAGRAPH CONTAINS EIGHT SENTENCES. 
IF THE PAPER IS NOT IN FORMAT, YOU WILL LOSE 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!

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.  
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 MODELS: MLA / APA / CHICAGO

(SEE GUIDELINES IN SYLLABUS AND WEB LINK).
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/

~

PARAGRAPH ORDER PROTOCOL   

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. 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. (COURSE READER: ANALYSIS OF DRAMA AND THEATRE).

ALSO IDENTIFY HOW THE PLAY IS DELIVERED TO THE AUDIENCE.  IS IT IN A FORMAL PROSCENIUM THEATRE WITH A FOURTH WALL? OR IS IT CIRCULAR (OR A MODIFIED ARENA)?  IS IT SIMILAR IN DESIGN TO THE GREEK AND ROMAN ERAS? OR 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 IS PRESENTED TO THE AUDIENCE? ORGANIZE THESE QUESTIONS INTO ANSWERS AND WRITE WITH DEFINITIVE IMPRESSIONS AND FACTS AS YOU HAVE OBSERVED THEM AS SEPARATE ELEMENTS AND AS AN OVERALL WHOLE 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 THE CHARACTERS IN DEPTH. TAKE NOTE OF THE FACTS OF THE PLAY’S DYNAMIC. COODINATE A LIST OF QUESTIONS THAT EMERGE FOR YOU BASED ON THE FACTS OF THE PLAY’S DIALOGUE ABOUT EACH CHARACTER. PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO WHAT DOES EACH CHARACTER SAY? AND TO WHAT THE OTHER CHARACTERS SAY ABOUT THE SPECIFIC CHARACTER 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. START TO LOCATE EACH CHARACTER’S COMPLEXITIES, CONTRADICTIONS, UNIQUE ATTRIBUTES, CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES, AND THE TYPE OF PERSON.

SUMMARY OF PERSONAL OPINION

PARAGRAPH 4 - First person.

(At long last you can write in a conversational tone, using ‘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 YOUR STUDIED IMPRESSION ABOUT THE LAYERS OF THE PLAY’S THEMES, CHARACTER’S, AND DRAMATIC ACTIONS, WHAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THE OVERALL CONTENT OF THE PLAY’S SITUATIONAL CONTEXT, AND HOW IT HAS AFFECTED YOU AS A READER. COMPLETE YOUR ANALYSIS WITH A FINAL ARTISTIC, QUOTE, OR PHILOSOPHICAL STATEMENT ABOUT THE PLAY. QUOTE WHEN NECESSARY.

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. THEN 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. 

SYNTHESIS

PARAGRAPH 5 – 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 RESOLVED. THE FINAL CONCLUSION RENDERS THE WORLD OUT OF BALANCE INTO A NEWLY RESTORED WORLD IN BALANCE. CHANGE HAS OCCURRED TO EVERY CHARACTER AND THE WORLD IS NOT AS IT WAS. (REVIEW JAMES BONNET HANDOUTS FOR DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF STORY STRUCTURE AND THE HERO’S JOURNEY)

EXPRESS YOUR STUDIED OPINION AND EMOTIONAL RESPONSE TO THE PLAY’S STRUCTURE.  SYNTHESIZE AND ANALYZE HOW THIS DRAMATIC SCRIPT RESOLVES ITS CONFLICT.  PRAISE AND CRITICIZE.

​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.

MARK: IDENTIFY THE BEGINNING OF EACH PARAGRAPH WITH

(P1), (P2), (P3), (P4), (P5).

CITE: EVERYTHING THAT IS NOT YOUR IDEA OR COMMON KNOWLEDGE—INCLUDING FILMS AND BOOKS!

CITATION MODEL: MLA / APA / CHICAGO

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.  

REFER TO THIS DOCUMENT FREQUENTLY.

HAVE FUN!  APPLY YOURSELF! WORK SMART!