Romeo and Juliet Film Study: Textual Analysis
Essay Revision Process
Step 1: Write Intro. & Conclusion.
Introduction:
Hook: Choose one approach:
Ask a question.
Provide a quote that links to the play’s theme or your message.
Offer a statement that presents a universal condition (applies to all)
Background of the play: brief summary of plot, characters, and action
Introduction to versions of the films: directors, years, scenes youve chosen
Thesis – last sentence of Intro. – map for essay
Film versions
Opinion: more effective, clear, powerful, etc.
Why/How? Because statement. Provide a strong viewpoint.
Conclusion:
Restate Thesis in a new way.
Revisit main ideas in TSs. Shift your mindset to move out of specifics & into general comments. Consider: What do these film adaptations teach us about the human condition (life, trust, alliances/friendships, love, death, etc.)
Strategy: I like to make a list of the key words in my TSs & then write about them.
3. End with a message. Give closure to your argument.
Step 2. Organize essay: Introduction, Body Paragraph #1, Body Paragraph #2, & Conclusion
Step 3. Revise essay.
Evidence
When you describe a scene, provide some of the following details:
What is happening?
Who is involved? How so?
What purpose does the scene serve?
What mood is presented?
How does the scene impact the viewer?
Why/ how or is it effective?
Include film techniques & descriptions (What do you want the reader to notice?) such as…
o Setting (time period & place)
o Costume choices (design, colors, accessories)
o Lighting
o Camera framing/angles
o The actors presentation of their characters (delivery of lines, expression,
actions, choices made by actors, interaction with other characters)
* Give details.
Reasoning
Review the texts Theme & the Message that you are sending.
What purpose does the scene serve in the larger context of the story? Does it:
o Emphasize how quickly and easily Romeo and Juliet fall in love?
o Highlight the youth and inexperience of the couple?
o Illustrate the intensity of the hatred between the Capulets and the Montagues?
o Promote the secrecy, impulsivity, and danger of Juliet and Romeos decisions?
o Showcase the tragedy of their ill-fated timing?
o Something else?
You will need multiple sentences of Reasoning in the paragraph to fully explain your thinking.
Mechanics: Have you …
Spell checked in a program other than Google Docs?
Used capital letters at the start of each sentence, for proper nouns (characters names), & in the text title too?
Read the text aloud or in your head?
Italicized the title of the film?
Checked how many sentences begin in the same ways?
Varied the beginnings by using prepositional phrases? (During, In the street, While)
Helpful Resources:
Google Slides on argumentative paragraph structure–TS, CD, CM, etc.
Google Slides on Introductions, Conclusions, and MLA
