WORLD THEATRE WRITING GUIDELINES

Objectives in Writing

Audience:
Though the instructor will grade the assignments, you should write with your classmates in mind as the intended audience. Thus, you are trying to inform others who lack past experience in theatre studies about cultural developments that you perceive to be significant to an understanding of theatre history.

GRADING FOR ALL ASSIGNMENTS:

A:        Well organized; sentences smooth, carefully crafted, tight, not wordy; no errors in punctuation, spelling, grammar; words chosen with precision; informal or dialect used only when appropriate; essay avoids triteness and generalizations; language fresh and vivid;

B:         Organized, but paragraph structure sometimes disjointed; a few awkward passages and errors in mechanics; language sometimes general, lacking freshness and precision;

C:        Not well organized; paragraphs often disunited; writing is wordy, general, imprecise, or trite; sentences awkward, but meaning is clear; errors in mechanics but not highly distracting.

D:        Poorly organized; meaning not clear in many sentences due to poor construction; words imprecise, trite, vague; but essay is understandable.

F:         Lacks a thesis; language muddled and unclear; errors are distracting.

OUTLINE IDENTIFICATIONS :

Purpose: These short identifications are written and spoken separately. As a thirty-second presentation, they are designed to foster understanding by helping you to synthesize the textbook readings and to shape your perceptions of the significance of one person’s contribution into clear expressions that the class can learn from. Refer to example under Examination Writing below. Do not copy phrases from the text!

Process: You will be assigned one number that corresponds to items on each of the four outlines. When the chapter with these items are discussed, you are responsible for composing a statement that identifies the item and offers your insight on what makes the person, theatre, play, etc. a significant contribution to theatre history. The speeches are to be spoken from your desk; the written identification can be handed in on the same page as your Chapter Questions.

ONE-PAGE PAPERS

Purpose:
One-Page Papers help students to shape their reflection on an area of theatre history into a tightly crafted critical thinking essay. The paper is restricted to one page in order to force the student to “rewrite” their composition into an economical expression that uses strong organization, logical progession, meaningful paragraphing, independent thought, engagement with the topic, and readable, unambiguous sentences that are virtually free of errors in grammar, usage, spelling, or mechanics. These essays are designed to foster understanding by helping you to synthesize the textbook readings and to shape your perceptions into justified conclusions. Do not copy phrases from the text!

Process:
According to due dates set in the Daily Schedule, students hand in (or email to BDELUCA) a typed essay that must fit onto a single page (approx. 300 words). Each paper deals with one of the two main eras in the course - Classical or Renaissance Theatre.

Each paper needs a focused topic and a central claim. The general topic of the paper can examine the cultural foundations within an era of theatre, the architecture of physical theatres, the theory or practice of a major figure (Aeschuylus, Plautus, Serlio, Marlowe, etc.), or reconstruct a production in its historical context (The Agamemnon, Everyman, Hamlet, etc.). This topic should also be “twice-narrowed,” (for instance, rather than a paper simply on Sophocles, it would be better focused by a look at Sophocles’ use of language in Antigone). The central claim should be your statement about this narrowed topic (for instance, Sophocles uses language to create a dangerous, violent world). The body of the paper thus becomes an organized argument using evidence to prove this claim.

Structure:
The title of the paper should clearly reveal its intent and suggest the claim of the paper (e.g. “David Garrick’s Contribution to Naturalistic Acting,” or “Euripides as a Playwright of Protest,” or “Language of Terror in Antigone,” etc.). The first paragraph should concisely express the claim, using definition, comparison, or description to help your reader understand the point you are making. The next paragraphs need to logical use evidence from your readings that help to support the claim you are making. Finally, the concluding paragraph can summarize or draw new significance to your topic.

EXAMINATION WRITING

Identifications:
An Identification question asks you to describe a person, concept, or development in theatre history. Strive for three identifying perceptions:
1) a general category, such as "Aeschylus was a Greek    playwright of 5th Century B.C. Athens;"
2) a focused insight on the main contribution, such as "His   plays were myth-based trilogies, like The Oresteia, that   focused on universal justice and the values of Athenian   society;" and
3) a specific detail and its significance, such as "He reduced the   size of the chorus, and introduced the second actor,   which expanded the potential for dramatic conflict."
Refer to the class outlines for examples of items that would be used for identification questions on exams.

Essays:
Exam essays have precise demands. Descriptions require specific detail; Analyses ask you to take something apart; Definitions determine the essential quality or meaning of a term; and Explanations need definitions and analysis.

Essays should use paragraphs that are focused on a single idea and transitions that help the reader see the organization of the essay. Avoid the "file dump" approach where you attempt to tell everything you know about the topic. Opening paragraphs should avoid process openings ("When I read the textbook ..."), use informal but vivid language, and come right to the point. Concluding paragraphs should summarize or state conclusions.

Work for coherence and precision; avoid inflation, repetition, and use of the passive voice; stay alert for some common problems - thin paraphrasing, rushing without sufficient analysis and care, stuffy or cute tone, problems with mechanics (grammar, spelling, and punctuation), and awkward sentence constructions. Essays are expected to include 150 to 200 words (about three paragraphs).

Examples:
The following questions are examples of typical essays you might find on an exam in theatre history:

RESEARCH PAPER

Purpose:
The research paper for World Theatre (THE 355 or THE 357) is designed to give students an opportunity to 1) explore the expression of a particular culture through its theatre productions, 2) to develop a profound understanding of one area of theatre production, and 3) to enhance their writing proficiency by the use of a semester-long discipline in paper development. This process is intended to help students develop a paper that is accurate in research, well organized in structure, clear in comprehension, and creative in its intention.

Creative Papers:
Students are encouraged to pursue imaginative ways to motivate the paper's purpose by writing as or about an imagined historical character writing his/her diary, journal, business letter, letter to the editor, letter to personal friend, autobiography, play, news story, interview, etc.). One student wrote as the daughter of Aeschylus and described his productions at the City Dionysia in 5th Century B.C. Greece. Another used a diary format to present the observations of an imagined actress from Restoration England. Still another analyzed three different Hamlets from different eras (Richard Burbage's, David Garrick's, and Mel Gibson's). Each paper, however, organized, summarized, and enhanced understanding of their topics with extensive use of analysis and documented sources in order to provide a refreshing way to perceive theatre history.

Process:

2) Gather a bibliography and begin reading. Take notes; ask yourself questions (e.g. what is unique about this playwright, actor, etc.). Try summarizing what you've read in a paragraph.

3) Narrow your topic and construct a Central Idea for the Paper (Thesis). Write a two or three sentence summation of what you attempt to accomplish and what you will focus on in the paper.

4) Draw up an organizational scheme - either an outline or a concept map (clustered ideas represented visually on a piece of paper). The purpose of an outline is to enable you to think critically through your topic and organize it logically before you begin to write.

You may choose three main points to support your thesis or central idea. For instance, if the central idea of your paper is to describe the significance of the work of the British stage director, Peter Brook, you might structure three main points: A) His theory on theatre and acting and the sources he drew from, B) Some of his most significant productions, and C) His influence on other artists, especially at the Royal Shakespeare Co. in England). Each of these main points will be supported by your evidence (so, you might quote from Brook's "The Empty Space" to support Main Point #1, you could refer to magazine articles about his shows for Main Point #2, and you could quote a director from an interview about Brook for Main Point #3.

5) Share your outline with the class (see Daily Schedule). Present your central idea in the opening and your main points for the progression of the paper.

6) Write the Rough Draft. Mechanics are not the primary concern here (spelling, punctuation, footnotes, etc). Stick with your outline but let anything roll out onto the paper, even your own opinions and feelings about what you're speaking about. Do not edit or look back (in fact, refuse to stop until you reach page five). It will be rough, but it will document your impulse to write the paper and inform you about what is important in your paper.

7) Write the Final Draft. After receiving feedback from the instructor and the class, focus your final draft on organization (does each paragraph state one single idea?) and mechanics (grammar, spelling, punctuation, and documentation).

Specifics:
The research paper is a 7 to 10 page, typewritten paper which utilizes at least 3 to 5 works as sources and includes at least 3 to 5 references (quotes) to those sources. The paper can focus on any area of theatre history prior to 1980. Grades for these papers are determined by the student's adherence to deadlines, thoroughness of research, writing ability, and clarity of logic (refer to grade scales).

The format for the paper should reflect the writer's intention for clarity. Use a new black ribbon on white, 8 1/2 X 11" paper, with a clear, 12 point font without italic style. The margins at top, bottom and sides of the text need to be exactly one inch, no more or less. Double-space the paper, including the text, quotations, and bibliography. USE PAGE NUMBERING.

Mechanics:
Students must use the proper mechanics of good writing: 1) Spelling - no excuse for misspelled words or typos; 2) Punctuation - learn the required uses of commas, colons, semi-colons, hyphens and quotation marks and use them consistently (Commas and periods are placed inside quotation marks; all others go outside; indent quotes over four lines in length; underline only larger works like books, plays, newspapers, magazines, films, paintings, operas, and ballet but use quotation marks for smaller works like articles in a newspaper or essays in a book).