Essay Topic Selection and Annotated Source

Essay Topic Selection Instructions

First, answer the questions below in a thoughtful and thorough manner.

Use Standard English. In total, your answers should be approximately 350 to 500 words.

1. Which topic have you selected to write on for the final essay? Why? What is interesting about it?

2. Please explain your working thesis. What are you planning on arguing in your final assignment? Remember: a thesis is an opinion about an idea. It should be bold, defensible and contestable. Furthermore, a thesis is never a question or a cliché.

3. Now, please list between 3 and 4 supporting points you will make that will back up this thesis.

4. Are you planning on referencing any of the theorists we have studied thus far? If so, which ones? (Hint: you should be engaging with their ideas…)

5. Will there be any particular methodology you plan on deploying? Close reading? A feminist and/or gender studies lens? Film criticism? Sociological? Cultural studies?

6. What do you hypothesize you will conclude at the end of your paper? Keep in mind that your projected conclusion will likely change once you have written the final paper.

Part B: Annotated Source

Secondly, you must find and annotate ONE ( 1 ) secondary source that your paper will rely upon as supporting evidence. (The final paper must contain two sources.) This source cannot be listed on our addendum, and it must be academic or scholarly in nature (e.g. a journal article or a chapter from a book). References to films, television series, or songs are not acceptable. If you are unsure, clear it with me first.

List the secondary source using a proper MLA Works Cited entry. If you’re confused about how to format the entry, please visit the MLA Guide on the Seneca Libraries website:

Provide a summary of the source. The summary should be about 4 to 5 sentences. Then, evaluate your source. What does the author claim? How does it relate to your topic? Are there specific strengths to the piece? What about weaknesses?

Your full annotation (including the summary) should be approximately a paragraph.

Final Essay Topics (Choose One) -

1. In his book Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?, Timothy Caulfield claims “[b]oth the interest in celebrities and their influence seem to be intensifying. We need to gain a greater appreciation of the long-term implications of that trend.” Defend or refute Caulfield’s statement using examples, and speculate on causes and/or implications.

2. H. L. Mencken is credited as having quipped, “A celebrity is one who is known to many persons he is glad he doesn’t know.” How do we know stars? Analyze the dynamic between celebrities and the public, and comment upon various instances of identification, projection, and/or desire.

3. I’m sorry—just so sorry. A recent phenomenon has been the increase in public apologies from well-known figures. What can we learn from celebrities’ statements of regret? Why are they significant? Be sure to provide several examples to support your argument. Do NOT merely summarize a celebrity’s apology: you must analyze it.

4. How powerful is celebrity? We’ve studied a number of different theorists who have considered the connection between power and celebrity (e.g. Alberoni). What is your perspective on the matter? Do stars have the ability to, as Graeme Turner puts it, “change the culture”? In which ways? Provide specific examples.

Please Note: Any evidence of students using the uncredited words or ideas of others, summary tools, article spinning or working with others to develop their assignment in part or in whole will be considered plagiarism and will be submitted to the English and Liberal Studies Academic Integrity Committee for review. The work that you submit should be entirely your own.