Essay on the movie, The Killing Fields (Cambodian genocide);
. Do not summarize the story of the film. Discuss the major political theme(s) (e.g., revolution) of the film and analyze how the theme is addressed in the film.
Focus on the political aspects of the film. Do not include discussions on issues irrelevant to political science (e.g., acting performance, film director skills, background music).
Make sure to use at least two scholarly journal articles. You may use journalistic articles (e.g., news articles) in addition to scholarly journal articles. Also, academic books/book chapters are fine but do not cite any textbooks.
Format
. Your film review must be roughly 1,000 words (double spaced, 12 size, Times New Roman).
. MLA Format
. Avoid over-quoting. Quote only a unique phrase or sentence that cannot be rephrased. As a rule, paraphrase sentences and/or phrases instead of quoting them. Unnecessary or lengthy quotations will negatively affect your exam grade.
. Avoid lengthy paragraphs.
. You need to maintain academic tone.
. Don’t use exaggeration or hyperbole. Don’t make an emotional appeal to the reader. (e.g., tremendous, horrible, outrageous)
. Don’t use colloquialisms or similes. (e.g., solid as a rock)
. Don’t use qualifiers. (e.g., really, surely, very, hopefully, basically)
. Don’t use exclamation marks “!”.
. Don’t use contractions. (e.g., don’t, shouldn’t, wouldn’t)
Citations
. Make sure you cite all your sources.
. When paraphrasing or summarizing a source, make sure to cite it.
. Make sure to cite all your sources in the main text (body) and list them at the end of the paper. In other words, all entries in the reference page (“Works cited” page) must correspond to the sources cited in the main text.
