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School of Modern Languages and Cultures

FR243 Assessed Essays

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

You may, If you wish, discuss the same text/thinker in a summative assignment as you have discussed in a piece of formative assignment, but you must not reproduce in part or whole any of your formative assignment in your summative assignment.

You will receive guidance and support in the writing of your summative essay in the following ways:

  1. Refresher workshop on essay-writing skills (Weds 18th November, Teaching Grid, 1 – 2.30 pm). This is OPTIONAL
  2. One hour in the module programme will be devoted to a discussion / workshop on the assessment for the module.
  3. Students taking 15 CATs modules in term 1 will receive marked feedback on their work in week 7 of term 2. All marks received at this stage will be provisional. Please note that you are welcome to come and see me in my office hours to discuss your performance once you have received the feedback for your assessed work.

These are summative essay titles. The mark for this essay will count toward your end-of-year assessment and your degree classification.

Write 2000-2500 words on ONE of the following topics:

1. 'The most important figure in French films is typically the director, while the most important figure in American films is the star.' To what extent can this assertion be justified based on the comparison of any pair of films you have studied on this module?

2. What differences do you find in the politics of gender between La Totale (1991) and True Lies (1994) and to what extent can these be considered representative of French and American cinema?

3. How do differences in film style (mise-en-scène, camerawork, editing, sound) reflect the different intentions of the filmmakers in La Chienne (1931) and Scarlet Street (1945)?

4. What do the differences between Trois hommes et un couffin (1985) and Three Men and a Baby (1987) imply about the relative significance of 'family values' in France and America in the 1980s?

5. Analyse the relationship between form (film style, mise-en-scène, editing, sound, etc.) and content (narrative, character, theme) in La Jetée (1962) and Twelve Monkeys (1995).

6. What do you consider to be significant differences in the construction of character between Fingers (1978) and De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté (2005) and how do these differences affect the overall experience of the film?

You should note that in the examination for this module, you will not be permitted to answer a question relating to material on which you have submitted an assessed essay.

Departmental essay-writing conventions

Assessment procedures for TiFFCs