Research Papers
These papers should be roughly 4000-5000 words. By October 27,
you need to have a brief paragraph that sketches your research topic
and indicates a provisional line of argument, as well as a list of at
least ten sources that you think will be important to your
discussion. These sources should be listed in proper
bibliographic format, with two or three sentences explaining why you
expect them to contribute significantly to your essay.
Here are some tips to help you get started:
1. Choose a topic – in most cases, it will initially be too broad
for a 5000-word paper, and your task will be to narrow and refine
it. Your topic could be: a genre (British “unemployment films,”
or “rockumentaries”) or a cross-section (Black British films of the
1980s; recent British films by women directors); a selection of work by
one director; a single important film; an institution (BFI, Woodfall
films, the ratings system, the BAFTA Awards); a particular aspect
of some films, e.g., “the soundtrack in social realist tradition” – or
anything relevant to our class that you are interested in working on
for the next ten weeks.
example:
Mike Leigh, British film director.
2. Do a quick look around to see how much material there is to
work with. If you run into a huge amount of material, you need to
start narrowing your topic immediately. If you find little or
nothing in the way of material, you may need to try a different topic
that is not as obscure.
examples
of primary material: Leigh’s films, writings, interviews;
Director commentaries on DVDs; published screenplays or transcriptions;
publicity stills; etc.
examples of secondary material:
reviews of Leigh’s films in newspapers, magazines and online; academic
criticism; historical and biographical scholarship; mainstream profiles
and feature pieces; fansites; BFI ScreenOnline; etc
3. Begin acquainting yourself with the primary materials, reading
some of the secondary materials, and refining your topic (narrowing it,
focusing it on a particular aspect or historical moment or area of
special interest within the general topic)
example:
US distribution and reception of Mike Leigh’s films
4. Focus your reading and viewing on this more refined version of
your topic. Begin reading more carefully, and in more
depth. Identify a problem – a crux or difficulty – that remains
to be adequately addressed in the secondary literature. Put this
problem in the form of a research question: the question that your
essay will attempt to answer.
example:
Have Mike Leigh’s films gotten more “American,” less “British,” as he
has built a wider audience in the USA? Are they less distinctive
and interesting than they used to be? Are they worse? (Or
better?)
5. Continue to refine this question as you begin to
develop your answer to it.
example:
In what particular ways have Leigh’s films veered away from
specifically British social realist traditions as they’ve reached wider
audiences in the USA?
6. Make sure this question is not trivial, i.e., that
there is real disagreement.
example:
Many critics argue that Leigh’s best films are the ones that have
succeeded best in the American market and received nominations or
Academy Awards – Secrets and Lies, Topsy Turvy, Vera Drake. But
some prefer his earlier films, such as High Hopes and Naked, which had
very little distribution in America.
7. As you formulate your own answer to the question
(this is your thesis), make sure it is argumentative (not just
descriptive), and distinctive (not just rehashing other people’s
arguments). Write a brief paragraph that conveys your thesis and
the argumentative trajectory that justifies it. The example below
is not necessarily a very good thesis paragraph; it remains too vague
and sweeping. But it does focus on a particular issue or
controversy within the general topic, as well as indicating the
specific works that will be most central to the essay. And it
does convey an approximate line of argument in response to the existing
critical literature.
example:
The general view is that Mike Leigh really came of age in the mid- to
late- 1990s, when his films achieved “greater breadth of vision,” “a
more expansive humanity,” and “truly universal appeal.” Not
coincidentally, this was the period when he finally broke through in
the American market and found commercial and critical success in the
US. The trouble is that in order to achieve this success, Leigh
had to become a more sentimental and a less aesthetically adventurous
filmmaker. If his vision became more “universal,” that is
because it lost its particularities of style – even in some respects
its distinct Britishness. Focusing mainly on two films, High
Hopes (1988) and Secrets and Lies (1996), but with reference to others,
I will argue that Leigh’s success in winning over North American
audiences has been purchased at a high artistic cost.