Victoria and Abdul and Mrs Brown Film This will be a comparative essay that will require you to craft a well-researched and well-supported argument.
You will have to watch an additional film and compare it to one that we have already discussed.
You will compare either:
1) Elizabeth and Elizabeth: The Golden Age
OR
2) Victoria & Abdul and Mrs. Brown
You will answer the following questions. What are the arguments of the two films? What evidence from the films do you have to support that? Are the films “good history”? Why do you say that? How do the two films approach their subject?
You will not be able to say everything there is to say about these films, so you will want to pick a particular theme or issue (characters, events, ideas, visuals [cinematography, costuming, etc.]) and make that the focus of your argument.
In order to do this and have a verifiable argument, you will need to have a minimum of five sources. Three of these sources MUST be academic sources (peer-reviewed books or articles written by scholars).
Each paper is to be a minimum of 5 pages (1250 words). This does not include a title page, charts/photos, and bibliography.
The essay must conform to academic standards, including double-spacing, a title page, thesis, main body, conclusion, Chicago-style footnotes, and a bibliography. Failure to conform to these standards will adversely affect your mark.
Papers will be judged partly on a student’s ability to defend a thesis and must do more than simply present facts.
Essays must be written in formal, standard English. Grammatical errors, typos, and lack of clarity interfere with your ability to clearly express your ideas and will, therefore, be penalized appropriately.
Most importantly, essays must include references to indicate the exact source of facts, opinions and direct quotes: failure to do so constitutes plagiarism.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Victoria and Abdul and Mrs Brown Film Thesis Statement
History essays are argumentative. You must, therefore, develop a concrete, explicit thesis statement concerning the topic. This statement informs your readers of your intentions—what you will prove about the topic. The thesis statement is arguably the single most important part of the essay and must be strong for the essay to succeed. Not only does it state the essay’s direction, it aids you in controlling your information by imposing order on the process.
Presentation and Analysis of Relevant Data:
After developing your thesis, you can begin collecting all relevant information to prove it. This approach is, of course, utopian since you are unlikely to use all the material that at some point in your research you consider relevant. You may, in fact, have to modify your thesis to fit the data, but never change or select your data to fit your thesis. Ensure logically developed thoughts and proofs.
Sources, Footnotes, and Plagiarism:
When concepts, ideas, data, facts, results, etc. are borrowed by direct quotation or by paraphrasing, the author must be acknowledged. A student failing to do this is guilty of plagiarism, which is unacceptable.
You must actively use (cite as a footnote) a minimum of five directly relevant sources, three of which must be scholarly in nature (i.e., specialized academic books and articles rather than generalist interpretations). Do not cite reference materials (Wikipedia or other dictionaries and/or encyclopedias). Reference sources are excellent for getting you started but are not sufficiently specific for research at the university level. Failure to comply will adversely affect your mark. Consult me if you are unsure whether a source qualifies as ‘directly relevant’.
It is impossible to state categorically how many citations an essay needs, but you should average 3-4 citations per typed page. Historians use the Chicago style of citation (i.e. footnotes/bibliography). KPU History students must use this format and will be penalized by at least a full letter grade for using an inappropriate form of citation (such as MLA or APA).
Please be sure to look at the resources I have posted in the “Writing Tips” folder.
