UCLA F/TV 106AHistory of the American Motion PictureWritten Assignment 1: Research PaperSpring 2005Due Wednesday, April 276-7 pages, double spaced, 12-point font, standard margins.Submit TWO copies of your paper to your TA before the start of lecture.Select a topic in American film history prior to 1939. Focus on an event, technology, concept,individual or group of individuals that played a decisive role in the development of Americancinema. Your final paper should outline comprehensively the specific origins and effects ofyour selected topic and clearly explain its historical significance.Choose your topic carefully, making sure that it is neither too broad nor too narrow. Keep thelength of the assignment in mind â within the space of six to seven pages, you will need bothto describe and to analyze effectively your topic, properly citing relevant sources throughout.The best papers are those that are able to present a clear and insightful historical account oftheir topic â describing the major contexts and causes â and to offer original conclusions as towhy the topic is important and worthy of study. It will not be enough simply to summarizethe history of your topic, as it has been already written in the standard histories of Americancinema.The first four decades of the American cinema contain a wealth of fascinating research topicsso donât despair if you canât think of one right away. A careful review of the readings, yourlecture and section notes, and the films screened in class can provide a spark of inspiration. Athoughtful initial selection process will save you time and trouble later. For example, moreâobviousâ or all-encompassing topics, such as Hollywoodâs transition to sound or D.W.Griffithâs role in the development of film narrative, are too broad to be properly covered in anassignment of this scope. Your topic will need to be more narrowly focused. Also, becauseâobviousâ topics have been extensively researched and written about, the task of writing anoriginal essay becomes all the more difficult. In these cases, it becomes absolutely imperativeto have your own âangle,â or specific approach, that will set your work apart.Please keep in mind that this is a history assignment, not a critical review of a given film orfilmmaker. Any opinions or conjectures made in your paper need to be carefully substantiatedby your specific research. In general, overstatements, such as âthe greatestâ or the âmostimportant,â add little to your paper. A relatively short assignment such as this is better servedby more modest claims. After you have selected your topic, your TA can help you developand refine it to maximize its originality and value as historical research.GUIDELINES1. All topics MUST be approved by your TA. You will need to submit a writtenstatement explaining the topic you have selected and the goals of your paper. You alsoshould include a bibliography and a working thesis. You TA will let you knowspecifically how to approve your topic. No paper will be accepted whose topic wasnot first approved.2. You are required to use a minimum of three sources for your research. Sourcescan be books and scholarly articles in journals or in the popular press. A wideselection of relevant source material has been placed on reserve for the class in theArts Library, located in 1400 Public Policy. (The reserve list can be found athttp://ereserves.library.ucla.edu). For secondary sources, try to include post-1980materials to benefit from the recent extensive work done in the field of film history. Ifyou choose to use internet resources, these should be cited and used in addition to yourthree sources, not as a substitute. While Movie Made America and your class notescertainly can be consulted, they should not constitute one of your major sources.3. All information and ideas adapted from another source must be properly cited witheither footnotes or endnotes. In addition, all direct quotations and their sources mustbe clearly indicated. Please consult either the MLA Handbook for Writers of ResearchPapers or The Chicago Manual of Style for the correct citation procedures. You mayuse either MLA or Chicago style but please choose only one and be consistentthroughout the paper.4. Be sure to state your thesis clearly and concisely at the end of your introduction. Youmay want to underline your thesis statement to help you remain focused on your statedgoals throughout your paper. You will be expected to write in university-levelEnglish, free of errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. If you feel you need helpwith your writing, meet with your TA or visit the Writing Center in Covel Commons.If you have questions or are unsure about something, contact your TA before the paperis due so he or she can help you find a solution.GOOD LUCK!