Project Summary:

The Critical Analysis Essay asks each student to produce a researched, thoughtful, scholarly essay. Essays should be approximately 2,000 words in length and in a standard format of each student's choosing (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.). Essays should utilize at least two sources (one of which should not be a video game) and contain a bibliography.

Topic choice for essays is open, as long as they critically engage a subject related to video gaming. A workable structure for essays is as follows:

1. Introduction: This section provides relevant background information about the subject to lead up to the thesis, which is the argument the paper seeks to prove. This section often establishes why this argument is relevant or important (why the reader should care).
2. Body: This section contains evidence in support of the thesis. Evidence may come in many forms, including reference to external work, first-person research, and critical interpretation of texts (such as specific games). This section is often broken into multiple subsections.
3. Conclusion: This section provides a recapitulation of the argument that has been presented. It often gestures toward the implications of this work, how it may be extended, and/or its applicability in other areas.

Informative headings that foreshadow the material to follow (not "Introduction," "Body," and "Conclusion") are a useful device to help organize an essay. They also help the reader follow its argument. We will read examples of Critical Analysis Essays to understand better the structure and flow of these documents, and to share ideas about possible topics and approaches. We also will look specifically at a paper I wrote in a similar situation to guide our discussion about how to progress from an idea to a complete essay.

During the course of this project, each student will create an online portfolio that will contain the completed Critical Analysis Essay as well as other selected materials produced during the student's UNCW matriculation. This is a required aspect of the Senior Seminar, but the online portfolio is scored as an Engagement Assignment and not an element of the Critical Analysis Essay.

Project Sequence:

1. Discuss online portfolio production
2. Discuss moving from an idea to a complete essay
3. Explore existing examples of critical analysis essays
4. Produce essay outline
5. Establish essay rubric
6. Produce essay draft
7. Produce online portfolio draft
8. Complete final essay draft
9. Post completed essay draft as a .pdf file to completed online portfolio

Deliverables:

• Critical Analysis Essay (100% of project grade, individual)