# Writing Papers in Intro to Theatre



## Debra P. Holmes (Dec 12, 2018)

Good Morning, all!

I have assigned some kind of paper in my intro to theatre course every time I have taught it as I strongly believe in the value of the written word's communication value. This semester, it was a DISASTER!!! I assigned a research paper comparing and contrasting the genre of tragedy by choosing two of the three plays we read this semester (Oedipus Rex, Hamlet, and Death of a Salesman). Oh my goodness!!! SO MUCH FAIL!!! More than half of my students failed the assignment for a variety of reasons:

They don't know what a research paper is
They don't know how to get proper academic sources
They can't use MLA (or understand in line citations)
Their writing is HORRIBLE!
A summary is not a research paper
The fact that these plays were written in different eras means nothing, unless you can support it with some kind of cultural differences (Like Hamlet was Catholic and Oedipus worshiped the Greek gods)
Oedipus did not die, he blinded himself (among other incorrect facts)
So for next semester, I need a CHANGE!!! Does anyone have a suggestion about what other kinds of paper might work in an introduction to theatre course at the university level. I can't subject myself to this kind of assignment again! 

Thank you so much for your suggestions! I really appreciate all of your support!

Debra


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## Amiers (Dec 12, 2018)

An opinion/fact piece. 

Who is/was yada yada. 
What is/was yada yada

500/1000 word piece max. Remember you gotta read all this crap too. You get burned out if you don’t make the topic interesting to you as well. 

And always keep it simple. 

No kid knows how to research in a first year intro class. Especially if the are freshman and have yet to learn the college writing style.


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## Van (Dec 12, 2018)

My Sophmore year of College I turned in a research paper, "Classical Grecian Playwrights; their misogyny as reflected in their works." <yeah 1985, I was progressive even back then> I got an A- I turned the same paper in as a Senior in HS and got a C....

Personally I expect students in College to be able to write, unfortunately we live in such an 'Opinion' based time that no one knows the classic research style. Unfortunately, as Amiers suggests, you may need to ratchet down expectations and pursue a more editorial style essay.


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## porkchop (Dec 13, 2018)

If your university has a writing center or similar tutoring situation available to your students your best bet might be to set a due date for a rough draft and do a mandatory peer review/writing center review step. Honestly I can't imagine the students in the intro to theatre call I took doing very well with that assignment. However, forcing them to do an actual first revision instead of doing all of the research and writing the night before it's due would probably do a lot to improve paper construction if not the actual content.


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## bobgaggle (Dec 13, 2018)

This seems more like an assignment for a script analysis or dramaturgy class. Honestly, how are a bunch of high school seniors supposed to think about the cultural values of the ancient greeks and how its expressed in their works as compared to the mores of Shakespeare's England? Seems like the kind of class where you write a paper about the relevance of live performance in an age of technology and digital interaction.

As for the rest of it, yeah it's sad that they don't know how to write a paper. MLA format was pounded into my head in high school. As for the research, these days you don't need to get past the first 3 results of your google search to find out what you want to know. There's a wealth of information that's been lost with the advent of internet searches. Like HOW to find what you're looking for without using google, especially since the academic papers and other heady info is usually not the top hit on a search engine. I often forget that libraries offer far more research tools than just the books on the shelves...


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## Debra P. Holmes (Dec 18, 2018)

Hi all,

Thank you for your suggestions, I really appreciate it. 

Debra


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