Hero’s journey report

The Hero’s Journey Report Assignment (40% overall)
This assignment requires you to research
and present a report on how ONE literary element (plot, character, setting or theme) is interpreted from
book to film for ONE book/movie (Harry
Potter, Star Wars or LOTR). If you choose Star Wars, note that the books were written AFTER the films were
made, so your analysis will be a bit different than if you choose one of the
others. The goal of the assignment is to examine whether the book or the film
format is more effective at expressing the element that you are examining.
Be sure to read the posted content related
to the literary elements before beginning this project, and examine the element
from all the suggested perspectives.
If you choose to explore the element of
CHARACTER, please note that you may write about at least 4-5 characters in ONE
book/movie pair, OR, you may examine one character in depth over the entire
series (i.e. ALL the HP books, or all three LOTR, or all 6 Star Wars).
For example, you could choose to explore
how the setting in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
is developed by J.K. Rowling in her book, and in the movie of the same
name. You will both DESCRIBE how this is
done in both formats (using concrete examples from the book and film) and also
ANALYZE the effect of these choices (How does one differ from the other? Which
is more effective? Why do you think there are these differences? What is the
effect of these differences on the impact of book and movie on the
reader/viewer?).
To complete this project, you will need to
find text and/or online sources that provide information from critics and
reviewers of the book and film, and perhaps also present the author and/or
filmmaker’s perspective on how these decisions were made and developed. Try
searching You Tube for resources, or access the documentaries included with DVD
copies of the films, as well as looking at publications related to the
books/movies (“visual companions” or other illustrated resources). BE SURE to document ALL uses of this
source material (not just direct quotes) using MLA or APA format. Not sure how to do this? Review the documents/videos available through
the Student and Academic Learning
Services (SALS). See “Avoiding
Plagiarism” and “MLA Citation” at http://www.durhamcollege.ca/student-experience/helping-you-succeed/student-academic-learning-services-sals/writing-skills-and-resources#research. Failure
to document sources (i.e. plagiarism) WILL result in a failure on this project
and the issuance of an Academic Alert to your file!! Get whatever help you need
to do this correctly, please.
This project is graded in three parts, as
follows:
PART
ONE: Proposal (10%)
Complete the template titled “Research Project Proposal” and submit
it to the relevant dropbox by the deadline (midnight
Sunday at the beginning of week 9). This document will tell me what
book/movie and literary element you have decided to research, and give you an
opportunity to do some preliminary research into resources for your project.
Your grade will reflect how complete and coherent your proposal is.
PART
TWO: Progress Report (10%)
Due by midnight
Sunday at the beginning of week 11, the progress report should follow the
format outlined in the template titled “Progress
Report.” This report will tell me how you are progressing with your
research, and list the resources you have decided to use to complete your
project. The research phase of your project should be complete by the time you write this progress report; the remainder
of your time will be spent preparing your actual project. Your grade on this
part will consider how complete and in-depth your research has been, and how
much thought you have given to how you will present your findings and analysis.
The point-form project outline requested in this progress report should be
detailed and complete (NOT just section headings, but actual
examples/evidence).
PART
THREE: Research Project (20%)
You will post the results of your research
and analysis to the relevant Discussion Board thread by midnight on the Sunday at the beginning of week 13. Your project
may include text, images, multimedia, links etc., and be structured as an
essay, a powerpoint, a poster, a video, or some other multimedia format. By all
means be creative in how you present the material, BUT be sure that the
multimedia is tied to the framework of your analysis (i.e. that you actually
COMPARE the book and movie and present an analysis of the
similarities/differences and their effect of the reader/viewer)—don’t just
“mash-up” a bunch of images without reason or logic!
Here’s how your final project will be
graded:

Criteria

Excellent

Satisfactory

Requires Improvement

Depth/
Breadth (10%)

Examines a
wide variety of relevant examples from both book and film. Makes good use of
evidence from a variety of valid and relevant sources (i.e. the author and
filmmaker as well as other critics/writers) to fully inform his/her analysis;
sources are credited using correct MLA or APA format

Examines
relevant examples from both book and film. Makes use of some evidence from
valid and relevant sources, and applies this evidence to his/her analysis;
sources are credited using a consistent format

Examines
an insufficient number and type of examples from book and film. Makes little
or no use of evidence from sources outside his/her own opinion; sources are
documented inaccurately, or not documented

Analysis (5%)

Shows a
deep understanding of the impact of similarities/differences between book and
film, and presents a thorough explanation for these

Shows some
understanding of the impact of similarities/differences between book and
film, and presents an explanation for these

Shows
little understanding of the impact of similarities/differences between book
and film, and/or presents no explanation for these

Presentation (5%)

Format
enhances project; spelling, grammar, and tone show few or no errors

Format
suitable for content; spelling and grammar show only minor errors

Format
poorly chosen for topic; numerous spelling and/or grammar errors interfere
with meaning

Total (20%)

During week 13, you’ll have the
chance to review the projects posted by your fellow students. This material will be helpful to you during
the open-book final exam.

Last Completed Projects