Contemporary Film & Literature

Ms. Carla Kurt

The Body by Stephen King and Stand by Me directed by Rob Reiner

 

Assignment Summary


Although both the novella The Body by Stephen King and the film Stand by Me directed by Rob Reiner are described as Òcoming of ageÓ stories, there are several changes made in the adaptation of the novella to the screen.  Your task is to evaluate how successful the adaptation is, supporting your evaluation with specific reasons and examples.  Your starting point is to answer the question:

Is Stand by Me directed by Rob Reiner a successful screen adaptation of Stephen KingÕs novella The Body?  Why or why not?

WriterÕs Purpose

 

This assignment is persuasive. You will state a position on the topic question and support it with clear, specific and valid reasons and examples.

 

WriterÕs Role

 

You are writing as yourself, evaluating the screen adaptation of The Body.

 

Audience

 

You are writing for your teacher.

 

Form

 

á              Write a persuasive essay. Use the persuasive essay model to organize your essay.

á              Minimum 1000 words

á              Use MLA format for citations.  Refer to MLA packet or resources online at:

o            http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/p04_c08_o.html  - online style manual

o            http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/  - online style manual

o            http://easybib.com/  - online works cited composer

á              Adhere to the writing GIVENS (5 points for each item-error)

 

FCAs

 

_______/30 Concise and engaging introduction that includes all he necessary elements for a persuasive essay and ends with a cogent clear position/thesis (underline it) that specifically addresses the topic.  Concise and catchy conclusion.

_______/40 You have provided two specific reasons to support your position, and you have developed each reason with three specific examples.

_______/30 You have correctly used at least three cinematic terms in the body of your essay. Bold each term.

 

NOTE: You will also be graded on the writing GIVENS and MLA formatting/citations with points deducted from the FCA score for errors in either category.  PROOFREAD by reading your paper aloud and by double-checking the MLA checklist before you submit your final copy.

 

 

Procedure

 

á              Read The Body and watch Stand by Me, taking literature and film log notes that will help you with your review. 

á              Use the standard persuasive essay model to help you structure your essay.

á              After you finish writing your first draft, PROOFREAD visually and by reading your paper aloud.  Double check that youÕve fulfilled all the requirements and that you have not made any careless errors that will cost you points.

á              Submit to turnitin before 11:59 p.m. on the due date.