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Critical essay about a movie

The Writing Place

Resources – writing about film: the critical essay, introduction to the topic.

Like it or not, studying film may very well be a part of the well-rounded education you receive here at Northwestern University. But how to go about writing such an essay? While film reviews and theoretical essays are part of Film Studies, the most common paper that students will face is: “the critical essay”

Fear not. Though its title combines a serious undertone that implies it is both a large chuck of your grade and also really hard and vague, this post will guide you on your way.

First, what is the critical essay? It may surprise you to note that it is much more than 35% of your grade. In actuality, the most common form of the cinematic critical essay is one in which the writer explores one or more aspects of a film and analyzes how they enhance the film’s meaning and/or artistry. This is very similar to English analysis papers. For example, The Scarlet Letter can be analyzed in terms of its motif of civilization versus the wilderness. In the novel, the town is representative of human civilization and authority while the forest represents natural authority (Sparknotes Editors, 2003). Likewise, the same motif illustrates Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life. The wilderness represents the way of nature while the family (or civilization) represents the way of grace. The crossing over of these settings enables the viewer to visualize the internal struggles of Malick’s characters as they seek higher meaning from God.

“Hmmm…” I can hear you wondering. “I already know how to do that! It’s all we did in high school English classes!” But here is where the cinematic essay diverges from the literary essay— the elements that we analyze. Films can be analyzed from traditional literary aspects such as themes, narrative, characters, and points of view but there are also uniquely cinematic aspects: mise-en-scene, the shot, aesthetic history and edited images.

Parts of a Critical Essay

Aspect 1: mise-en-scene.

Mise-en-scene refers to everything in a scene independent of the camera’s position, movement, and editing (Corrigan, 1998). This includes lighting, costumes, sets, the quality of the acting, etc. It is important to remember that every aspect of a scene was consciously chosen by the director and his or her team. Because movies often present themselves as instances of real life, this fact is easily forgotten and the artistic choices that the film crew made are overlooked.

In the following still from Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom (2012), one can analyze it in terms of mise-en-scene. One could note the arrangement of the props. In real life, it would be unlikely that rocks, sticks, and supplies would arrange themselves in an almost perfect circular fashion around the map. However, Anderson’s decision to arrange the props focus viewer’s attention on the map and highlight the adventure that the two children are about to go on in Moonrise Kingdom.

Click here for an example of an essay dealing with mise-en-scene.

Aspect 2: The Shot

The shot refers to the single image before the camera cuts to the next scene (Corrigan, 1998). These shots can include a lot of variety and movement. We can analyze the effect that shots have in terms of their photographic qualities such as tone, speed, and perspectives created, to name a few examples (Corrigan, 1998). A single shot is composed of multiple frames, or stills of the same scene. We can analyze the shot in terms of framing, i.e. what was actually decided to be included within the image and the location of stuff within the frame.

Watch the following shot (beginning at the 30 second mark) for an example: Click Here to Navigate to YouTube

In this shot from Dayton and Faris’ Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Dwayne has just found out he cannot join the air force. He had maintained a vow of silence to help him focus on getting admitted to the air force and breaks it from utter frustration. The shot’s stationary position as Dwayne runs screaming from his family helps highlight how the physical distance Dwayne puts between himself and his family reflects the emotional distance and frustration he feels at the moment.

Aspect 3: Edited Images

When one or more shots are joined together, they become edited (Corrigan, 1998). These usually have two main purposes. One is the logical development of the story. A shot in the morning connected with a shot in the afternoon connotes to the viewer that time has passed. Other times the editing of shots has artistic intent. For example, in a Chipotle commercial the first shot is of an industrial slaughterhouse. The next shot features animals grazing in a pasture. This is an artistic statement on the part of the advertising team to convey to Chipotle’s customers about the higher standard of care and ethics that they ensure their meat sources follow.

Edited images can also be analyzed from other aspects. For example, one could explain how meaning is created by the specific arrangement in shots, their collisions with each other, and the presence of visual motifs “echoing” through subsequent shots.

For instance, in the edited shots from Patar and Aubier’s movie A Town Called Panic (2009) the editing of the kitchen shot and the snow shot serves two purposes. One purpose is to further the logical chronological development of the story. The other purpose is to add humor. Because being asleep for an entire summer is impossibly long, it adds absurd humor.

Hopefully, the brief foray into the various cinematic aspects that one could examine was helpful. The world of film analysis is vast and wide, offering a fecund source for analytical and cinematic exploration and creation.

-Developed by Kyla Donato

Click here to return to the “writing place resources” main page..

Home — Essay Samples — Entertainment — Catch Me If You Can — Movie Critical Analysis: “Catch Me if You Can”

Movie Critical Analysis: "Catch Me if You Can"

Categories: Catch Me If You Can

About this sample

Words: 535 |

Published: Jan 30, 2024

Words: 535 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Plot summary, analysis of deception, exploration of identity, examination of the cat-and-mouse game, evaluation of redemption, discussion of themes.

Abagnale, F. W., & Redding, S. (2000). Catch me if you can. New York: Broadway Books.
Edgar, J. (Director). (2002). Catch Me if You Can [Film]. DreamWorks Pictures.

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Film Writing: Sample Analysis

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Summary: A sample analysis of a filmic sequence that makes use of the terminology on the OWL’s Writing About Film page .

Written by Kylie Regan

Introductory Note

The analysis below discusses the opening moments of the science fiction movie Ex Machina in order to make an argument about the film's underlying purpose. The text of the analysis is formatted normally. Editor's commentary, which will occasionally interrupt the piece to discuss the author's rhetorical strategies, is written in brackets in an italic font with a bold "Ed.:" identifier. See the examples below:

The text of the analysis looks like this.

[ Ed.: The editor's commentary looks like this. ]

Frustrated Communication in Ex Machina ’s Opening Sequence

Alex Garland’s 2015 science fiction film Ex Machina follows a young programmer’s attempts to determine whether or not an android possesses a consciousness complicated enough to pass as human. The film is celebrated for its thought-provoking depiction of the anxiety over whether a nonhuman entity could mimic or exceed human abilities, but analyzing the early sections of the film, before artificial intelligence is even introduced, reveals a compelling examination of humans’ inability to articulate their thoughts and feelings. In its opening sequence, Ex Machina establishes that it’s not only about the difficulty of creating a machine that can effectively talk to humans, but about human beings who struggle to find ways to communicate with each other in an increasingly digital world.

[ Ed.: The piece's opening introduces the film with a plot summary that doesn't give away too much and a brief summary of the critical conversation that has centered around the film. Then, however, it deviates from this conversation by suggesting that Ex Machina has things to say about humanity before non-human characters even appear. Off to a great start. ]

The film’s first establishing shots set the action in a busy modern office. A woman sits at a computer, absorbed in her screen. The camera looks at her through a glass wall, one of many in the shot. The reflections of passersby reflected in the glass and the workspace’s dim blue light make it difficult to determine how many rooms are depicted. The camera cuts to a few different young men typing on their phones, their bodies partially concealed both by people walking between them and the camera and by the stylized modern furniture that surrounds them. The fourth shot peeks over a computer monitor at a blonde man working with headphones in. A slight zoom toward his face suggests that this is an important character, and the cut to a point-of-view shot looking at his computer screen confirms this. We later learn that this is Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), a young programmer whose perspective the film follows.

The rest of the sequence cuts between shots from Caleb’s P.O.V. and reaction shots of his face, as he receives and processes the news that he has won first prize in a staff competition. Shocked, Caleb dives for his cellphone and texts several people the news. Several people immediately respond with congratulatory messages, and after a moment the woman from the opening shot runs in to give him a hug. At this point, the other people in the room look up, smile, and start clapping, while Caleb smiles disbelievingly—perhaps even anxiously—and the camera subtly zooms in a bit closer. Throughout the entire sequence, there is no sound other than ambient electronic music that gets slightly louder and more textured as the sequence progresses. A jump cut to an aerial view of a glacial landscape ends the sequence and indicates that Caleb is very quickly transported into a very unfamiliar setting, implying that he will have difficulty adjusting to this sudden change in circumstances.

[ Ed.: These paragraphs are mostly descriptive. They give readers the information they will need to understand the argument the piece is about to offer. While passages like this can risk becoming boring if they dwell on unimportant details, the author wisely limits herself to two paragraphs and maintains a driving pace through her prose style choices (like an almost exclusive reliance on active verbs). ]

Without any audible dialogue or traditional expository setup of the main characters, this opening sequence sets viewers up to make sense of Ex Machina ’s visual style and its exploration of the ways that technology can both enhance and limit human communication. The choice to make the dialogue inaudible suggests that in-person conversations have no significance. Human-to-human conversations are most productive in this sequence when they are mediated by technology. Caleb’s first response when he hears his good news is to text his friends rather than tell the people sitting around him, and he makes no move to take his headphones out when the in-person celebration finally breaks out. Everyone in the building is on their phones, looking at screens, or has headphones in, and the camera is looking at screens through Caleb’s viewpoint for at least half of the sequence.

Rather than simply muting the specific conversations that Caleb has with his coworkers, the ambient soundtrack replaces all the noise that a crowded building in the middle of a workday would ordinarily have. This silence sets the uneasy tone that characterizes the rest of the film, which is as much a horror-thriller as a piece of science fiction. Viewers get the sense that all the sounds that humans make as they walk around and talk to each other are being intentionally filtered out by some presence, replaced with a quiet electronic beat that marks the pacing of the sequence, slowly building to a faster tempo. Perhaps the sound of people is irrelevant: only the visual data matters here. Silence is frequently used in the rest of the film as a source of tension, with viewers acutely aware that it could be broken at any moment. Part of the horror of the research bunker, which will soon become the film’s primary setting, is its silence, particularly during sequences of Caleb sneaking into restricted areas and being startled by a sudden noise.

The visual style of this opening sequence reinforces the eeriness of the muted humans and electronic soundtrack. Prominent use of shallow focus to depict a workspace that is constructed out of glass doors and walls makes it difficult to discern how large the space really is. The viewer is thus spatially disoriented in each new setting. This layering of glass and mirrors, doubling some images and obscuring others, is used later in the film when Caleb meets the artificial being Ava (Alicia Vikander), who is not allowed to leave her glass-walled living quarters in the research bunker. The similarity of these spaces visually reinforces the film’s late revelation that Caleb has been manipulated by Nathan Bates (Oscar Isaac), the troubled genius who creates Ava.

[ Ed.: In these paragraphs, the author cites the information about the scene she's provided to make her argument. Because she's already teased the argument in the introduction and provided an account of her evidence, it doesn't strike us as unreasonable or far-fetched here. Instead, it appears that we've naturally arrived at the same incisive, fascinating points that she has. ]

A few other shots in the opening sequence more explicitly hint that Caleb is already under Nathan’s control before he ever arrives at the bunker. Shortly after the P.O.V shot of Caleb reading the email notification that he won the prize, we cut to a few other P.O.V. shots, this time from the perspective of cameras in Caleb’s phone and desktop computer. These cameras are not just looking at Caleb, but appear to be scanning him, as the screen flashes in different color lenses and small points appear around Caleb’s mouth, eyes, and nostrils, tracking the smallest expressions that cross his face. These small details indicate that Caleb is more a part of this digital space than he realizes, and also foreshadow the later revelation that Nathan is actively using data collected by computers and webcams to manipulate Caleb and others. The shots from the cameras’ perspectives also make use of a subtle fisheye lens, suggesting both the wide scope of Nathan’s surveillance capacities and the slightly distorted worldview that motivates this unethical activity.

[ Ed.: This paragraph uses additional details to reinforce the piece's main argument. While this move may not be as essential as the one in the preceding paragraphs, it does help create the impression that the author is noticing deliberate patterns in the film's cinematography, rather than picking out isolated coincidences to make her points. ]

Taken together, the details of Ex Machina ’s stylized opening sequence lay the groundwork for the film’s long exploration of the relationship between human communication and technology. The sequence, and the film, ultimately suggests that we need to develop and use new technologies thoughtfully, or else the thing that makes us most human—our ability to connect through language—might be destroyed by our innovations. All of the aural and visual cues in the opening sequence establish a world in which humans are utterly reliant on technology and yet totally unaware of the nefarious uses to which a brilliant but unethical person could put it.

Author's Note: Thanks to my literature students whose in-class contributions sharpened my thinking on this scene .

[ Ed.: The piece concludes by tying the main themes of the opening sequence to those of the entire film. In doing this, the conclusion makes an argument for the essay's own relevance: we need to pay attention to the essay's points so that we can achieve a rich understanding of the movie. The piece's final sentence makes a chilling final impression by alluding to the danger that might loom if we do not understand the movie. This is the only the place in the piece where the author explicitly references how badly we might be hurt by ignorance, and it's all the more powerful for this solitary quality. A pithy, charming note follows, acknowledging that the author's work was informed by others' input (as most good writing is). Beautifully done. ]

A critical essay…

A critical essay about a movie Figgerits

May 19, 2022

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Film Essay Writing And All You Need To Know About It

December 6, 2022

Hattie Funk

Keep reading to find out how to write a good film analysis essay and get the best grades from your submission.

What Is A Film Essay?

A film analysis essay aims to deconstruct and analyze various elements and details of the chosen film at hand. The purpose is to understand the nuances and intricacy of the film itself. We’re going to dive deeper into the topic of film analysis essays in order for you to have a firm grasp of its concept, and for you to write an exceptional one.

Types Of Film Analysis Essays

The most common type of film essay is a film review. Film reviews exist in the sphere of popular media. You can find plenty of them online, either given by professional critics or by the audience themselves.

On the other hand, we have academic essays such as critical and theoretical essays, found in the academic side of things. In academic essays, films are usually analyzed through six lenses; author, formalism, genre, history, ideology, and national cinema.

A film analysis essay typically comprises an observation of these elements. The writer is typically taking the role of the “eyes in the sky” and distances themselves from the elements of the film they are analyzing.

The Movie Essay

A movie review is one of the most common and popular ways of analyzing a film. You can find them online and in newspapers. They’re meant for the masses. This type of writing is not academic but it is similar to a film essay.

The Critical Essay

The critical essay aims to provide key details, themes, and other relevant information about the movie. The analysis will usually only focus on a part of the movie (a scene or a few scenes). On a side note, you can visit Essaypro’s website to get help from a writer to finish up any type of essay.

Moving on, this type of film essay can provide information on a few things. As we’ve stated above, the essay can focus on one or more of the following:

Observes matters of style and structure.
The analysis focuses on what happens in the film. Not including external factors such as the director, historical context of the film, etc.
Looks at a particular scene and how the lighting, sound, cinematography, or editing impacts the film and the film’s meaning.
Looks at the form and the common patterns and content that emerge in the film. This can determine if a film conforms or diverges from a genre.
Keeps in mind the historical context of the film.
Investigates the historical context and moment of the film’s contents and its production and release using the “eyes in the sky” distant approach.
Analyzes historical backgrounds in order to explain the narrative and technique of the film.
Compares the subject matter of the film to other films in the same time period.
Documents the reception of a film by a group/audience.

The critical film analysis essay goes into deep detail.

The Theoretical Essay

This film analysis essay usually requires the writer of the film essay to already have a decent understanding of film theory, film history, and its technicalities. Unlike the critical essay, the theoretical one tries to analyze and understand the larger, more complex, and more abstract structures of cinema.

The writer should be an essay pro to be able to correctly research and structure all the data required for a high-quality theoretical essay and adapt the “eyes in the sky” approach in the most efficient way. The essay itself can focus on one or more of the following:

National Cinema

Considers the cultural conditioning that might have affected how the film was made.
Considers the difference in interpretation when a film is being viewed outside of one culture.
Looks at how dominant figures such as directors, actors, and producers use themes and styles in their work.
Looks at the historical conditions of the film’s production and how it affects the auteur’s work.
Looks at peculiarities that indicate the auteur’s control over a film.
Looks at the potential underlying messages that the film is conveying about culture, society, politics, etc.
Looks at how classical film formulas dominate and distort ways of perceiving the world.
Looks at how gender is being represented in front or behind the camera.
Looks at how race is represented.
Look at how social and economic classes represented in the film reflect or influence social power.
Looks at how indigenous cultures are represented in film.
Looks at how normative gender relations can be disrupted or challenged in film.

Advantages Of Film Essay

There are a lot of advantages you can benefit from creating film essays. A film analysis essay can help you out in a lot of ways. For once, they can help you strengthen your visual thinking and sensory thinking. You can develop ideas through image, sound, and sensation. You can also develop your conceptual thinking skills by making up plots and storylines.

It can also reveal if you can understand and reconceive an idea in a logical way, which has a big impact on your creativity, imagination, and organization skills. These types of skills are beneficial for almost anything in life, so the skills you hone are transferable and valuable.

Working with films can be extremely interesting, especially for those with an eye for art. Over time, you’ll be able to see the little details that make a good film. You’ll understand the acting, the mood, and all these nuances that you might not be able to grasp at first.

Stick around, we’re about to reveal the best essay writing help you can get online since we got an essay written for the film “Eye in the Sky” (frequently misspelled as “Eyes on the Sky”) to test them out.

Who Can Help You Write A Film Essay?

If you need help writing your film analysis essay, then we’ve got your back. We know that crafting a good film essay isn’t as simple as it seems. We also know that as a student you might not always have the time to do all of your schoolwork on your own. This type of essay usually takes more time than writing a regular essay, since it requires you to watch the film.

If you’re not used to interpreting films or looking at them in closer detail, you have the chance of failing the assignment. So, why not play your cards right and hire a professional? That’s why you should buy essays from an online paper writing service , which is a site where students can buy an essay on any subject. This way you won’t have to browse through the internet for hours on end, trying to make a decision.

Through meticulous browsing via the site, we’ve chosen EssayHub as our main choice to hire a professional academic essay writer. We weren’t disappointed. We had to have a film essay written about the movie “Eyes In The Sky”, and we were not disappointed with the results. If you ask “Who can do my homework for me ? ”, you can find help on EssayHub!

We’re positive that no matter which film you’d have to make an analysis about, no matter how abstract it is, a writer from this reputable site can get the job done, and get the job done well. It’s high time to invest in better grades and a brighter future. Evidently, you’re also investing in your time.

Educational Institutions For Film

Beyond the film essay, there are students who become extremely passionate about films or just have an inclination to them that can’t fade away. If that applies to you maybe you should try shooting for the stars, and maybe applying to a university that can help you hone your passions. Here are two university options for filmmakers.

And on a side note, don’t forget to check out the essay writing services at EssayPro. Before going to university, maybe you can learn a thing or two from a professional ASAP. We couldn’t be happier with their film essay on the “Eyes on the Sky” movie for us.

The University of Texas at Austin, Radio-Television-Film

The department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas in Austin is a great choice for filmmaker aspirants. You’ll be able to review many films and make a film analysis essay regularly if you love diving into films.

It was founded in 1965 and has become a top-ranking graduate program. The University of Texas Austin film MFA is top-notch. They also offer undergraduate and doctorate-level programs. They do have quite a selective admissions policy. Only 25% of applicants get accepted and only 15% go on to graduate.

Los Angeles Center (the University of Texas at Austin)

UTLA Center is an academic campus of the University of Texas at Austin located in California. It’s located in the Burbank area of LA.

Students who are interested in pursuing careers in the entertainment industry are well suited for the LA center. They can get experience through internships and get to work in production companies, talent agencies, record labels, and in marketing firms.

They also get to take classes at UTLA Center which houses industry professional teachers, so forget about just writing a film essay , you get the whole deal at the University of Texas Los Angeles Center.

We hope this guide and article have shed light on the topic of film analysis essays and we hope we’ve sparked a flame of inspiration in a lot of you. Don’t forget to check out the EssayPro review on Essay-Reviews.com. They offer you the chance to get a stellar essay like the one they did for us for “Eyes in the Sky”. Save some time and effort, seriously.

If you’re passionate about movies maybe you can vouch for the big picture and check out the application process at the universities we mentioned. We wish you the best of luck. It’s always good to dream big, just put in the effort as well.

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Film & Media Studies Resources: Researching a Film

Researching a Film

Types of Film Analysis

Finding Books
Journals & Articles
Finding Films

Watching Film Analytically

1. start with the assignment..

Review the assignment prompt and identify the tasks your instructor has asked you to perform and the questions you've been asked to address. Write them out at the top of your notes before watching the film.

2. Review film terms.

Review the terms you've learned in class and practice applying them while watching your film. Studying these terms before you begin watching can help you develop abbreviations and avoid searching for these words while you watch.

3. Watch the film.

Watch the film at least once without once before (unless you've seen it before) to watch uninterrupted. When you take notes, be sure to pause when writing. This disrupts the viewing experience.

Starting the Film Analysis Essay

4. brainstorm.

After you've watched the film at least twice, it's a good idea to brainstorm ideas based on the notes you took. Cluster your ideas around the themes or topics that emerge in your notes, possible in a concept map. If you're writing an argumentative essay, your brainstorming ideas can be used to draft your thesis statement or research question.

Things to remember:

Use your assignment prompt as a guide.
Write about the film in the present tense in your essay. (i.e., “In Vertigo , Hitchcock employs techniques of observation to dramatize the act of detection.”)

5. Make a research plan.

Review your brainstorming notes and decide what type of analysis you want to write.
Do you need research or other background information for your essay?
Do your sources need to be scholarly or can you use critics' review?

6. Find Sources and Reviews

Finding a screenplay/script of the movie may be helpful and save you time when compiling citations. But keep in mind that there may be differences between the screenplay and the actual product (and these differences might be a topic of discussion!). The Popular Culture Library has a great collection of movie scripts.
Reading reviews and other analysis essays between viewings can help your own analysis of the film. Search in Summon or subject databases listed below for the film's title and the ideas you brainstormed to look for sources.

Symbolic Analysis

Symbolic (or semiotic) analysis is the interpretation of signs and symbols, usually involving metaphors and analogies to both inanimate objects and characters in a film. Because symbols can have multiple meanings, you will need to determine what a particular symbol means both in the film and in a broader context, whether in other films, or in other disciplines, like literature.

Be sure to bring the analysis back to your thesis, or why this symbolism matters.

Some questions you could ask when writing a symbolic analysis essay:

What images or objects are repeated in the film?
What colors, clothing, or food is associated with a character?
How does a symbol or object relate to other symbols and objects?

Narrative Analysis

Narrative analysis is an examination of the narrative structure, character, and plot of a film (i.e., the story elements). This analysis considers the story the film seeks to tell.

Questions to consider when writing a narrative analysis:

How does the film fit into the Three Act structure?
How does the plot differ from the narrative of film? Or, how is the story told? (i.e., Are events presented out of order or chronologically?)
Does the plot revolve around one character or multiple? How do these characters develop across the film?

Cultural or Historical Analysis

In this type of analytical essay, you examine a film's relationship to its broader cultural, historical, theoretical contexts. Sometimes films intentionally comment on these contexts, but even if they don't, they are still a product of the culture or time in which they were created. This type of analysis asks how the film models, challenges, or subverts these relationships.

Questions to ask for a cultural or historical analysis:

How does the film comment on, reinforce, or critique social and/or political issues at the time it was released, including questions of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality?
How might a biographical understanding of the film's creators and/or screenwriters and their historical moment affect the way the film is viewed?
How might a specific theory, such as Queer Theory, Structuralist or Marxist Film Theory, provide a way of analyzing or viewing the film?

Mise-en-scene Analysis

A mise-en-scene (French for "putting on stage") analysis looks at the compositional elements of a specific scene or even a single shot, as well as the how those elements come together to produce meaning. You can focus on anything in the scene, including blocking, lighting, design, color, costume, and how these work in conjunction with other elements, like sound, cinematography and editing.

Questions to ask when analyzing a scene:

What effects are created in a scene and what is their purpose?
How does this scene represent the theme of the movie?
How does a scene work to express a broader point to the film's point?

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This guide was adapted from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Writing Center's Film Analysis and Watching Film Analytically .

Next: Types of Film Analysis >>
Last Updated: Nov 20, 2023 9:08 AM
URL: https://libguides.bgsu.edu/film

How Can I Write an Essay About a Movie?

By Film Threat Staff | May 23, 2023

Watching movies for a long time has been a major past-time for most individuals. The people expect to sit in front of their screens and get thrilled into a world of adventure, mystery, and wonder.

But how can you gauge your appreciation and understanding of filmmaking? Writing an essay about a movie is one way of showing your grasp of the content.

Movie analysis is a common assignment for most college students. It is an intricate task where every detail matters while tied together to form a part of the story.

A part of the assignment involves watching a particular movie and writing an essay about your overall impression of the movie.

Essay writing services such as WriteMyEssay show that more than rewatching a movie several times is needed to make up for a solid movie analysis essay. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to write your movie analysis:

What Is a Movie Essay?

The world of literature is multifaceted while testing different attributes of students. A movie analysis essay, at its core, seeks to uncover the hidden layers of meaning within the cinema world.

A movie analysis essay is much more than a movie review that seeks to delve into the artistry behind filmmaking. Thus, it seeks to test a student’s prowess in understanding various elements that come together to form a meaningful cinematic experience.

The main purpose of movie analysis essays is to dissect different components employed by a film in making a unique and impactful storyline.

Students can appreciate the filmmaking process’s complexities by analyzing these different elements. Also, students can develop a keen eye for the nuances that elevate a movie from entertainment to a work of art.

Here are top tips by experts when writing an essay about a particular movie during your assignments:

1. Watch the Movie

The first obvious standpoint for writing an essay about any movie is watching the film. Watching the movie builds an important foundation for the writing exercise. Composing an insightful, compelling, and well-thought movie essay requires you to experience it.

Therefore, select an appropriate environment to watch the movie free from distractions. Moreover, immerse yourself in the full movie experience to absorb all the intricate details. Some critical elements to note down include:

Characterization
Cinematography

We recommend watching the movie several times in case the time element allows. Rewatching the film deepens your understanding of the movie while uncovering unnoticed details on the first take.

2. Write an Introduction

The introductory paragraph to your movie essay should contain essential details of the movie, such as:

Release date
Name of the director
Main actors

Moreover, start with a captivating hook to entice readers to keep reading. You can start with a memorable quote from one of the characters.

For example, released in 1976 and Directed by Martin Scorsese, ‘The Taxi Driver’ starring Robert De Niro as the eccentric taxi driver.’

After writing an enticing introduction, it is time to summarize what you watched. A summary provides readers with a clear understanding of the movie’s plot and main events. Hence, your readers can have a foundation for the rest of your movie essay.

Writing a summary need to be concise. The entire movie essay should be brief and straight to the point. Ensure to capture the main arguments within the movie’s plot. However, avoid going into too many details. Just focus on giving concise information about the movie.

4. Start Writing

The next vital part is forming the analysis part. This is where the analysis delves deeply into the movie’s themes, cinematography, characters, and other related elements.

First, start by organizing your analysis clearly and logically. Each section or paragraph should concentrate on a particular aspect of the film. Ensure to incorporate important elements such as cinematography, character development, and symbolism.

In addition, analyze different techniques employed by filmmakers. Take note of stylistic choices, including editing, sound, cinematography, imagery, and allegory. This helps contribute to the overall impact and meaning.

Lastly, connect your analysis to the thesis statement. Ensure all arguments captured in your analysis tie together to the main argument. It should maintain a straight focus throughout your essay.

Remember to re-state your thesis while summarizing previously mentioned arguments innovatively and creatively when finishing up your movie essay. Lastly, you can recommend your reader to watch the movie.

Final Takeaway

The writing process should be a fun, demanding, and engaging assignment. Try these tips from experts in structuring and logically organizing your essay.

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Critical essay about a movie

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The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Film Analysis

What this handout is about.

This handout introduces film analysis and and offers strategies and resources for approaching film analysis assignments.

Writing the film analysis essay

Writing a film analysis requires you to consider the composition of the film—the individual parts and choices made that come together to create the finished piece. Film analysis goes beyond the analysis of the film as literature to include camera angles, lighting, set design, sound elements, costume choices, editing, etc. in making an argument. The first step to analyzing the film is to watch it with a plan.

Watching the film

First it’s important to watch the film carefully with a critical eye. Consider why you’ve been assigned to watch a film and write an analysis. How does this activity fit into the course? Why have you been assigned this particular film? What are you looking for in connection to the course content? Let’s practice with this clip from Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958). Here are some tips on how to watch the clip critically, just as you would an entire film:

Give the clip your undivided attention at least once. Pay close attention to details and make observations that might start leading to bigger questions.
Watch the clip a second time. For this viewing, you will want to focus specifically on those elements of film analysis that your class has focused on, so review your course notes. For example, from whose perspective is this clip shot? What choices help convey that perspective? What is the overall tone, theme, or effect of this clip?
Take notes while you watch for the second time. Notes will help you keep track of what you noticed and when, if you include timestamps in your notes. Timestamps are vital for citing scenes from a film!

For more information on watching a film, check out the Learning Center’s handout on watching film analytically . For more resources on researching film, including glossaries of film terms, see UNC Library’s research guide on film & cinema .

Brainstorming ideas

Once you’ve watched the film twice, it’s time to brainstorm some ideas based on your notes. Brainstorming is a major step that helps develop and explore ideas. As you brainstorm, you may want to cluster your ideas around central topics or themes that emerge as you review your notes. Did you ask several questions about color? Were you curious about repeated images? Perhaps these are directions you can pursue.

If you’re writing an argumentative essay, you can use the connections that you develop while brainstorming to draft a thesis statement . Consider the assignment and prompt when formulating a thesis, as well as what kind of evidence you will present to support your claims. Your evidence could be dialogue, sound edits, cinematography decisions, etc. Much of how you make these decisions will depend on the type of film analysis you are conducting, an important decision covered in the next section.

After brainstorming, you can draft an outline of your film analysis using the same strategies that you would for other writing assignments. Here are a few more tips to keep in mind as you prepare for this stage of the assignment:

Make sure you understand the prompt and what you are being asked to do. Remember that this is ultimately an assignment, so your thesis should answer what the prompt asks. Check with your professor if you are unsure.
In most cases, the director’s name is used to talk about the film as a whole, for instance, “Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo .” However, some writers may want to include the names of other persons who helped to create the film, including the actors, the cinematographer, and the sound editor, among others.
When describing a sequence in a film, use the literary present. An example could be, “In Vertigo , Hitchcock employs techniques of observation to dramatize the act of detection.”
Finding a screenplay/script of the movie may be helpful and save you time when compiling citations. But keep in mind that there may be differences between the screenplay and the actual product (and these differences might be a topic of discussion!).
Go beyond describing basic film elements by articulating the significance of these elements in support of your particular position. For example, you may have an interpretation of the striking color green in Vertigo , but you would only mention this if it was relevant to your argument. For more help on using evidence effectively, see the section on “using evidence” in our evidence handout .

Also be sure to avoid confusing the terms shot, scene, and sequence. Remember, a shot ends every time the camera cuts; a scene can be composed of several related shots; and a sequence is a set of related scenes.

Different types of film analysis

As you consider your notes, outline, and general thesis about a film, the majority of your assignment will depend on what type of film analysis you are conducting. This section explores some of the different types of film analyses you may have been assigned to write.

Semiotic analysis

Semiotic analysis is the interpretation of signs and symbols, typically involving metaphors and analogies to both inanimate objects and characters within a film. Because symbols have several meanings, writers often need to determine what a particular symbol means in the film and in a broader cultural or historical context.

For instance, a writer could explore the symbolism of the flowers in Vertigo by connecting the images of them falling apart to the vulnerability of the heroine.

Here are a few other questions to consider for this type of analysis:

What objects or images are repeated throughout the film?
How does the director associate a character with small signs, such as certain colors, clothing, food, or language use?
How does a symbol or object relate to other symbols and objects, that is, what is the relationship between the film’s signs?

Many films are rich with symbolism, and it can be easy to get lost in the details. Remember to bring a semiotic analysis back around to answering the question “So what?” in your thesis.

Narrative analysis

Narrative analysis is an examination of the story elements, including narrative structure, character, and plot. This type of analysis considers the entirety of the film and the story it seeks to tell.

For example, you could take the same object from the previous example—the flowers—which meant one thing in a semiotic analysis, and ask instead about their narrative role. That is, you might analyze how Hitchcock introduces the flowers at the beginning of the film in order to return to them later to draw out the completion of the heroine’s character arc.

To create this type of analysis, you could consider questions like:

How does the film correspond to the Three-Act Structure: Act One: Setup; Act Two: Confrontation; and Act Three: Resolution?
What is the plot of the film? How does this plot differ from the narrative, that is, how the story is told? For example, are events presented out of order and to what effect?
Does the plot revolve around one character? Does the plot revolve around multiple characters? How do these characters develop across the film?

When writing a narrative analysis, take care not to spend too time on summarizing at the expense of your argument. See our handout on summarizing for more tips on making summary serve analysis.

Cultural/historical analysis

One of the most common types of analysis is the examination of a film’s relationship to its broader cultural, historical, or theoretical contexts. Whether films intentionally comment on their context or not, they are always a product of the culture or period in which they were created. By placing the film in a particular context, this type of analysis asks how the film models, challenges, or subverts different types of relations, whether historical, social, or even theoretical.

For example, the clip from Vertigo depicts a man observing a woman without her knowing it. You could examine how this aspect of the film addresses a midcentury social concern about observation, such as the sexual policing of women, or a political one, such as Cold War-era McCarthyism.

A few of the many questions you could ask in this vein include:

How does the film comment on, reinforce, or even critique social and political issues at the time it was released, including questions of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality?
How might a biographical understanding of the film’s creators and their historical moment affect the way you view the film?
How might a specific film theory, such as Queer Theory, Structuralist Theory, or Marxist Film Theory, provide a language or set of terms for articulating the attributes of the film?

Take advantage of class resources to explore possible approaches to cultural/historical film analyses, and find out whether you will be expected to do additional research into the film’s context.

Mise-en-scène analysis

A mise-en-scène analysis attends to how the filmmakers have arranged compositional elements in a film and specifically within a scene or even a single shot. This type of analysis organizes the individual elements of a scene to explore how they come together to produce meaning. You may focus on anything that adds meaning to the formal effect produced by a given scene, including: blocking, lighting, design, color, costume, as well as how these attributes work in conjunction with decisions related to sound, cinematography, and editing. For example, in the clip from Vertigo , a mise-en-scène analysis might ask how numerous elements, from lighting to camera angles, work together to present the viewer with the perspective of Jimmy Stewart’s character.

To conduct this type of analysis, you could ask:

What effects are created in a scene, and what is their purpose?
How does this scene represent the theme of the movie?
How does a scene work to express a broader point to the film’s plot?

This detailed approach to analyzing the formal elements of film can help you come up with concrete evidence for more general film analysis assignments.

Reviewing your draft

Once you have a draft, it’s helpful to get feedback on what you’ve written to see if your analysis holds together and you’ve conveyed your point. You may not necessarily need to find someone who has seen the film! Ask a writing coach, roommate, or family member to read over your draft and share key takeaways from what you have written so far.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Aumont, Jacques, and Michel Marie. 1988. L’analyse Des Films . Paris: Nathan.

Media & Design Center. n.d. “Film and Cinema Research.” UNC University Libraries. Last updated February 10, 2021. https://guides.lib.unc.edu/filmresearch .

Oxford Royale Academy. n.d. “7 Ways to Watch Film.” Oxford Royale Academy. Accessed April 2021. https://www.oxford-royale.com/articles/7-ways-watch-films-critically/ .

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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7 Steps for Writing Movie Critique Essay

Writing an evaluation essay on a movie is way more enjoyable experience than a regular essay, because everyone likes watching movies. Moreover, it is easy to write about something you like. You can choose to write a favorite movie essay or a classification essay about movies, if you are a real devotee of cinematographic art. However, when you write a movie analysis essay you should remember that it is more than just a review of the film. While a review expresses only your opinion and summarizes the plot of the movie, a movie evaluation essay involves deeper analysis of different layers of the film, such as symbolism, settings, theme, and so on. If you are not a stranger to these cinematic devices and can identify them when watching a movie, then such paper shouldn’t be a problem for you. However, if you are not sure you can dig deeper than just a basic story line, you can order a custom written movie critique essay from Star-Writers. You can be sure to receive an original unique paper from a professional author and for a very moderate price .

Writing Movie Essay Step by Step

Writing an essay many seem like an overwhelming task. But it is only so when you work without a precise plan. After you learn these steps to writing a perfect movie analysis essay, you will be able to compose your paper with no effort. It will take even less of your time and energy, if you use our professional rewriting services after composing a first draft of your essay.

Step 1: Watch the movie . Obviously, to analyze a movie, you must watch it beforehand. Moreover, you have to watch it actively, not like an ordinary viewer. Have a notebook with you, so you could pause at some moments and take notes. Write down everything that catches your attention. There is no ultimate rule about what you must write about, it is your essay and it reflects the way you perceive things. So be confident, and note everything you like or dislike, any piece of dialog that got your attention or the way some character is dressed.

Step 2: Define the main elements. It is crucial for the success of your essay to identify the theme of the movie as soon as possible. Theme is so important, because it is like prism through which events of the story are perceived. For example the film may revolve around such theme, as unrequited love, revenge, survival, loneliness. Ultimately, there is no limit to the theme, it can be anything. Also it is important to define the genre of the movie, figure out the setting and the point of view. Analyzing a movie is very similar to analyzing a book. You will be able to read about writing a book critique essay if you visit our blog .

Step 3: Look at the characters. While watching a movie, jot down in your notebook some notes about characters. Try to understand the purpose of each character in the story. Define the protagonist, antagonist and the supporting cast; what aspect of human nature each character represents. You should also consider the settings as an important element. Sometimes, for example in movies, such as man vs. wild nature, the setting can be represented as a leading character, too. If all this seems confusing, you can read some of the movie essay samples on our blog to get an idea, how to write one.

Step 4: The role of actors and director. When analyzing a movie, you must certainly take into account the people who created it. These are not only actors, directors and producers, but also music orchestra, camera-men, engineers, visual artists, etc. You don’t need to write about all of them, you just need to choose one angle to look at. Your focus would depend on the type of the movie and the elements you want to emphasize. For example, you can write how music gave a rich emotional tone to the movie. If it is a film with fantastic creatures, you can write about the amazing job make-up artists did in creating the greasepaint.

Step 5: Story short outline . Briefly write about the main story line. Don’t go too deep into all nuances and twists of the plot. The purpose of the movie critique essay is not to summarize the whole story, but to analyze it. So don’t spend much time on this step. All you need is to give your readers a close enough idea what the movie is about. Read this article if you want to learn more about writing short, but concise story outlines.

Step 6: Write your essay. After you have analyzed all the above elements of the movie and took short notes of them, it is finally time for you to start writing your essay. It will be easier and faster if you outline your essay beforehand. Just make a list of things you are going to mention in each paragraph. You can follow this classic five paragraph essay template, which would make the process of outlining clearer and more visual. Otherwise, remember that you can always rely on Star-Writers to compose an exceptional movie critique essay for you. Here is the template you can use:

Paragraph 1 : State the movie title, director, the main idea of the movie, your thesis statement;
Paragraph 2: Brief outline of the story.
Paragraph 3 : Settings, structure, style and point of view;
Paragraph 4 : Analysis of deeper meaning, symbolism and cinematic devices;
Paragraph 5: Conclusion, restate your thesis and summarize.

Step 7: Edit . You cannot submit your essay without making sure it is free of structural, grammar, punctuation and spelling mistakes. If you have strong grammar skills and good attention to details, you can try to edit your essay by yourself. There are many online guides that would teach you how to do it. However, written language is such a tricky thing and there are many aspects that you can overlook. Thus, it is better to trust this important task to professionals. Star-Writers can help you with your movie analysis essay in any way you like — to revise, rewrite, edit or proofread it.

Writing Perfect Movie Analysis Essay

Writing about movies can be a lot of fun, especially if you know what you must focus on. If you use these 7 steps, you can be sure to compose a winning movie analysis essay. And Star-Writers are always available online to help you out at any moment of that writing journey. In addition, if you submit your email address right now, you will be able to receive a generous 20% discount on your first order. Contact Star-Writers and don’t lose your chance to get a perfect movie analysis essay.

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How to Write a Critical Essay

Last Updated: April 8, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Megan Morgan, PhD . Megan Morgan is a Graduate Program Academic Advisor in the School of Public & International Affairs at the University of Georgia. She earned her PhD in English from the University of Georgia in 2015. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,161,954 times.

The goal of a critical essay is to analyze a book, film, article, painting, or event and support your argument with relevant details. When writing a paper like this, you will have to come up with an interpretation of your own and then use facts or evidence from the work or other sources to prove that your interpretation is acceptable. A critical essay on a book, for example, might focus on the tone and how that influences the meaning of the book overall and would use quotations from the book to support the thesis. This type of paper requires careful planning and writing, but is often a creative way to engage with a subject that you are interested in and can be very rewarding!

Preparing to Write a Critical Essay

Step 1 Make sure that you understand the assignment.

Get to know the text inside and out by reading and rereading it. If you have been asked to write about a visual text like a film or piece of art, watch the film multiple times or view the painting from various angles and distances.

Step 3 Take notes as you read your text.

What is the text about?
What are the main ideas?
What is puzzling about the text?
What is the purpose of this text?
Does the text accomplish its purpose? If not, why not? Is so, how so? [3] X Research source Don't: summarize the plot — you should already be familiar with it. Do: jot down thoughts that may guide your paper: Does he mean __? Does this connect to __?

Step 4 Review your notes to identify patterns and problems.

Your solution to the problem should help you to develop a focus for your essay, but keep in mind that you do not need to have a solid argument about your text at this point. As you continue to think about the text, you will move closer to a focus and a thesis for your critical analysis essay. Don't: read the author's mind: Mary Shelley intended Frankenstein's monster to be more likable because... Do: phrase it as your own interpretation: Frankenstein's monster is more sympathetic than his creator, leading the reader to question who the true monster really is.

Conducting Research

Step 1 Find appropriate secondary sources if required.

Books, articles from scholarly journals, magazine articles, newspaper articles, and trustworthy websites are some sources that you might consider using.
Use your library’s databases rather than a general internet search. University libraries subscribe to many databases. These databases provide you with free access to articles and other resources that you cannot usually gain access to by using a search engine.

Step 2 Evaluate your sources to determine their credibility.

The author and his or her credentials. Choose sources that include an author’s name and that provide credentials for that author. The credentials should indicate something about why this person is qualified to speak as an authority on the subject. For example, an article about a medical condition will be more trustworthy if the author is a medical doctor. If you find a source where no author is listed or the author does not have any credentials, then this source may not be trustworthy. [5] X Research source
Citations. Think about whether or not this author has adequately researched the topic. Check the author’s bibliography or works cited page. If the author has provided few or no sources, then this source may not be trustworthy. [6] X Research source
Bias. Think about whether or not this author has presented an objective, well-reasoned account of the topic. How often does the tone indicate a strong preference for one side of the argument? How often does the argument dismiss or disregard the opposition’s concerns or valid arguments? If these are regular occurrences in the source, then it may not be a good choice. [7] X Research source (Note, however, that literary criticism often presents a very strong preference for one reading; this is not usually considered "bias" because the field of literary study is inherently subjective.) Don't: dismiss an author for favoring one point of view. Do: engage critically with their argument and make use of well-supported claims.
Publication date. Think about whether or not this source presents the most up to date information on the subject. Noting the publication date is especially important for scientific subjects, since new technologies and techniques have made some earlier findings irrelevant. [8] X Research source
Information provided in the source. If you are still questioning the trustworthiness of this source, cross check some of the information provided against a trustworthy source. If the information that this author presents contradicts one of your trustworthy sources, then it might not be a good source to use in your paper. [9] X Research source

Clearly indicate when you have quoted a source word for word by putting it into quotation marks and including information about the source such as the author’s name, article or book title, and page number. Don't: highlight a phrase just because it sounds significant or meaningful. Do: highlight phrases that support or undermine your arguments.

Writing Your Essay

Make sure your thesis provides enough detail. In other words, avoid simply saying that something is "good" or "effective" and say what specifically makes it "good" or "effective." [12] X Trustworthy Source University of North Carolina Writing Center UNC's on-campus and online instructional service that provides assistance to students, faculty, and others during the writing process Go to source
Place your thesis statement at the end of your first paragraph unless your instructor tells you to place it elsewhere. The end of the first paragraph is the traditional place to provide your thesis in an academic essay.
For example, here is a multi-sentence thesis statement about the effectiveness and purpose of the movie Mad Max: Fury Road : "Many action films follow the same traditional pattern: a male action hero (usually white and attractive) follows his gut and barks orders at others, who must follow him or die. Mad Max: Fury Road is effective because it turns this pattern on its head. Instead of following the expected progression, the movie offers an action movie with multiple heroes, many of whom are women, thereby effectively challenging patriarchal standards in the Hollywood summer blockbuster." Don't: include obvious facts ( Mad Max was directed by George Miller ) or subjective opinions ( Mad Max is the greatest movie of 2015 ). [13] X Trustworthy Source University of North Carolina Writing Center UNC's on-campus and online instructional service that provides assistance to students, faculty, and others during the writing process Go to source Do: present an argument that you can back up with evidence.

You may want to use a formal outline structure that uses Roman numerals, Arabic numerals, and letters. Or, you may want to use an informal "mind-map" type of outline, which allows you to gather your ideas before you have a complete idea of how they progress.

Step 3 Begin your essay with an engaging sentence that gets right into your topic.

Other good techniques to open an essay include using a specific, evocative detail that links to your larger idea, asking a question that your essay will answer, or providing a compelling statistic.

Step 4 Provide background information to help guide your readers.

If you are writing about a book, provide the name of the work, the author, and a brief summary of the plot.
If you are writing about a film, provide a brief synopsis.
If you are writing about a painting or other still image, provide a brief description for your readers.
Keep in mind that your background information in the first paragraph should lead up to your thesis statement. Explain everything the reader needs to know to understand what your topic is about, then narrow it down until you reach the topic itself.

Step 5 Use your body paragraphs to discuss specific components of your text.

Provide a claim at the beginning of the paragraph.
Support your claim with at least one example from your primary source(s).
Support your claim with at least one example from your secondary sources.

Step 6 Develop a conclusion for your essay.

Summarize and review your main ideas about the text.
Explain how the topic affects the reader.
Explain how your narrow topic applies to a broader theme or observation.
Call the reader to action or further exploration on the topic.
Present new questions that your essay introduced. Don't: repeat the same points you made earlier in the essay. Do: refer back to earlier points and connect them into a single argument.

Revising Your Essay

Step 1 Set aside your paper for a few days before revising your draft.

It is important to begin writing a paper far enough ahead of time to allow yourself a few days or even a week to revise before it is due. If you do not allow yourself this extra time, you will be more prone to making simple mistakes and your grade may suffer as a result. [16] X Research source

Step 2 Give yourself sufficient time to do a substantive revision that clarifies any confusing logic or arguments.

What is your main point? How might you clarify your main point?
Who is your audience? Have you considered their needs and expectations?
What is your purpose? Have you accomplished your purpose with this paper?
How effective is your evidence? How might your strengthen your evidence?
Does every part of your paper relate back to your thesis? How might you enhance these connections?
Is anything confusing about your language or organization? How might your clarify your language or organization?
Have you made any errors with grammar, punctuation, or spelling? How can you correct these errors?
What might someone who disagrees with you say about your paper? How can you address these opposing arguments in your paper? [17] X Research source

Step 3 Complete your paper by carefully proofreading a printed version of your final draft.

If you are submitting your paper online or through email, check with your teacher or professor to find out what format s/he prefers. If you have used any textual formatting in your paper, you may wish to save it as a PDF file to preserve your formatting.

Sample Essays

Community Q&A

Ask a friend, family member or other acquaintance to proofread and make constructive comments on your paper. Professional writers go through several drafts of their work and you should expect to do the same. Thanks Helpful 9 Not Helpful 0
It is often easier to write a rough introduction and proceed with the rest of the paper before returning to revise the introduction. If you're feeling lost on how to introduce your paper, write a placeholder introduction. Thanks Helpful 8 Not Helpful 1
Write in your own voice. It is better to correctly use the words you know than to misuse the words you do not know in an attempt to sound scholarly. Thanks Helpful 6 Not Helpful 1

Make sure to cite all of your research including quotations, statistics and theoretical concepts as accurately as possible. When in doubt, err on the side of citing more rather than less, since failing to cite your research can result in a charge of plagiarism. Thanks Helpful 6 Not Helpful 2
Papers written at the last minute suffer from logic gaps and poor grammar. Remember that your teacher has read hundreds, if not thousands of student papers, and as such, can tell when you've written a paper at the last minute. Thanks Helpful 6 Not Helpful 2

↑ https://uwc.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/UWC_handouts_readingessayprompts.pdf
↑ http://www.sussex.ac.uk/s3/?id=122
↑ http://www2.southeastern.edu/Academics/Faculty/elejeune/critique.htm
↑ https://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/faq/reliable
↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/553/03/
↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/673/1/
↑ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/thesis-statements/
↑ https://www.irsc.edu/students/academicsupportcenter/researchpaper/researchpaper.aspx?id=4294967433
↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/2/2/58/
↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/561/05/

About This Article

To write a critical essay, develop a thesis that expresses your essay's main focus and states an arguable claim. Next, write an introduction that gives a basic overview of your paper and introduces your thesis. Then, create paragraphs that discuss your specific ideas, focusing on one main idea per paragraph. Be sure to start each paragraph with a claim and use examples from primary and secondary sources to support that claim. Finally, create a conclusion that summarizes your main points. For tips on outlining and revising your paper, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Write a Critical Essay

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Olivia Valdes was the Associate Editorial Director for ThoughtCo. She worked with Dotdash Meredith from 2017 to 2021.

B.A., American Studies, Yale University

A critical essay is a form of academic writing that analyzes, interprets, and/or evaluates a text. In a critical essay, an author makes a claim about how particular ideas or themes are conveyed in a text, then supports that claim with evidence from primary and/or secondary sources.

In casual conversation, we often associate the word "critical" with a negative perspective. However, in the context of a critical essay, the word "critical" simply means discerning and analytical. Critical essays analyze and evaluate the meaning and significance of a text, rather than making a judgment about its content or quality.

What Makes an Essay "Critical"?

Imagine you've just watched the movie "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." If you were chatting with friends in the movie theater lobby, you might say something like, "Charlie was so lucky to find a Golden Ticket. That ticket changed his life." A friend might reply, "Yeah, but Willy Wonka shouldn't have let those raucous kids into his chocolate factory in the first place. They caused a big mess."

These comments make for an enjoyable conversation, but they do not belong in a critical essay. Why? Because they respond to (and pass judgment on) the raw content of the movie, rather than analyzing its themes or how the director conveyed those themes.

On the other hand, a critical essay about "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" might take the following topic as its thesis: "In 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,' director Mel Stuart intertwines money and morality through his depiction of children: the angelic appearance of Charlie Bucket, a good-hearted boy of modest means, is sharply contrasted against the physically grotesque portrayal of the wealthy, and thus immoral, children."

This thesis includes a claim about the themes of the film, what the director seems to be saying about those themes, and what techniques the director employs in order to communicate his message. In addition, this thesis is both supportable and disputable using evidence from the film itself, which means it's a strong central argument for a critical essay .

Characteristics of a Critical Essay

Critical essays are written across many academic disciplines and can have wide-ranging textual subjects: films, novels, poetry, video games, visual art, and more. However, despite their diverse subject matter, all critical essays share the following characteristics.

Central claim . All critical essays contain a central claim about the text. This argument is typically expressed at the beginning of the essay in a thesis statement , then supported with evidence in each body paragraph. Some critical essays bolster their argument even further by including potential counterarguments, then using evidence to dispute them.
Evidence . The central claim of a critical essay must be supported by evidence. In many critical essays, most of the evidence comes in the form of textual support: particular details from the text (dialogue, descriptions, word choice, structure, imagery, et cetera) that bolster the argument. Critical essays may also include evidence from secondary sources, often scholarly works that support or strengthen the main argument.
Conclusion . After making a claim and supporting it with evidence, critical essays offer a succinct conclusion. The conclusion summarizes the trajectory of the essay's argument and emphasizes the essays' most important insights.

Tips for Writing a Critical Essay

Writing a critical essay requires rigorous analysis and a meticulous argument-building process. If you're struggling with a critical essay assignment, these tips will help you get started.

Practice active reading strategies . These strategies for staying focused and retaining information will help you identify specific details in the text that will serve as evidence for your main argument. Active reading is an essential skill, especially if you're writing a critical essay for a literature class.
Read example essays . If you're unfamiliar with critical essays as a form, writing one is going to be extremely challenging. Before you dive into the writing process, read a variety of published critical essays, paying careful attention to their structure and writing style. (As always, remember that paraphrasing an author's ideas without proper attribution is a form of plagiarism .)
Resist the urge to summarize . Critical essays should consist of your own analysis and interpretation of a text, not a summary of the text in general. If you find yourself writing lengthy plot or character descriptions, pause and consider whether these summaries are in the service of your main argument or whether they are simply taking up space.
An Introduction to Academic Writing
Definition and Examples of Analysis in Composition
How to Write a Good Thesis Statement
The Ultimate Guide to the 5-Paragraph Essay
How To Write an Essay
Tips on How to Write an Argumentative Essay
What an Essay Is and How to Write One
How to Write and Format an MBA Essay
How To Write a Top-Scoring ACT Essay for the Enhanced Writing Test
How to Structure an Essay
How to Write a Solid Thesis Statement
How to Write a Response Paper
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The Definition of a Review in Composition

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Resources
While film reviews and theoretical essays are part of Film Studies, the most common paper that students will face is: "the critical essay". Fear not. Though its title combines a serious undertone that implies it is both a large chuck of your grade and also really hard and vague, this post will guide you on your way.
Movie Critical Analysis: "Catch Me if You Can"
Plot Summary. "Catch Me if You Can" follows the story of Frank Abagnale Jr., a skilled con artist who successfully poses as an airline pilot, doctor, and lawyer, forging checks worth millions of dollars. Throughout the film, Frank is pursued by the determined FBI agent, Carl Hanratty.
Film Writing: Sample Analysis
In doing this, the conclusion makes an argument for the essay's own relevance: we need to pay attention to the essay's points so that we can achieve a rich understanding of the movie. The piece's final sentence makes a chilling final impression by alluding to the danger that might loom if we do not understand the movie.
Step By Step Guide to Writing an Essay on Film
4. Write Your Analysis. This is the central part of the essay in which you analyze the movie critically and state your impressions about the film. Ensure to support your claims with relevant materials from the movie. There are also several creative elements in a movie that are connected to make the film a whole.
A critical essay about a movie Figgerits
Carl Elias. May 19, 2022. Please find below all the A critical essay about a movie Figgerits Answers and Solutions. Figgerits is a fantastic word game developed by Hitapps Inc for both iOS and Android devices. If you are stuck with a specific level then look no further because we have just finished solving all the Figgerits Answers and Solutions.
Film Essay Writing And All You Need To Know About It
The Movie Essay A movie review is one of the most common and popular ways of analyzing a film. ... The critical essay aims to provide key details, themes, and other relevant information about the movie. The analysis will usually only focus on a part of the movie (a scene or a few scenes). On a side note, you can visit Essaypro's website to ...
LibGuides: Film & Media Studies Resources: Researching a Film
Moving from movie reviews to theoretical and critical essays, the text demonstrates how an analysis of a film becomes more subtle and rigorous as part of a compositional process.Both an introduction to film study and a practical writing guide, this brief text introduces students to film terms and the major film theories to enable them to write ...
How Can I Write an Essay About a Movie?
Here are top tips by experts when writing an essay about a particular movie during your assignments: 1. Watch the Movie. The first obvious standpoint for writing an essay about any movie is watching the film. Watching the movie builds an important foundation for the writing exercise. Composing an insightful, compelling, and well-thought movie ...
PDF How to Write About Film
The most common types of film writing are movie reviews, most often found in popular media and critical and theoretical essays, which are commonly found in academia. Within these three genres, films are typically analyzed through six lenses: formalism, genre, historical, national cinema, auteur and ideology. The Movie Review.
Critical essay about a movie Figgerits
Critical essay about a movie. On this page you may find the Critical essay about a movie answer. This clue was last seen on Figgerits Level 17 Answers.The answer we have for Critical essay about a movie in our database has a total of 6 letters.If something is wrong or missing kindly let us know and we will be more than happy to help you out!
Film Analysis
Writing the film analysis essay. Writing a film analysis requires you to consider the composition of the film—the individual parts and choices made that come together to create the finished piece. Film analysis goes beyond the analysis of the film as literature to include camera angles, lighting, set design, sound elements, costume choices ...
7 Steps for Writing Movie Critique Essay
Analyzing a movie is very similar to analyzing a book. You will be able to read about writing a book critique essay if you visit our blog. Step 3: Look at the characters. While watching a movie, jot down in your notebook some notes about characters. Try to understand the purpose of each character in the story.
How to Write a Critical Essay (with Pictures)
Perform a critical reading of your source(s). A critical essay assignment asks you to evaluate a book, an article, a movie, a painting, or some other type of text. In order to perform a critical analysis of any text, you need to become very familiar with the primary text. Get to know the text inside and out by reading and rereading it.
How to Write a Critical Essay
A critical essay is a form of academic writing that analyzes, interprets, and/or evaluates a text. In a critical essay, an author makes a claim about how particular ideas or themes are conveyed in a text, then supports that claim with evidence from primary and/or secondary sources. In casual conversation, we often associate the word "critical ...
Critical appraisal of a book, film etc (6) Crossword Clue
The Crossword Solver found 30 answers to "Critical appraisal of a book, film etc (6)", 6 letters crossword clue. The Crossword Solver finds answers to classic crosswords and cryptic crossword puzzles. Enter the length or pattern for better results. Click the answer to find similar crossword clues . Enter a Crossword Clue. A clue is required.
A critical appraisal of a book, play or film in a publication (6
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Movie Critical Analysis: "Catch Me if You Can"

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Film Essay Writing And All You Need To Know About It

Hattie Funk

What Is A Film Essay?

Types Of Film Analysis Essays

The Movie Essay

The Critical Essay

The Theoretical Essay

Advantages Of Film Essay

Who Can Help You Write A Film Essay?

Educational Institutions For Film

The University of Texas at Austin, Radio-Television-Film

Los Angeles Center (the University of Texas at Austin)

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Film & Media Studies Resources: Researching a Film

Types of Film Analysis

Watching Film Analytically

2. Review film terms.

3. Watch the film.

Starting the Film Analysis Essay

5. Make a research plan.

6. Find Sources and Reviews

Symbolic Analysis

Narrative Analysis

Cultural or Historical Analysis

Mise-en-scene Analysis

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How Can I Write an Essay About a Movie?

What Is a Movie Essay?

1. Watch the Movie

2. Write an Introduction