1. You will need to pick a story type from the following: exhibitions, mysteries, journeys, redemption (and/or shame) narratives, and fantasies.
2. You will need to find 4 examples of the story type. The examples must come from at least 3 different media. Types of media include: films, television shows, literature (novels and short stories), poetry, theater (you can use video recording of plays and other live performances), podcasts, opera, ballet, graphic novels/comic books, and video/computer games. The stories must be fictional; they can be based on real events but should not be documentaries or other forms of non-fiction journalism. You may refer to additional examples but you should focus on only four examples. As usual, you should select works designed for general audiences and not aimed primarily at children.
3. discusses these examples and explains the ways that they reflect aspects of a given story type and how they convey various themes through the use of creative storytelling techniques. In other words, how do the works in question reflect creativity in working with the characteristics of a given story type?
4. Try to be as detailed and specific in your analysis of the creative works. Use lots of examples and be sure to consider the stylistic choices made by the creators of these works: the language they use, metaphors, and other literary devices (literature); the visual and sound design, images, and editing (television/film); the lyrics, arrangement, and sound (musical work), the interactive features or ways that the user/audience is engaged (games and web-based work).
5. Use pentadic analysis as a way of exploring how your particular examples create meaning and the ways that each example reflects the characteristics associated with a given medium (e.g., literature, film, games, theater).
6. Avoid extended plot summaries and long lists of characters, events, locations, and other features of the work. A short paragraph should be sufficient to provide a context for your examples and analysis.
7. While each work would not require precisely the same amount of space in your essay, try to provide a balanced treatment of the material to avoid an essay in which one example consumes a large percentage of the writing and analysis and the others are merely peripheral to this main example. The ideal essay will provide a strong comparative analysis of the works under consideration.
Technical Requirements:
1. Your essay should be at least 2000 words. Upper limits are more flexible but check with your tutorial leader if you are concerned you will be over 3000 words.
2. All citations (not just direct quotes) from outside sources should be properly cited using one of the standard citation systems.
