Writer's Statement

At the start of this year, I did not have a clear approach to writing papers. I often just wrote down what I was thinking, which almost always ended up with my writing sounding incoherent and disorganized. Additionally, I often incorporated too much plot summary into my papers and did not have enough terms in my writing. These characteristics are reflected in my Wiseguy/Goodfellas essay, which had long paragraphs and lots of plot summary. As I progressed throughout the semester, I learned to approach my papers more systematically; I used outlines, and incorporated more concise wording. These changes allowed me to make more complex and complete arguments in my papers.

As well as developing my writing and analysis skills, taking this course has helped me appreciate how different film adaptations can be from their book versions. Prior to taking this course, I thought that directors in charge of adapting books into films would stick to the original story as closely as possible. However, through studying Goodfellas and the film adaptation of The Princess Bride, I saw how directors are able to put their own spin on the original story while adapting it for the big screen. For example, Rob Reiner's adaptation of The Princess Bride has a completely different ending to the original story, and Rob Reiner employs many creative ways to adapt the original story.