Review of The Go Masters

Write an analysis of The Go Masters. Assume that the reader is an arts film fan who knows nothing about the movie. Less than half of the paper should be descriptive; most of your paper should consist of an interesting observation about the movie stated in the form of a specific thesis. Although this thesis would ordinarily be stated very early in the paper, you could choose to state the thesis after having presented relevant background knowledge about the movie. In any event, the thesis should fit fluidly in the text of the paper. This thesis should not be a simple assessment of the movie (good or bad). Instead, try to say something more interesting; for instance, you may want to identify something that the movie attempted to do, and argue that it failed or that it succeeded. You should use evidence from the movie to support your ideas, formulating an argumentative paper.

Lunsford has guidelines about argumentative writing. In particular, sections 6 and 9 are expecially relevant to this paper, though adopting some of her recommendations (such writing an outline early in the process) can naturally lead to pretty dry writing.

Your paper should be about 600-900 words (2-3 pages). You will be assessed primarily on clarity, interest, and on your ability to argue a clear, interesting, and focused thesis concerning the movie. For this particular paper, I will use the following grading guidelines. (These guidelines are taken nearly verbatim from Lewis Hyde.)

The F paper is rare. This grade is usually reserved for cases of plagiarism and excessive lateness. However, exceptional failure to comply with the terms of an assignment may also result in an F.
The D paper, in some significant way, doesn't answer the question that was asked. It lacks a thesis or an argument, or it has a thesis which is inappropriate to the assignment. A D paper which does answer the question is filled with mechanical faults (errors in grammar and/or spelling). Paragraphs do not hold together; ideas do not develop from sentence to sentence. This paper usually repeats the same thoughts over and over, perhaps in slightly different language but often in the same words. It is usually rambling and directionless.
The C paper has a thesis which is vague and broad, or which answers only part of the question(s) asked; or it may make a good argument without first offering a thesis statement (usually in the introduction). The C paper rarely uses evidence well; sometimes it uses no evidence at all and relies entirely on unsupported personal opinion. Even with a clear and interesting thesis, a paper with insufficient supporting evidence is a C paper. Sometimes a C paper has a good deal of evidence, but it is not part of a coherent argument and the reader can only make sense of it with great difficulty (if at all); thus, the evidence is ineffective.
The B paper makes sense throughout. It has a thesis that is appropriate, complete and worth arguing. It does not digress, and it ends by keeping the promise it made to the reader in the beginning. The reader always knows where the paper is going and what the author wants to say. The paper presents interesting ideas, supported with sound evidence which is both to the point and well documented.
The paper is well organized and although some sentences may not be elegant, the ideas in them flow well and thought naturally follows on thought. The paragraphs may be unwieldy now and then, but they are organized around one main idea. The reader does not have to read a paragraph two or three times to figure out what the writer is trying to convey.
The B paper is, for the most part, mechanically correct. There will be occasional spelling and grammar errors, but these are few in number and do not prevent the reader from following the ideas in the paper.
The A paper is very rare. It has all the qualities of a B paper, but in addition it is lively, well paced, interesting, even exciting. It probably addresses parts of the movie besides plot, such as cinemography, acting and/or intent. Everything in the A paper seems to fit the thesis exactly. The paper has style. Reading this paper, the reader feels a mind at work. The sure mark of an A paper is that the reader continues to think about it after reading it, even wanting to tell others about it.
This paper may have a proofreading error or two, even occasional misspelled words or a minor error in grammar, but these errors are the consequence of the normal accidents all good writers encounter.