Documentary Outline

Your outlines are due to Blackboard by Sunday, November 18.

THE ASSIGNMENT:

To create an outline showing your persuasive purpose and advocacy focus for your documentary film.

For each group, please submit one outline to Blackboard on Sunday. Please be sure to include all of the elements provided in the sample outline in this PowerPoint.

OUTLINE

• Your Topic:• INTRODUCTION: define and provide necessary

background of the topic. • POSITION/ADVOCACY: Using a Should, Does, or

Is question, please state clearly the overall persuasive position of your documentary.

• OPPOSING POSITIONS: Include the voices of people that disagree with your position in order to increase your credibility.

OUTLINE cont.

• TRANSITION INTO THE ARGUMENT: Here you will provide a list of at least 2 or 3 reasons why you hold your particular position.

• REASON 1: detailed list of evidence, support and explanation of this reason.

• REASON 2: detailed list of evidence, support, and explanation of this reason.

OUTLINE cont.

• ADVOCACY: state clearly the kinds of policies or suggestions you would want put in place in order to make the position you are advocating for possible.

• RESEARCH: provide a list of sources you will refer to in the documentary such as statistics, graphs, interviews. You will also want to provide resources or contact information for people if they would like to get further involved with the message you are advocating.

• CONCLUSION: includes fair use statement and works cited.

Creating an outline

• THE ASSIGNMENT:

To create an outline showing your persuasive purpose and advocacy focus for your documentary film.

The Sample Topic:

Traditional Burials vs- Green Burials

Intro:

• Define what traditional and green burials are. • Provide statistic on how many Americans die a year and how 80% prefer traditional method. • Provide statistic on how much embalming fluid, non-biodegradable materials buried. • Introduce the Green Burial Council, their ideology, and their mission • Green burial was the method used before Civil War made embalming popular.

Position/Advocacy:

Traditional burials should be laid to rest, and use green burials instead.

Traditional burials should be laid to rest, and use green burials instead.

Opposing point of view to my position:

• • People are embalmed because they believe it’s required by law, it slows down decay, it’s a disinfectant, and they look life-like for their funeral viewing.

• • People feel comfortable with a traditional burial since it’s normal in society.

• • People want to their coffin and funeral service to represent them: luxurious coffin, ornate urn or headstone, nice, pretty cemetery.

• • People think cremation and traditional burials are the only option.

Transition into my argument

Providing reasons for the “should be” position.

1st reason:

Preserve land /cheaper costs

• Compare price of green vs. traditional burial. • Not enough land for cemeteries, so less natural wild-lands—use U.K. example • Green cemeteries will preserve & protect lands as natural as they are, and for people to enjoy. • Bodies will return to the earth naturally and give back to nature.

2nd reason:

Safer (humans and environment)

• Inform that embalming is not required by law and any diseases and bacteria die right after death. • Embalming fluid harms morticians and workers, increase of cancer-related deaths. • Embalming fluids and non-biodegradable materials pollute ground water and the earth • Existing carbon emission from cremations. • Green caskets, shrouds, and urns will decompose with body in 1 year and prevent pollution. (show examples) • The only ‘safe’ green cremation is a reef ball which houses underwater creatures.

Advocacy

It is important that for your “should be” position, you can advocate (make suggestions, provide policies) for ways to help solve the problem.

Advocacy:

• Existing traditional cemeteries can become hybrids certified by the Green Burial Council.

• Use dry ice or refrigeration to preserve body for a viewing, instead of embalming.

• Use natural embalming fluid instead of chemical based embalmers.

Research I will refer to/include:

• Provide info about El Paso not having a green cemetery, closest is in George, Texas.

• Provide graph of online survey & explain results.

• Interview with Howard Holderfield from Sunset. Provide resources/contact information if interested in going green.

Conclusion

• Rolling Credits to include Fair Use Statement and Citations

• When you use images or logos on your website, they will need to be cited to give attribution as to where they come from (“Courtesy of University of Texas at El Paso,” for example, for the UTEP logo). Some images are already fair use (like clip art and many you might get from Google Images), so they may not need a citation, but make sure!

Fair Use Statement

The purpose of this page is for the viewing of the assignments for my English 1312 course. All rights are reserved to (your name here), and no copying is allowed without permission. The University requires all members of its community to follow copyright and fair use requirements. You are individually and solely responsible for violations of copyright and fair use laws. Violations of copyright laws could subject you to federal and state civil penalties and criminal liability, as well as disciplinary action under University policies.