How to Find Sources for a Film EE
by Lindsay Martinez
You read the title correctly. You can write your extended essay on a movie or series of movies. As long as you’re able to derive some sort of argument and IB-level meaning from those movies, it’s possible and passable!
Finding outside sources for this type of extended essay may be a bit more difficult in the sense that it’s not very typical for academic sources to be written about something like the Spiderman franchise. However, there are ways to get around this, and it’s by taking advantage of what you already have and know.
Most of the sources you’ll be using for your film EE will be from the movie itself. Here are some things to think about when trying to add sources.
1. Screenshots from the Movie: You’re allowed to cite screenshots from the movie itself and use it in your extended essay. Make sure to explain why the specific screenshot or scene helps prove your argument, whether it’s something visual or what was happening in the scene.
2. Scripts: You can use parts of a movie’s script and cite it as a source in order to better support your argument. It’s best to always explain things in your own words, though. Using quotes straight off of the script is going to make your plagiarism percentage very high. This essay is supposed to be in your voice, not Quentin Tarantino’s.
3. Other Film Analyses: You can use another person’s film analysis and work off of some of their points (as long as you cite it and then explain your own point of view afterwards).
Even though a lot of your sources will probably be from the movie itself, you could scroll through JSTOR, Google Scholar, and other websites to help you find primary sources and see if there are any other helpful sources that will help you better convey your argument.
For a film essay, remember to never cite time stamps. You can add them within your essay, but you can’t use a time stamp as a source. You could also include fan reviews, money made in the box office, or even compare one movie to another.
When you’re actually writing out the Works Cited page for your EE, EasyBib is your best bet. Make sure that it’s written out in MLA format and that you have the sources in alphabetical order with a hanging indentation.
Overall, the extended essay isn’t as bad as people make it out to be as long as you know how to use the time you have. Don’t overthink it, don’t freak out, and get it done: good luck!
