Composition 4
Mooney
Writing #3: “Radio” Writings
Rationale: The goals of the assignment include the following: critical analysis of a video text,
careful attention and detail to paragraph structure and mechanical elements; and diversifying the
range of the types of support you use in your writing.
Overview: You will be writing six 1-2 paragraph responses of the following types: compare and
contrast, classification, cause and effect, quotation elaboration, definition, and argument. You
will use “Radio” as the basis for your paper for some responses; others you will use the movie as
a starting point and incorporate material from outside the movie into your writing.
Below are the categories and possible suggestions for writing topics. These are only ideas. If
you come up with something that you would like to write upon, great. Just run your idea by me, I
always enjoy fresh ideas.
Compare & Contrast: Use the movie for the content of your paper. You will need to limit the
scope of your topics in order to consolidate your material.
 Compare and Contrast Coach Jones and “Father”
 Compare and Contrast Radio and “Stud”
 Compare and Contrast Coach Jones and Principal Daniels
 Compare and Contrast
Definition: For this, you may start with an idea presented in the movie and then go beyond the
idea to incorporate material from your life/the world/experiences, etc. The movie raises all of the
questions below. Respond with material that goes beyond the scope of the movie.
 What is a good team?
 What is a good coach?
 What is a good friend?
 What is a good person?
 What is a challenge/success?
 What is unity?
 What is a lesson?
Argument: Rely on your interpretations of the movie for this response.
 Was Coach Jones right or wrong in doing what he did?
 What is the most important moment/event in the team’s development?
 What event/moment was most indicative of the team’s character?
 Was this the best decision to make for the team/school/family?
Classification: For this, you may stick to the movie or go beyond the movie. Classification asks
you to make a generalization and categorize people or things based on your interpretation.
 Categorize the types of players/people you see. While this is Hollywood, perhaps it does
accurately reveal roles that emerge on teams or in a small town.
 Categorize the movie roles/stereotypes or stock characters that you see in the movie.
 Coach Jones represents one of many styles of teaching and coaching. Having 12 ½ years
of experience under your belt, categorize the types of teachers/teaching styles that you
have come across.
 Categorize the types of students you have come across in your schooling. With this and
the suggestion before, be careful not to name names unless you have something good to
say.
Cause-Effect: Use the movie for the content of your writing.
 What are the effects of integrating Radio onto the team?
 What happens to the role of Coach Jones as a father, as a teacher, as a coach?
 What does Radio’s entrance to the team do?
 What do you feel the team, school, and town learn from Radio’s integration?
Quotation: With this, you will need to identify the speaker and the context in which the speaker
said the quote. Then you will use an illustration (one extended example) or multiple examples to
show how the quotation plays itself out beyond the movie.
 “Maybe we ain’t the one’s been teachin’ Radio… it’s Radio been teachin’ us.”
Character
Robert “Radio” Kennedy
Coach Harold Jones
Principal Daniels
Maggie Kennedy
Coach Honeycutt
Frank
Johnny
Linda Jones
Mary Helen Jones
Actor
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Ed Harris
Alfre Woodward
E. Epatha Merkerson
Brent Sexton
Chris Mulkey
Riley Smith
Debra Winger
Sarah Drew