1. Your answer must be approximately 600 words.
   1. I will NOT read longer answers, so choose every word carefully
   2. Do not waste space with any fluff (ie. “I chose this work because….” or “I really like this work because…”). Get right to the main point of your argument!
2. Read the assignment thoroughly. Be sure you understand it before you begin.
3. Watch the videos!
4. Essays will be graded for content, style, grammar and proofreading. Edit your work carefully.
5. Plagiarism will result in an F for the entire course! DO NOT take the risk.
   1. Cite any sources used, except basic information covered in lectures and the textbook (other books and articles are good, the web is NOT). Use footnotes or parenthetical citations.
   2. Always cite direct quotations.
   3. See here for citation information.
   4. See here for plagiarism information.

TOPIC

Students will choose two works to compare and contrast from this set of GoogleArtProject images. For this essay, you will perform visual analysis, but also will consider one of the course’s major themes (that is, the subjects of Topics 5-12, such as The Human Body or Mortality and Immortality). How do the visual qualities of each work help it to convey the theme? Do they convey the same ideas, or do they create different impressions? Do not write two micro-essays, but one essay that considers two works. The essay should be a clearly written, academic essay, with Chicago style notes (see Art History Rules).

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Analyze works of art using visual analysis vocabulary.

Apply knowledge of major art themes to any work of art.

Write clear and cohesive short essays on works of art. 

Structure Guidelines

Before Writing – Make an outline! This is a way to organize your thoughts and to make sure that your structure is logical. It also can make the writing process much faster and easier, since you have a roadmap of where you are heading. The more detailed your outlines, the more they help! This may seem like a waste of time, but I promise you it will save you time in the end.

1. Thesis – You must have one! It should be identifiable from your first paragraph. This thesis must be original and supportable. You should be able to connect every paragraph in your essay to this idea. If you cannot connect a passage to your thesis, it is either extraneous or in need of explanation. A thesis is a statement of the idea you will be trying to prove. An essay is an argument, an attempt to prove an original assertion through the use of various types of evidence. Note also that a good thesis needs to be something reasonable people might debate. “The earth is round” is a poor thesis because there is not a reasonable alternative to be argued.

2. Evidence – You are expected to rely primarily on the visual evidence of works of art. You may supplement this visual evidence with texts, but keep this assignment focused on the visuals. Look up your work, its style, medium, subject and theme. If you have questions about research strategies, just ask!

3. Argument – Be sure to venture beyond formal description of your images. Provide analysis that considers the meaning or meanings that we may draw from these works. Do not be afraid to offer multiple interpretations of an image or set of images. This can often by very effective, so long as the various interpretations are incorporated into a single, overarching argument. Most importantly, be sure that every sentence of your paper can be connected to your thesis.

4. Conclusion – Your papers should end with some form of concluding remarks. These need not take the form of hackneyed conventions (ie. “In conclusion, I would like to state…”), nor of grand overstatements (This work shows how incredible the Middle Ages were.) but should show the reader where they have just been and why this journey was important.
5. Proofreading – Please do not rely on your spell-checking and grammar-checking software to do your proofreading for you. Many typos are also words, and therefore not picked up. I once read a paper in which the student referred repeatedly to St. Mark’s loin, intending to write about his symbol, the lion. Such errors can be quite distracting. When proofreading, look for various issues, from spelling and grammar through language to overall essay structure. Ask yourself: Have I presented my argument in the best possible order? Are all of my main points clear and well-stated? Does one portion of my argument flow smoothly into the next? If not, try to fix it!

6. Formatting – Papers must be regularly footnoted and these footnotes must appear on the same page as the text to which they refer. Every citation needs a new footnote, even if it refers to a source previously cited. These must be numbered sequentially. FOOTNOTE INSTRUCTIONS: For formats, see Art History Rules. The two most important aspects of citation are consistency and traceability. Can your reader (me) easily find the text you are citing? Have you given all the necessary information? Cite correctly, or a risk loosing a full letter grade!

How to Make Footnotes in Word: Click Insert>Footnote (or Reference, depending on version) and then Insert. Word automatically makes the superscript numbers in your body text and sets up footnotes below for your citation.

Here are a few examples:

Book: Charles Dodwell, The Old English Illustrated Hexateuch (Copenhagen: Bagger, 1974), 12.

Article: Dan Terkla, “Hugh of St. Victor (1096-1141) and Anglo-French Cartography,” Imago Mundi: The International Journal for the History of Cartography 65:2 (2013): 161-179, 169.

Web Page: Michele Brown, Catalogue Entry for The Hexateuch, The British Library Web Catalogue (2001) <http://molcat.bl.uk/msscat/Cott+50204.html> (accessed January 12, 2003).

7. Title – When you have finished all of this, give your paper a title! This can be descriptive (Images of the Sword in the Bayeux Tapestry) or evocative (Slicing and Dicing) or both (Slicing and Dicing: Images of the Sword in the Bayeux Tapestry).

Evaluation

When you think you are finished, ask yourself the following questions. Your essays will be evaluated with the following considerations in mind:

1. Does the essay have a central idea that is carefully and clearly stated? Is it significant, interesting, and engaging? Does it take a stand and make an argument? Is it well-structured, with paragraphs that relate to the central idea?

2. Are the interpretive points of the argument fully discussed and well-supported? Is the evidence appropriate? Does the discussion make the point clear without being wordy?

3. How well does the essay succeed in going beyond the surface of the object or text to bring out underlying issues? Does the paper address the complexities of the object and problems in interpretation?

4. Is the essay carefully edited? Is it free from grammatical, typographical and spelling errors? Is it neatly (and reasonably) formatted? *Note – I am well aware of how easy it is to change margins and font sizes. Do not try to extend you paper by any such means. You are asked to meet the length specified for the assignment, but I would prefer an honest paper that is a page short to one that has been artificially stretched.