Art Assignment
This assignment requires you to write an essay of 5 typed pages in which you discuss the life and work of a certain artist. You will follow the essay form, include quotes, and work cited. Your thesis will explain why this artist is important to the art world, and the body will discuss his/her life and work.
In the body section of the paper you will need to discuss the artist’s life in several paragraphs, the school of art (“ism”) associated with the artist (in this paragraph you need to 1)define and describe the “ism”, discuss the artist’s role in it, and mention other artists also categorized as such), and a paragraph on his work in general, and three paragraphs analyzing in detail at least three works of the artist (for each, describe, place in a career context, give your own thoughts on the work–you can use “I” here–connect with the “ism”. Quote from critics/writers concerning the works when possible. If possible, include copies of the works you discuss in your paper.
You will quote from five or more sources that will be listed on the works cited page. Please remember that you will need two book sources included in the
The following are guidelines you are to follow in the construction of these essays. Your ability to construct essays successfully will have a bearing on your grade. I will not only be looking at your ideas. In order for you to get a good grade in this class you will have to do the THREE FORMS successfully (essay, quote, work cited forms). You should construct your essays exactly as to the rules which follow.
IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT YOU FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS BELOW. YOUR GRADE DEPENDS UPON IT. IT IS A GOOD IDEA TO PRINT OUT THIS PAGE AND KEEP IT WITH YOU WHEN WORKING ON THE PAPERS.
Here are some errors that occur regularly….that I am hoping you will not make!
Do not plagiarize. If you copy and paste from the web the ‘originality report’ will tell me what you took and where it came from. If you do not notate/quote it correctly, you will receive an F for the paper. Please be aware of this. The idea here is for you to research the subject….read about it….then think about it a bit….THEN write the pertinent info in your own words. (Note: Don’t just change a few words from a sentence or paragraph….you will ‘get caught’.)
How to use the web without getting an F? You can quote the passage correctly–see form below, or you can read the info, put it in your notes in your own words, then rewrite it–again in your own words. That way, the information will be in the paper but the words will be yours. You do not need to cite historical info, but if you take someone’s idea from a source, you need to cite it at the end of that section. But again, if you use their words without quotes, you are plagiarizing…..which is unacceptable. To quote a passage successfully from the web, see the Quote section below.
Please do your works cited page as instructed below. It may be different than what you find elsewhere, especially on websites. The only correct way to do the works cited, as far as this course is concerned, is stated below.
Always begin your paper with an interesting title—it may contain the subject, but it needs to be more—-do not use Film Paper as a title!
Introduction: This is the first paragraph of your essay. It is best to begin your essay with a sentence (or sentences) that get the interest of the reader without identifying clearly the subject you are writing on. This section is called the “Hook.” After you get the reader’s interest then identify the subject and give some general information about it. This should be about three or more sentences in length. Finally, the last sentence of this paragraph should be your thesis. The thesis is important because it spells out the main idea of your essay. All the body paragraphs which follow hinge on this sentence because those paragraphs will attempt to prove the thesis. The first paragraph, like all following paragraphs, is usually five or more sentences long.
Body Paragraphs: The body of the essay is made up of paragraphs which represent proofs which convince the reader that the thesis is correct. In the assignment pages I will map out the body paragraph points for you. The first sentence of each body paragraph should spell out clearly the point that is to be covered in the paragraph (this point, in turn, should help prove the thesis). This sentence is called the Topic Sentence. (Note: Even biographical paragraphs need to begin with a topic sentence. To do this, add the overall concept word–such as music or art–into the first sentence of the paragraph discussing the bio material–such as, Johnny Cash was born in Arkansas and from the beginning was surrounded by music that would influence his biggest hits.) After clearly identifying the point, the rest of the paragraph goes into detail proving and illustrating the point. (Here is where your quotes will be placed.) THESE PAPERS ARE NOT PLOT SUMMARIES. DO NOT SIMPLY RETELL WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FILM, NOVEL…etc.. Use the plot to illustrate your ideas. At the end of the body paragraph (you will have several of these—each covering points you want to make), you should round off the point and give the reader a feeling that this point is complete and another is to follow. You will then be ready to begin the next body paragraph.
Note: When you are writing on a famous person, do not just use their first name…unless you know him/her personally!
Conclusion: The last paragraph of your essay is the conclusion. No new information will be found in this paragraph. (Note: If you are discussing an individual and want to cover his/her death, do not do so in the conclusion. Cover that information in the body section.) The first sentence should restate the thesis/main idea. The next part will review the main points that you have made in the paper. The last section should leave the reader with an interesting thought, question, quote…etc.
IMPORTANT SENTENCES: last of intro, first of body paragraphs, first of conclusion
If you quote from books, let me know and I will help you do it if you get stuck.
Internet Sources: In order to simplify matters, you must use the following form and only this form, nothing else. Always begin with an introductory phrase that includes the author’s name, if no author, include the website (italicized). Then the quote in quote marks, then ( ). In the ( ), if there is an author in the intro phrase, all you need is n.p.–for no page–(n.p.). If no author, then in the ( ) put the first page title word–that word which will begin the citation for that source on the works cited page. If I looked up Miles Davis on Wikipedia I would write: One writer for Wikipedia.org (italicized) states, “Miles was a great trumpeter” (“Miles” n.p.). The n.p. stands for ‘no page’….which I want you to use on web sources. That would coincide with the citation on the works cited page: “Miles Davis.” Wikipedia.org. (italicized) 16 July 2019.—So, you have the page title (the title on the top of the page you are looking at), the website which is italicized, and the date that you looked it up–that’s the only date needed, written with number then month then year….just like above. No address or anything else. If you get stuck, send me an email and I will help you.
At the top of the page center the words, Work Cited.
ps–The rule on titles–If it is the whole thing (book, film…etc.), then underline it; If it is part of something (a song, an entry…etc.), put quotation marks around it.
