Assignment Paper

Spring 2020

Looking and Writing Assignments

You are responsible for three (3) Looking and Writing Assignment papers of 750 words each (approximately 3 double-spaced, typewritten pages) (these replace the original requirement of two-exams and a 1000-word paper). Each paper counts for 25% of a student’s grade in the course, for a total of 75%.

The directions for the five (5) Looking and Writing Assignment options are posted on Canvas (in both the Files Tab and the Modules). You are to choose three (3) of the five (5) provided topics. Papers are to be submitted through the Assignments Tab on Canvas, as attachments in the form of Word documents. This will allow the TAs to download your papers and provide comments in track changes. If you do not have Microsoft Word, it is available for free through the university here: https://www1.udel.edu/it/help/microsoft/ .

Please note that the paper you upload to Canvas by midnight on its due date should be your best and final effort. It will be considered your final paper. However, up to a specific paper’s due date, you may replace an earlier draft of that paper with a revised version. (Further, anyone who submitted the first paper for its original April 6 due date, may edit and submit a new version by the revised due date of April 13.)

Due dates for Looking and Writing Assignments (Please note: these are revised due dates)
Monday, April 13 – Option 1: Vermeer (You be the Film Critic)
Monday, April 20 – Option 2: Eighteenth-Century Art and Knowledge (Join the Conversation)
Monday, April 27 – Option 3: Inside Museums and Out on the Streets (Visiting Art Virtually)
Monday, May 4 – Option 4: Organizing a Virtual Exhibition (You be the Curator)
Monday, May 11 – Option 5: Artists on Film (Art in the Making)
(If you are unable to meet these deadlines, please consult with Professor Chapman or your TA. Likewise, if you decide later in the semester that you would like to write on one of the earlier topics, consult with your TA.)

Monday, May 18 – all graded writing assignments and ungraded brief responses must be submitted by this date in order to receive credit for them.

Learning goals of the Looking and Writing Assignments: These assignments aim to help you to develop your visual literacy and critical thinking and critical looking skills, and to improve your writing. They have been designed to optimize your online learning, as well as your independence in learning. Each topic is intended both to involve you in the close visual analysis of works of art and in a consideration of the virtual presentation of the works, whether in videos, in a museum’s online presence, or as a virtual exhibition. The aim is for you to look closely at, and think about, what you see, and then analyze the works in the context that has been provided. These are not research papers. You do not need to consult any sources beyond what is provided in the assignment topics and the links to videos and online sources that they contain (sources consulted beyond what is provided for you should be properly cited in footnotes).

Writing about, and comparing and contrasting, works of art: The paper topics are intended to involve you in the close visual analysis of works of art, often in pairs, while considering the virtual contexts in which you are viewing them. In analyzing works of art, keep in mind the basic subject of each, while devote your attention to comparing and contrasting the overall expressive effects and emotional impacts of the works. Your job is to explain and compare how each artist handles their stylistic and formal means to create those effects.

I. Look and think before you write. Here are aspects of a work of art that you may want to consider:

Material and technique: How is it made? What is it made of? How does this affect your response to the work?

Physical expression: Examine the anatomy and poses of the figures. Do they look natural? What about their facial expressions and gestures?

Space: How are the forms, both animate and inanimate, distributed on the two-dimensional surface? How are forms placed in deep space? Does the eye focus on certain forms before others? Why? What is important and what is secondary in terms of visual emphasis?

Line: Are the lines thick or thin? Rough or graceful? Are contours smooth or broken? Are objects distinct or fused with their surroundings?

Lighting: How does the play of light, or the contrast of light and dark forms, influence the way you read the image and the ways you respond?

Color: How is color used and to what effect? Is it dramatic? Is it naturalistic? Is there much variety? Does color unify or fragment the work?

Texture: How accurately are the surface textures of objects described? Are all surfaces rendered with the same accuracy?

Composition: How are the various elements of form and space integrated into a cohesive whole? Does the image present any general organization pattern? Is there a clear arrangement of forms? How do they fit within the confines of the frame? How does one relate to what one sees?

II. As you look, think about the works’ virtual contexts: Evaluate the virtual presentation of the works and their strategies of display. Are you asked to compare videos or museum exhibition spaces? Remember that these, too, have stylistic and formal features that are designed to enhance your understanding of, and guide your response to, the works. Are you asked to make a virtual exhibition? What strategies of display would contribute to conveying the theme of your exhibition? Thinking about and answering these questions will help you to focus.

III. Write the paper:

Having arrived at a sense of the expressive effects of the works of art and at a sense of the context that you have been asked to consider, write a concise, well-organized essay. You may assume the reader can see the works; hence you do not need to describe every aspect of them. Only those aspects relevant to your interpretation of the expressive effects should be featured. You might imagine that your reader is a fellow student, not knowledgeable about art, or these virtual presentation, and curious as to why they are worth analyzing and how they differ. I.e., your reader is intelligent and perceptive, but needs to be persuaded that what you see is not a personal whim, but rather something that can be discussed objectively and supported with visual evidence. Your prose should not be colloquial, should not be stream-of-consciousness narrative of the process of your discovery, nor a list-like consideration of the points proposed earlier.

Your paper should have a thesis, and that thesis should be argued in the body of your paper. After examining the works of art and their virtual presentations, focus on your conclusions, which should be announced in your introduction. In the body of the paper, organize your observations to support your argument, or your larger generalizations about the expressive effects of the works and their virtual settings. Compose a unified, coherent, and persuasively argued essay.

Your paper should focus on the works of art and be based in visual analysis. The assignment does NOT call for doing additional research, beyond what is available through the paper topic description. If you do any research for your paper, you must cite all of your sources, including online sources, in correctly formatted footnotes using the Chicago Manual of Style: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html

It goes without saying that correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, and a final proof-reading are essential. Do not hand in a rough draft. The paper you submit through Canvas is to be your final and best effort.

 
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING PAPERS

Sentences. A sentence contains at least one subject and one verb and expresses a complete thought. A “sentence” missing any one of these components is an unacceptable fragment.

Paragraphs. A paragraph represents a discrete packet of thought. The topic sentence, usually the first, expresses the main idea. The sentences that follow present supporting evidence, additional explanations, or examples of the main idea.

Transitions. One paragraph should lead smoothly to the next. If the main idea of the second paragraph is similar to the main idea of the first, use expressions such as “likewise…,” or “in addition…,” or “moreover…” If the main idea of the second paragraph differs from that of the first, consider using expressions like “however…,” or “nevertheless…,” or “yet…” If the main ideas of two paragraphs are linked by time, use “first…” and “second…” or “then…” If their connection is one of cause and effect, use expressions like “as a result…”

Spelling. If you are uncertain of the proper spelling of a word, use a dictionary. After you have finished typing your paper, use spell-check. Since spell-check will not identify every error, for example “on” typed in place of “one,” proofread your paper. Proofread it again. Reading your paper out loud is a good way to catch mistakes.

Word choice. If you are uncertain of the meaning of a word, use a dictionary. If you cannot find the right word to express what you want to say, consider using a thesaurus. Above all, do not use a word if you do not know what it means.

Colloquial speech. Colloquial speech is the informal language of conversation. It is not appropriate in a formal paper.

Contractions. Contractions (couldn’t, didn’t, won’t) are not appropriate for your paper. Write out “could not,” “did not,” “will not.” “Cannot” is a single word.

Abbreviations. Abbreviations such as b/w, w/e, e.g., and etc. are not appropriate in the text of a formal paper.

Numbers. It is best to write out numbers from zero to one hundred in formal writing.

Italics. Write foreign words (circa, de rigeur, sine qua non, Pax Romana) in italics.

Capitalization. Capitalize all proper nouns, such as “Donatello,” “Rome,” and proper adjectives, such as “Greek,” “Italian.”

Titles of works of art. Titles of works of art should be italicized, not put within quotation marks: The Last Judgment by Michelangelo or Michelangelo’s Last Judgment.

Person. Formal papers are usually written in the third person: “he…,” “she…,” “it…,” or “they…” “Do not write in the first person (‘I’ or ‘we’),” used to be a firm and fast rule. However, on occasion, it may be appropriate. Expressions like “I think…” or “I believe…” are unnecessary. Do not write in the second person (“you”).

Tense. Tense is the grammatical term for the time in which the action of a verb takes place, essentially past, present, or future. Use one tense consistently throughout your paper. If you begin “Donatello was… (past),” do not switch to “Donatello is… (present),” unless you indicate a genuine change in time. “Donatello was esteemed in his own time and today he is regarded as…,” uses two tenses because it refers to two different times. Usually the past tense is used in writing about the (art) historical past: “Donatello finished his bronze David…” However, you should use the present tense when describing an existing work of art: “Donatello’s sculpture, which depicts (present) David after he had slain (past) the giant, Goliath, stood (past) in the courtyard of the Medici Palace.”

Voice. In the active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action of the verb: “David killed the giant.” In the passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb: “The giant was killed by David.” In general, it is best to use the active voice.

Rhetorical questions. Avoid rhetorical questions, which are questions asked for effect with no expectation of an answer. Although questions about your material may have guided your choice of topic, they are not appropriate in your writing. “Why did Van Gogh cut off his ear?” is not the way to begin a paragraph. “Van Gogh cut off his ear after a falling out with Gauguin, but this immediate circumstance provides only a partial explanation for this self-mutilation,” makes a better topic sentence.

Homophones. These words sound alike but differ in meaning. Know which one to use.
there (location); their (possessive); they’re (=they are, but avoid contractions)
then (temporal); than (comparative)
its (possessive); it’s (=it is; avoid contractions altogether)
to (preposition, =toward); too (adverb, =also)

Words to avoid. The following words, on account of their exceptionally frequent usage, have become virtually meaningless. Do not use them. Use more precise synonyms in their place: “interesting”, “good,” “bad,” “nice,” “very,” “extremely,” “thing,” “a lot.” (“It is hot outside” is more effective than “It is very hot outside.”) Also avoid “actively.” (“She is actively running the race,” sounds odd, right? So does “She is actively participating in class.”

“Bully” words/phrases to avoid. “Of course,” “obviously,” “clearly,” “it is evident to all that,” suggest that your reader should know something that they may not know.

Plagiarism and academic honesty. Know the University of Delaware’s rules and regulations. Consult Barnet’s A Short Guide to Writing About Art for guidelines on properly acknowledging your sources. The bottom line is, never present someone else’s words or ideas as your own.

ADDITIONAL TIPS
● Less is more. Every word should add to your argument. If a word or phrase is not necessary for clarity or beauty, leave it out.
● Say what you mean.
● Do not equivocate or be tentative. Make assertions, then prove them with evidence.
● Adverbs such as “definitely,” “really,” “very,” “greatly,” “strongly,” “basically” weaken your writing.
● “Person” and “one” are singular. So are “everybody,” “everyone,” “no one,” and “nobody.” These words must be followed by singular pronouns such as “he” or “she,” and the verbs following them must be singular as well.
● “Accept” means to agree to something. “Except” means to exclude.
● “Affect” means to make a difference in something. “Effect” means to cause something, or, alternatively, the result of something.
● Do not use “this” as a noun. It is an adjective, so it needs a noun to modify.
● Use parallel construction. Remember to use “to” in a parallel construction with infinitives.
● Do not begin compare/contrast papers with generic openings like “This and that are very different but they also have similarities.”