ESSAYS ASSIGNMENT
If you want to write an essay, it must be between 1000-1500 words long, include a bibliography, and be properly footnoted. Please consult the essay writing guidance at the end of this document for details of what I expect.
Choose one of the following questions to address:
• Choose two works from different eras that were created to convey the power and authority of a ruler. Discuss the ways in which the creators of these works convey these concepts.
• With reference to 4 or 5 different works, discuss what defines them as Byzantine.
• With reference to 4 or 5 different works, discuss what defines them as Gothic.
• Choose two objects or artworks from different civilizations that were produced for religious use. Discuss how each object conforms to the beliefs of the culture in which it was produced, and how each object contributed to reinforcing those beliefs.
• Choose two works from different art historical periods that were commissioned by a patron. Discuss how the specific interests and intentions of the different patrons are revealed in each work.
If you are interested in writing on a particular topic that is not encompassed by the questions here, please discuss with me.
ESSAY GUIDANCE
Requirements
** All papers must be typed using Times New Roman or Arial font, doubled spaced, with standard 1" (inch) margins and must be proofread before submitting. You must use 11-point font. Do NOT add extra spaces between paragraphs.
** If you plagiarize, fail to include a bibliography or footnote citations when using any outside sources (including textbooks), the paper will be marked down accordingly.
If you use the words of another writer without acknowledging that writer it is considered plagiarism.
If you use the ideas of another writer without acknowledging that writer it is considered plagiarism.
As I read your paper, I will be asking "How does he or she know this information?"
If you plagiarize (ie. cut and paste from an on-line site, etc.), you will fail the assignment.
Advice
Make sure that you read essay question carefully. Break down the elements of what it is asking you to do. Apply your knowledge. Plan out your answer - consider using bullet points, or drawing a spider diagram/mind map to help structure what you are going to say. Don't forget to include a short introduction and conclusion, a bibliography of all sources that you have consulted, and footnotes where necessary.
I expect you to write in full sentences, with correct punctuation and grammar. I will also be looking for correct spelling, particularly of objects, civilizations, places, and media that we have studied.
Common mistakes
** Titles of visual works are ALWAYS italicized. (The Kritios Boy is a statue from ancient Greece.) Titles are not put in quotation marks. Titles of architectural monuments are not italicized, but they are capitalized.
(The remains of the Parthenon are in Athens, but the Pantheon is in Rome.
The Kritios Boy was found on the Acropolis near the Parthenon.)
**The first time an artist is mentioned it is proper to utilize both the artist's first and last name. Any other mention of the artist should be by her or his last name. Spell the artist's name correctly.
**You use an apostrophe for possession, not for simple plurals.
A common mistake is the use of the words it is in a paper (it's=it is; its=of it (possessive).
** Proper nouns are capitalized, not regular nouns. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is capitalized. The word museum is not. The word Met is. The words paint, paintings, artist, sculpture, marble, etc are not proper nouns and are not capitalized.
** Watch the verb tense. It is difficult to decide which tense is appropriate when writing about an art historical object. The making of the object happened in the past, yet most of the objects are still tangible in the present. It is also easy to make the mistake of switching between the past and the present when writing an art history paper. Choose a tense and stick with it. Ask for assistance if you have any confusion.
** Either write in the first person (I, we) or the third person (he/she/it, etc.). Do NOT use second person (you) in an academic paper.
** All punctuation is INSIDE quotation marks: blah blahblah." NOT: blah blahblah".
** Indent, block, and single-space quotations longer than three lines (no quotation marks are used for indents).