ESSAY TIPS

Sample Essays In groups, you will find the following information and write down what you find on a separate piece of paper. 1. Thesis or research question 2. cross- cultural connection 3. personal link 4. personal thoughts 5. personal opinions

IB IA On your final draft, please so NOT put your name or my name on your title page or anywhere else. I will hand you a cover page to fill out with all the necessary personal information.

Previous Feedback “A majority of the studies submitted lacked suitable focus and failed to fulfill- the cross- cultural requirement. It is recommended that candidates be encouraged to develop a thesis or a research question that guides their investigation towards a valid conclusion.”

Previous Feedback “It is insufficient for a candidate to simply consider the art career of a single artist, or examine the dynamics of a single period or culture. This work must be a comparison of artworks from at least 2 different cultures or time periods and should be framed around a guiding question that is ultimately answered by the scholarship done in the essay.”

Visual Analysis Remember, the visual analysis of critics is of no interest to me or the IB graders. You are encouraged to bring in the opinions of art historians in other contexts rather than in visual analysis. However, you MUST describe the artwork with analysis behind it.

Context and Evaluation Take meaningful links between possible interpretations of artworks within the general framework of the time period and culture in which they were created as opposed to what they might have come to be understood as meaning today.

TED TALK Michelangelo's David

Evaluation of Sources Students often cited sources in their bibliography that were, ultimately, neither cited nor mentioned in the body of their text. It therefore remains to be stressed that citing a work in a bibliography and referring to it critically in the main body of the text, is not the same thing.

Evaluation of Sources Continued Simply referring to a source in relation to the description of an artwork is not a sufficient use of academic citation. I encourage, a more comprehensive understanding of, reference to, and evaluation of, key citations made relative to your inquiry and development of main points.

Evaluation of Sources Continued Make efforts to offer your own informed opinion of some of the sources you consult, especially those bearing on the main arguments of your essay. Also, seek to demonstrate an awareness of how a source cited actually reinforces (or contradicts) your argument.

Evaluation of Sources Continued Don’t site entire paragraphs and/or pages. When citing do this: “Professor Smith from UCLA states….”

Research, Planning, and Presentation Include an appropriate cross-cultural comparison in art. IMAGES- NO blurred, too small, poorly printed or omitted entirely. Personal Link- The most engaging essays focused on comparing artworks, objects, or traditions that had personal meaning/relevance to the student.

Individual Presentations Tomorrow we will meet in the library, so you can research your artwork. The printers do not work  You can bring a flash drive, your own laptop or paper and pen.