1) Give yourself plenty of time.  You aren’t going to be able to whip out a critically considered, thoughtfully articulated, well-supported and grammatically acceptable essay at the last minute.  Trust me, students tell me every single term about how they learned this lesson the hard way.  If you cannot do your assignments on the day they are due, then DON'T WAIT THAT LONG TO DO THEM! Youcan start reviewing materials immediately, esp after the guest lecture. After the second class period, you still have plenty of time.

2) Construct an argument/establish a position.  You can’t simply describe the works or the readings to me--this is not a summary.  I need to see that you can comprehend the material AND establish a proposition based on that.

3) Avoid broad generalizations such as “All these artists use art to express something.”   I need a specific argument that you can support with specific examples, and I need one that doesn’t simply state the obvious (for example, “All the digital artists that we studied use digital media” is belaboring the obvious and is not establishing a proposition)

4) Support your position with specific, explicit examples from the readings/ artwork.  Pretend that your entire scholastic life depends on convincing me to see your perspective.

5) I have provided resources on blackboard that give you more advice on how to write about art in general.  I structure this class around the central concept that at least half of you are non-majors.  It’s not ‘required’ reading, but if you find yourself continuing to struggle week after week, it may not be a bad idea to look at those resources.

6) Take notes in class and while you are reading/looking at artwork.  This helps you process the information and organize your thoughts.  Speaking of which…

7) Organize your thoughts.  Streams of unedited thought are super bad.  You can’t write like you think! You need to know basic sentence structure and basic paragraph structure.  If I receive an entire block of unedited text with no attempt at organization, I’m not going to spend much time trying to decipher it.  I will give your paper an ‘F’ and move on to the next essay.

8) Don’t waste time telling me the lectures/readings/artwork was boring and/or you couldn’t understand it.  The former only annoys me and serves no purpose in your essay other than to waste space.  The latter is part of your challenge—you have to get a handle on the material.  That’s your job. 

9) If the material frustrates you or makes you angry, follow these instructions carefully:  If you are alone, or with appropriate company, go off on a rant.  Write something down that really blasts that artist/writer.   Seriously, use curse words and everything.  Then, RIP IT UP AND THROW IT AWAY!!! Do NOT submit that as your assignment!  Do NOT turn in rants to me.  I will simply give them a zero, and you will not get a second chance to revise.  Reasoned discourse is a skill, and it’s hard to learn. 

 

10 )If you are struggling with the written component, please go to the writing center at 68 PLC.  They are here to help.  If you have a documented disability in regards to writing/processing information, please see me for alternative possibilities.  I have dyslexia and a learning disability that severely affects my ability to write and memorize technical information; trust me, I get it.  I’m here to help.

 

 

11) Never, Ever, Ever use these phrases) again: "since the dawn of history..." "Mankind has always...""Art is the universal language of love..." etc.

 

 

12) Don't ever start writing your introduction first. Develop your thesis, figure out your support of your thesis, figure out how to organize, write the BODY of your essay and THEN write the introduction and conclusion.