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Visual Arts Question Thread
nishta:
Hi all!
I didn't know where to post art essays for marking, so I'm just popping it over here.
I would love it if anyone could provide me with feedback and criticism :)
I was a bit stuck on the writing style and structure of art essays, as I had to keep on reminding myself not to fall into the English-style essays I've been doing. How are art and English essays different? What sort of structural differences are there, in terms of topic sentences and the like?
Thanks heaps ;D
beatroot:
--- Quote from: nishta on June 04, 2019, 09:05:44 pm ---Hi all!
I didn't know where to post art essays for marking, so I'm just popping it over here.
I would love it if anyone could provide me with feedback and criticism :)
I was a bit stuck on the writing style and structure of art essays, as I had to keep on reminding myself not to fall into the English-style essays I've been doing. How are art and English essays different? What sort of structural differences are there, in terms of topic sentences and the like?
Thanks heaps ;D
--- End quote ---
Hello! Sorry for the late reply but I have your essay attached here with my comments. Overall, this is a beautifully written essay- you've provided evidence for every point that you made + provided historical context as well as art critics quotes. I think my main issue was just the thesis statement and the lack of intro sentence (that links back to your original thesis) for each of the body paragraphs. But besides from that, definitely a solid essay.
As for differences between art and english essays- the great thing with art essays is that the structure tends to be fluid. It's encourage to provide historical context for artworks for VA essays while in English essays they just want you to get straight to your point. Topic sentences and thesis statements are similar structure wise- with thesis statements in art, markers wouldn't mind if you were to repeat the question in your thesis statement (unlike in english where you'll need to use synonyms so that it doesn't look like you copied the question word by word). In art, you'll need to provide quotes/insight from art critics after you've done all your analysing of the work (unlike in english where you'll want to only stick with the text itself and not bring in other people's opinions of the text- if that makes sense?)
Hope this helps in some way :)
nishta:
--- Quote from: beatroot on June 09, 2019, 07:07:53 pm ---Hello! Sorry for the late reply but I have your essay attached here with my comments. Overall, this is a beautifully written essay- you've provided evidence for every point that you made + provided historical context as well as art critics quotes. I think my main issue was just the thesis statement and the lack of intro sentence (that links back to your original thesis) for each of the body paragraphs. But besides from that, definitely a solid essay.
As for differences between art and english essays- the great thing with art essays is that the structure tends to be fluid. It's encourage to provide historical context for artworks for VA essays while in English essays they just want you to get straight to your point. Topic sentences and thesis statements are similar structure wise- with thesis statements in art, markers wouldn't mind if you were to repeat the question in your thesis statement (unlike in english where you'll need to use synonyms so that it doesn't look like you copied the question word by word). In art, you'll need to provide quotes/insight from art critics after you've done all your analysing of the work (unlike in english where you'll want to only stick with the text itself and not bring in other people's opinions of the text- if that makes sense?)
Hope this helps in some way :)
--- End quote ---
Thank you so much! I will definitely be working on my intro sentences in future essays.
I really appreciate the time you put into reading my essay and giving feedback ;D
_Himani_:
Hello all,
With the essay for section two of the exam, how many artists should I be aiming to talk about? Is two okay, or should I be trying to use three? And with the artists, how many works is the minimum?
Also, at school, our teachers have never told us to include critics or quotes in our essays, but reading through some essays, I've noticed this a lot- should I find and include quotes and critic in my essay for the trial paper?
Thanks, and good luck to everyone doing trials!
nishta:
Hey!
From my experience, teachers are always looking for breadth of knowledge in visual arts. This means that you should have artists from a range of art periods with different mediums and issues that they look at.
So three artists is preferable over two, as you get to show off this breadth while adequately analysing their works in detail. The 45 minute time frame leaves a good amount of time for three solid body paragraphs.
I've shown my teacher an essay with just two artists and two of their works, and while this was perfectly fine, it does have the risk of being limiting in how much you can say, and the number of connections you can draw across paragraphs.
Again, this breadth of knowledge is shown through art critics. You're acknowledging other points of view, or affirming your own with reputable sources, so it strengthens your argument. They're also great in terms of showing audience reactions, as art galleries, critics, historians, sholars etc. are part of the audience. So I would include them in my essay intentionally and to strengthen my thesis, rather than for some extra marks.
Hope this helps, and good luck with your trial :)
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