Essay Tips & Strategies

 

This Youtube video tutorial does a fairly good (if basic) job of summarizing the basic moves that a writer of an argumentative essay typically makes.

Remember that your essay deals directly with free speech and censorship issues in the wide world of creative expression. This includes music, theatre, literature, dance, film/video and of course the many forms of visual art that surround us on a daily basis.

I really like the book "They Say, I Say" because Graff and Birkenstein fully demystify the process of using quotations from other sources. They also include whimsical illustrations to break up the monotony. Here is a link to the 3rd chapter. There used to be pirated full-text copies of this book posted online. I'm not sure if they're still available. You can probably buy a used copy online for a penny plus shipping and handling, about $5 or so. Check it out.

My main take-away from the book is to use signal phrases to introduce quotations and to put these quotations in the top half of your paragraphs. Doing so will help you to avoid the "hit and run" problem that they describe in their third chapter. Save the second or bottom half of your paragraphs for your analysis and synthesis of the quoted material.

Essentially you have three options:

1. Do you agree? Why? Explain with specific examples. 

2. Do you disagree? Why? Explain with specific details.  

3. Do you agree in some ways but not others? Why? Explain with specific examples. This is the "grey area" in which we live most of our lives.

A How-To Guide to in-text citations. This covers all the basics.

Accessing JStor through the DCAD Library Portal

 

1. Go to Populi. Click on "Library" on the top banner.

2. Click on "Links."

3. Click on JStor, remember to login: the username is "dcadstudent" and the password is "research."

4. Enter a search for "Art and Censorship." Try other search terms and phrases.

5. Scour the "Works Cited" information from articles and essays that you particularly like. Track down those sources. Bingo. 

I pulled up 21 hits for "Art and Censorship."

I pulled up over 17,000 hits for "art" and "censorship." The quotation marks make a huge difference.

Homework: Works Cited Page

 Your homework for Tuesday, May 4, is simple. Find at least three and no more than six secondary sources that discuss the issues of censorship and the arts in America. 

Format these citations in correct MLA format for your Works Cited page.

See this page at the Purdue Online Writing Lab for guidance. Upload to Populi no later than Tuesday, May 4, at 9:00 am. This is worth 5 points of the total 20 for this assignment.

The 1989 Robert Mapplethorpe NEA Controversy at the Corcoran

 

Let's face it: Art has always been part of public life. This was true when the first cave paintings were made by anonymous artists thousands of years ago in prehistory. It's equally true in the baffling new world of NFTs and digital art. 

Politicians have recognized the immense power that art has in public life and they have tried in various ways (both good and bad, in my opinion) to influence what kind of art is promoted and what kind is discouraged. They do this through the funding of art institutions and artists themselves. 

Activists, likewise, have exerted their influence to limit what art is shown and under what circumstances. This happens with politically progressive activists and also with politically conservative activists. We saw this recently in the Dana Schutz controversy at the Whitney.

What do you think about censorship of the arts? Should everything be fair game? Should there be no censorship whatsoever? Where do you draw the line? Does the line shift? Why? 

This video highlights the controversy at the Corcoran in 1989.

Your 4-6 double-spaced essay will take a stand on these issues. They are complicated issues. Reasonable people disagree.  You will integrate at least three secondary sources into the fabric of your writing, and you will learn how to correctly cite the sources in your text and also in the Works Cited page. Many of you already know how to do this. 

The final essay is due on Tuesday, May 11, no later than 9:00 am. This is also the final day of the semester, so late submissions will not be accepted. 

If you want to show me a draft, go for it. I'm not requiring a draft, but the best writers will do it on their own. This is part of the writing process that you need to get used to. The proverbial training wheels are off. 

Questions:  csmith@dcad.edu

Final Assignment: Artists' Rights, Free Speech, and Censorship

 

Your final assignment of the semester is in some respects the most conventional. You're going to write an argumentative essay (an essay that takes a stand) that's 4-6 double-spaced pages in MLA format. This is simply a life-skill for success in college and beyond. The topic is Free Speech and the Rights of Artists. Where do you stand? Why? What evidence (a/k/a research) can you cite to support your position?

The final version of this essay is due on the final day of class, May 11. It's not too early to get started. Take a look at some of the resources at the link below. Start to formulate your ideas.

No Homework for Tuesday, April 25.

Questions: csmith@dcad.edu

Click here for resources from the National Coalition Against Censorship

Liberal Arts Symposium TODAY

 

We will meet in our usual Zoom room for only the first 15 minutes of class. The rest of the time is yours to work on your resumé, which is due at 9:00 am this Thursday, April 22. 

We are shifting part of class today to the Liberal Arts Symposium, an annual tradition at DCAD that celebrates the best work in our department by 2nd-year students. Next year, this could be you. It's quite an honor (also a great item for your resume). The program starts at 1:00 and will last about half an hour.

Here is the Zoom link. Attendance is mandatory. If you can't make it, for whatever reason, send me an email message right away.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/96878675613?pwd=WFp3UXpXSk5PajNyQzdaaitjYkM2UT09

 

Meeting ID: 968 7867 5613

Passcode: 871370

Resumé Survey

Today during class you'll be researching on the internet for examples of art & design resumés.

Each break-out room should find one example of a brilliant resumé and one example of a dreadful one. This should take about 15 minutes. Take screengrabs of each and be ready to present to the class why you chose them. What in particular makes for a great resumé? What in particular can cause a resumé to crash?

Designing and Writing Your Art & Design Resume

 

Applying for a job or opportunity as an artist or designer requires a different strategy than applying for a job at Wawa. A resume is a standard document that summarizes a person's experiences, skills, and education. The term CV is short for Curriculum Vitae. A CV is like a resume on steroids. Most resumes fit on a single page; a CV is a multi-page document that includes everything relevant to your history in the field. Most of you are too young and inexperienced to need a CV at this point in your life. 

The resume you submit for an art-related job should be different than the resume you submit for the Wawa job. The idea that a person has a single resume that can be used for everything is a myth. A resume is a living document that is always changing.

I found this video that is made specifically for college students. Thomas Frank gives concrete and specific advice; he even breaks it down into 5 main areas of concern (and he includes semi-witty pop-culture references). The end of it turns into an obnoxious commercial for a web-hosting company. but that's the nature of the internet. 

Here's a page that is directly about writing a resume in the broad field of art-related employment. Cara Ober at B'more Art gives her take on artist's resumes.

Lastly, here are a bunch of unsorted examples. What works? What doesn't? What would you like to emulate for designing/writing your resume? What would you like to avoid? It's a delicate balance.

ASSIGNMENT

Design and write your single-page art/design resume.

Upload it to Populi no later than 9:00 am on April 22. 

Questions: csmith@dcad.edu

No Homework for April 15

 

Good news! No homework for our next class on April 15. Use this time to catch up on your other classes. Maybe you have a missed assignment in this class? Submit late work. Failure to turn in work is the number one reason students' grades suffer.

We're starting a new unit on Thursday. Each of you will be writing an artist's resume and cover letter.

How to Write a Professional Email Message: Final Step of the Delaware Contemporary Project

 

I've spent an hour or so looking for the best resource to discuss how to write a professional email message. This was my favorite one, but they're all similar. I'm more than a little bit suspicious of art-coaching sites like this, but they might be worth checking out. Just remember that the people behind them are usually predatory and primarily just want to take your money. 

Writing a Professional Email Message

This is the final assignment for the Delaware Contemporary project. Each student will write a brief professional email message to a member of the Delaware Contemporary's Department of Public Engagement. The idea about "making a good first impression" might sound cheesy to you, but like lots of cliche phrases, it comes from a point of truth and shared experience. 

Students in the 9:30 am section will write to Joshua Hollingsworth.

Students in the 11:00 am section will write to Britanny Powell. 

I decided that it would be a good exercise for students to find the email addresses on their own. It's not hard. I'll give you a hint: Go to the Delaware Contemporary's website. 

In your email to either Mr. Hollingsworth or Ms. Powell, follow almost all of the advice in the links above. The only one not to follow is the advice against sending attachments. The purpose of your email is to present your two attachments. Keep it short and sweet. Don't sound like a robot. Include your social media links (totally optional), but only if they are solely about your art. Proofread everything. Then proofread it again. 

Naming Your Attachments

Wow, this is really important in school and in life beyond school. At this moment in history, I think the PDF format is the most universally accessible. I would recommend sending documents in PDF format if possible. What's important is that your file name connects you to your work. If your file is named "Delaware Contemporary Project.pdf" it can get lost. 

I'm going to use my name as an example.

For the art piece: 

csmithDCADart.pdf

For the writing piece:

csmithDCADwriting.pdf

These are also the file-naming protocols you should use when uploading documents to this class. Other instructors likely have other preferred formats. Ask. 

There is nothing worse than fishing through a bunch of anonymous file names. I get this all the time with your assignments. I have been guilty of this myself. We should cover this directly in FYE next year. 

On a side-note: I'm kind of old-fashioned when it comes to the usage of "email message" vs "email." There's actually a big debate about this. Either is perfectly fine. 

Your brief email message should not take you more than 15 or 20 minutes. Some students will do a wonderful job in five or ten minutes. 

I'm leaving the final 15 minutes of class  today for you to get started and maybe finish your email to either Ms. Powell or Mr. Hollingsworth.

DUE: No later than 5:00 pm on April 13. Please remember to cc me on your email message. 

Questions? csmith@dcad.edu

Clarification about the Writing Assignment Due Tomorrow

 

from the email I sent to the first student who asked:

Carefully read this blog post and I think you'll understand. If not, let's reconnect later today.

https://dcadwritingforthearts.blogspot.com/2021/03/delaware-contemporary-project-reverse.html

-- Casey

As always, send me an email if you have questions: csmith@dcad.edu

Apiary 12: Submissions open until May 1

 

 Submit to Apiary 12! 

May 1 is the deadline. This issue's focus is custom-built for art college students. Go for it! Carefully read the link above for details.

Questions: csmith@dcad.edu

Extension for Delaware Contemporary Project: Final Submission Due on April 13

 

After listening to the reasonable arguments from several of your classmates in "Writing for the Arts," I have decided to extend the final due date for both the art component and the writing component to Tuesday, April 13, at 9:00 am. This is a firm deadline. 

However, you are free to upload your work to Populi and be done with it. Maybe you'll want to change something in either your artwork or writing by next Tuesday morning. In that case, just make sure that you indicate in your file name that it is, indeed, your final submission.

Tomorrow's class will be dedicated to a critique of your artwork. Make sure that's ready for tomorrow's class. If it's a physical object or series of objects, take the best photos (or scans) you can. 

There will be a drop-off spot in the main DCAD building (600 Market St) early next week. If you need to drop it off early, just tell whoever is helping you that you need to leave it in the mailroom. Make sure you clearly mark it as yours with a post-it note or some other means. You probably should also send me a "heads-up" email message: "Hi Casey, I dropped off my piece this morning. It's in the mailroom." 

Next Tuesday's class will be dedicated to a full critique session focused on your writing component to the project. 

Mandatory Critique Tomorrow

 

The image above might give you a bad flashback to the dreaded "hamburger essay" graphic that is unfortunately still taught in many high schools across America. It makes me angry because it's so tremendously wrong.

However, the graphic above is not about essay structure, it's about critique etiquette. You never want to start out a response with something blazingly negative. You also don't want to start out with gushy admiration. A tone that is either too negative or too positive makes the actual critique difficult. I wish the graphic represented the middle part a little bit larger. I also don't think it's an accurate description of what happens in a real critique. The categories of "compliment" and "critique" are not a binary; they overlap. 

Too often people think of the words critique and criticism as signifying fault-finding and negativity. I think these words signify a two-part move: 

1) close attention to detail

2) constructive ideas for possible revision and improvement. 

Tomorrow's full class will be dedicated to a critique of student artwork for the Delaware Contemporary Project. Next Tuesday, April 13, we're going to critique the piece of writing that accompanies your artwork. 

Questions: csmith@dcad.edu

Brandywine Park Outing: April 24

 

Because of really dire weather reports for this upcoming weekend, we decided to postpone our DCAD spring outing to the Brandywine Park. It will now take place on Saturday, April 24. I'm sure you'll hear more about it in the next week or so.

The park is open to the public, so you don't have to wait until April 24 for a visit. It's about a 15 minute walk from DCAD or the Doubletree.  The cherry and other flowering trees (see image above) are out in full force right now.  Gorgeous.