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LaSwap Art and Design: Art and Design Subject teachers: Sophie Pearce and Sharon White William

Ellis School Highgate Road Email: pearce@williamellis.camden.sch.uk LONDON http://williamellisart.weebly.com/ NW5 1RN __________________________________________________ A2 Unit Coursework and Personal Study Visual Investigations _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A. YOUR PERSONAL STUDY


This is an in-depth critical study containing written and visual research, presented in the form of a physical essay /collage/ separate sketchbook, as well as a computer printed version. Your personal study MUST be in the same area of study as your practical project (E.G. Architecture, Portraits and People, Urban Environment). The written part should be approximately 3000 words in the final version.

Through the ideas, techniques and research in your practical work identify an aspect of art practice that intrigues you. Having a question as the title is the most important starting point. WHAT do you want to investigate? HOW will you investigate it?

Research into 10 artists linked to your theme/essay question. Find images from each of the artists that relate to your essay question. Document and analyse the artwork. Link and compare them with other artists. Choose 2 or 3 artists from the 10 that you wish to study in depth. We recommend you have approximately 10 artist study double pages in your sketchbook (from Sept to Jan) that relate directly with your essay/theme.

We recommend going to at least 2 exhibitions related to your theme. Make rough sketches and take notes directly in the gallery. Illustrate your recording with gallery leaflets and postcards. Include any reviews of the exhibitions that you may find in newspapers/Time Out/online/Metro/magazines/newspapers/websites. Then write reviews on your favourite exhibitions.

Develop your findings and critically analyse the work. Develop an argument what are you trying to say? What is the artist trying to communicate in their work? How? How does this link with other photographers/artists? You should be illustrating your creative journey and discovery in a formal essay.

You should use images to illustrate the work you are discussing in your essay. You should insert photographs of your own work alongside the work of your chosen artists and compare/contrast your work (show links and connections).

You need to write a bibliography of books/exhibitions/website record.

B. ESSAY PLAN GUIDANCE


Introduction: 350 words What is this essay going to be about? Why are you interested in answering this question? Why are you interested in this subject matter? What are you hoping to find out/learn more about? What sort of work are you hoping to make as part of your coursework project? Are there any particular ideas, themes, processes, techniques you are interested in exploring? What artists work are you going to be exploring in your essay? What interests you about these artists? How do they link to your ideas/work? Contextual Research: 600 + at least 3 images to support What is your theme about? Can you quote a definition? Use a dictionary to clarify the meaning of your chosen word/theme. Who is involved in this area? Are there any particular people/artists involved? What have they been quoted saying on this topic? How does it relate to our environment/ engagement with the world? What connections can be made with other areas e.g. architecture, politics, countries, our surroundings? Who does it relate to and how? What impact does it have on you/others? Is it something we experience? How? Related Artist 1: 350 words + at least 3 images of their work Who is this artist? Where are they from? What sort of work do they make? What materials do they use? What scale do they work to? How is their work exhibited? Have they exhibited? What do you like about their work? How does it relate to your own work? Include pictures of your response work and discuss. Critical analysis of one piece of their work: 250 words include an image of the work you are discussing Ensure you have a picture of this piece of work included in the essay and then write an in depth piece of writing about it. Critical analysis is about what you think about the artwork and what the artwork communicates the ideas/CONCEPT behind the work. Related Artist 2: 600 words total + at least 3 images of their work Same as artist 1 including critical analysis. Comparison and Conclusion: 350 words How have the artists you have looked at explored your subject matter similarly and differently? Discuss and compare and contrast their different approaches. Give your opinions. It could be they use similar/different materials, explore similar ideas, use similar techniques/processes etc. Think about their work interlinks and how it can also be about the same topic, yet look at it from different angles. Evaluative Comment: 350 words + images of your own work links and connections What have you learnt from writing this essay? Are you better informed about your subject matter? Do you feel you have answered the question you set out to? How is this research and your understanding of the topic going to help you with your practical work? What ideas do you have for the development of your work? How have these ideas been supported by your research

C. TOP TIPS ESSENTIAL READING


1. WORD LIMIT: You have been asked to write a 3000-word essay (approx) but it can be less as long as you are making links and connections with the theme and analyzing the area of research in detail. ESSAY QUESTION: Your question should be specific and focussed dont make it too broad and generalised, it will be much harder to answer. You could choose to look at just two artists and compare and contrast their work in detail (whilst still referencing other artworks). Or, alternatively, you could choose to look at a theme within art. Within this focus, you can then incorporate and draw on references from social, political, historical contexts and artistic references. You can even draw on music, literature, film, theatre etc that relates to the essay if this is appropriate. INTRODUCTION: It is a good idea/good practice to start essays with a question or a quotation that directly links to your essay title and acts as a catalyst/start for your argument/discussion. The introduction should question and set up the issue of what you are going to discuss in the main body of the essay. The introduction shouldnt be too long about 200-300 words. PARAGRAPHS - PQA: Each individual paragraph should be focused on a single idea that supports your essay. Begin paragraphs with topic sentences, support assertions with evidence, and expand your ideas in the clearest, most sensible way you can: POINT, QUOTE, ANALYSIS

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POINT: Make your point, what is it that you are trying to communicate and why is it an important point that relates to your essay? QUOTE: Find a quote that relates directly to your thoughts and ideas. The quote should come from a book or a newspaper or a journal or a magazine article or the Internet or a film/song. ANALYSIS: Expand on your ideas and the ideas from the quote to show evidence or further insight into the essay question. Remember new idea, new paragraph! 5. RESEARCH MATERIAL: You should read around your subject matter and find things and bits of research that relate to your essay question. You should be referencing between 5-10 different sources. Do not just use the Internet as a source! Use books, magazines, journals, newspapers, gallery guides as well as Internet sources. CONCLUSION: Conclusions are tricky but they should give a sense of completeness to the essay and leave a final impression on the reader. What do you conclude from the essay question? It is a good idea to echo the introduction and bring the essay full circle. It can also be a good idea to leave the essay on a question to emphasise that there is still more research to be done or that a new perspective could be drawn from the debate. PICTURES: Put in pictures when you need visual reference to what you are describing. I would imagine you would put between 10 and 20 images into your visual essay. Reference your own work and how your own photographs link to the work of the photographers you are studying. PRESENTATION: We would like you to present your work as both a printed out essay (normal A4 essay) as well as a physical collage/experimental sketchbook (that links with the theme). Obviously, you will need to spend time putting your physical sketchbook together, so dont leave this until the last minute! HARVARD REFERENCING SYSTEM: We would advise you to use the Harvard referencing system this is really good practice for University writing! (See next page.)

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10. SPELLING, PUNCTUATION, GRAMMAR: Make sure that you leave time to read through your essay and spell check it and ensure that the grammar and punctuation is all correct.

11. QUOTES: You will also need to make sure you spend time correctly referencing all of your quotes. This takes time! If you take words from another source the Internet or a book and do not reference it then this is PLAGARISM! And you can fail your essay if you do not recognise that these are not your own words. There is no problem in using words and sentences from other sources this is encouraged! but make sure you put them in quotation marks. We will know if you have not done this correctly. Direct quotations is when you copy another authors material word -for-word. You should show the reader that it is a direct quote by placing the material in inverted commas. 12. ENJOY: Enjoy! This should be an enjoyable task that sets you up for university essay writing. Try to always choose a subject matter that you enjoy and that you will enjoy researching and writing about. If you have time and if you want to further your essay, think about how it can be presented in context even using different surfaces of paper such as tracing paper (if appropriate!) may add to the experience.

D. THE HARVARD REFERENCING SYSTEM


When you have made a quote in the main body of your essay you should add a footnote. The number will automatically appear at the bottom of the page in order or appearance. You then need to follow the following guidelines for each quote. It seems fussy but is the most professional way to work and best to learn it now! BOOKS: Author, Initials/first name., Year. Title of book. Edition. Place: Publisher. Example: Redman, P., 2006. Good essay writing: a social sciences guide. 3rd ed. London: Open University in assoc. with Sage. WEBSITES: Source, Year. Title of web document or web page. [Online] Web site address [Accessed date]. Example: National electronic Library for Health. 2003. Can walking make you slimmer and healthier? (Hitting the headlines article) . [Online] Available at: http://www.nhs.uk.hth.walking [Accessed 10 April 2008].
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E. SUGGESTED AREAS FOR RESEARCH


www.npg.org.uk www.tate.org.uk http://www.in-public.com http://thephotographersgallery.org.uk http://www.saatchigallery.com/ http://www.artcyclopedia.com/

F. RECOMMENDED READING
"Ways of Seeing" by John Berger, Viking (Pengiun Group) Art History: 4th Edition by Marilyn Stokstad and Michael W. Cothren, Pearson "Art in Theory: 1900 2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas, 2nd Edition" Edited by Charles Harrison and Dr. Paul J. Wood, Wiley

1 Baron, David P. 2008. Business and the Organisation. 6th ed. Chester (CT): Pearson.

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