Discuss how poor people are placed at the foot of steps and in doorways as a double-pronged metaphor.

Write an expository composition that argues a thesis about the work or artist studied in the previous units, taking into account what has been discussed in class and what you have learned from the reading. Expository writing involves making a thesis statement, followed by supporting paragraphs that are used to bolster your argument or to problematize it. Your thesis should be strong and easily discernable. Supporting points should all speak to the thesis in one way or another. Your thesis could ask a question, which you explore in the supporting paragraphs, or it could propose a model and then test it out in a few cases.

An argument, such as, “Bruegel was a great artist, here’s why,” will not cut it. Similarly, an argument, such as “Bruegel used folklore in his artwork,” won’t really do the trick either. However, an argument along the lines of, “Due in part to the prohibitions of the Reformation and the strong tradition of folk iconography in the Low Countries, Bruegel turned to common subjects that he imbued with moral and proverbial messages that did not judge, but rather expressed the values of a society,” would be a very strong thesis that could be supported through the analysis of one or two works of art.

Your writing assignments are expected to be in dialogue with the reading we do for class, which should be referenced and properly cited, where appropriate. Your position should be bolstered by reference to at least one academic source that was not assigned for class.

Suggested Approaches:
• Summarize the theses laid out in the readings and make connections between them.
• Critically evaluate the readings, concluding in support for them, suggesting amendments or changes to their arguments, or refuting their claims.
• Expand on the arguments made in the readings to apply them to different works, artists, or periods, making logical connections based on formal or socio-historical grounds.
• Make a unique argument that draws on sources, but takes them in a new direction.

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You will be graded on:

Application of terms, concepts and theories from the course.

Use of artworks to bolster your argument. Description of works is paramount. You do not need to describe the whole work, but you do need to adequately describe the points relevant to your argument.

Clarity of your argument
• Is it clear at the beginning and end?
• Is the progression clear?

Efficacy of your argument
• Is your argument well founded?
• Does it stand on the principles it sets out?

Proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Use and proper citation of sources.

Grammar tips:
• Avoid using familiar pronouns, such as I or we. One can construct sentences thusly, but you should try to avoid doing so and find another way of forming them. Often times art-historical texts will refer to “the viewer” as an anonymous proxy for personal pronouns: “In Pollock’s drip paintings, the viewer is encouraged to undertake an experiential mode of viewing akin to the way in which one would approach a mural.”
• Do not refer to yourself or this class in any of your formal writing. Statements, such as, “as I will explain in this essay,” or “in class we learned that,” are not necessary when you are proving an objective point.
• Never use contractions in academic writing.
o Don’t = Does not, etc.
• Use of dashes
o Em dash — (mac shortcut: option + shift + -)
 Sets off text within a sentence, when that text acts as an addendum to the sentence—such as this. Em dashes can be used like parentheses to make an aside within a sentence.
o En dash – (mac shortcut: option + -)
 Only used for number ranges (dates and page numbers): 2006–2010.
o Hyphen –
 Used to hyphenate words and names.
• Re-examine
• The twentieth-century galleries were the most impressive.
o In Microsoft Word, Em and En dashes can be inserted from the Insert menu/Symbol/Advanced Symbol/Special Characters. There are also keyboard shortcuts that produce these symbols using hyphens and spacing.
• Retain the proper verb tenses throughout. If you are writing about things that happened in the past, then use the past tenses in your writing.
• Titles of artworks are italicized and followed by the date of creation in parentheses, with some exceptions:
o Raphael’s Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints (1504) is also called the Colonna Altarpiece. The latter is not its proper title, so it does not need to be italicized, but it is a proper name, so it does need to be capitalized.
o Similarly, Michelangelo painted The Creation of Adam (1508–1512) on the Sistine Chapel (proper name) ceiling. The latter is a ceiling, not a work of art, thus the chapel’s name is proper, but ceiling is not capitalized.