It’s getting close to the end of semester 1 and Christmas holidays, but it’s no time to let up on the workload now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This week we were being assigned our next assignment that will need to be submitted in May ’23. As a prelude to the whole Essay that we’ll be writing between now and then we had a seminar on Essay Writing with Alice. After this we had a chat about Typography with the Course Leader of Graphic Design and he helped those having issues with typeface selection on their 12″ album cover assignment. I wasn’t doing this assignment as it is the module that I completed last year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before we get into the essay writing workshop however, Alice had some feedback on the common themes that stood out to her during her day last week reviewing all of our work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You should begin a process of idea generation for this essay which will question, challenge and or critique a topic, theme, photograph, exhibition etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Picking a topic that\u2019s connected to the year long project should make it easier.<\/strong> Research is the most important facet to be well underway before the start of the essay writing<\/p>\n\n\n\n Word count is hugely important. 1500-2000max, no % over or under. It needs to be over 1500 and under 2000. Any more or less and word count will result in a penalty in the marking scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Essay needs to have a purpose, what do I want to say about the topic? References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Research early, but need to generate ideas first. TASK. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Generate A3 Visual research board of photographic \/ creative interest<\/strong> January will present the boards and following discussion we\u2019ll select one to further research Essay writing skills for higher education available on canvas What is an essay and who are they for?<\/strong> Needs to be written in third person. No \u201cI\u201d The centre of an essay is forming an argument<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n An Essay is usually made up of the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is an effective title and why? Will it be worth reading?connected to the material in there?linked to a theme or photographer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Motivational-attention grabbing Can use a punchy title as long as it is supported by a detailed subtitle<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was part of a group of four classmates looking into what the main body of an essay should contain, the other two groups looked at the Introduction and Conclusion sections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is the main body?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Intro<\/strong> is to highlight the theme and dates, setting scene, explain the<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong> contains the answer to the question For approximate word counts Intro and conclusion should be around 10% each and 80% for main body <\/p>\n\n\n\n Each paragraph in the main body contain only one idea or opinion etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is in a paragraph ?<\/strong> Recommended at least one or two references per paragraph, if there are no references then the paragraph probably does nothing to the overall effectiveness of the essay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Neutral or objective not first person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Research<\/strong> Broad research required to support topic. History, society, political events,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fact check, don\u2019t fall for the Twitter argument Terminology Support Unexpected similarities-two people do similar things in different times and places Front cover module, student number (not name), essay title Overall, this essay writing workshop has provided me with some great information that I did not know before. I was ok at English at school but didn’t really try and if I was taught any of this in the late 1980s it’s certainly been pushed out of my memory by the actors of a film that I don’t really need to memorise..<\/p>\n\n\n\n I found the structure of the paragraphs more useful than the structure of the essay in total. I know that an essay should have an intro, main section and conclusion as that’s pretty standard with reports that I’ve written at work, although they aren’t academic reports that include references etc..<\/p>\n\n\n\n The workshop we did has given me some good notes and I can use these to create structured paragraphs that might be more inclined to persuade readers of my points. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I am going to struggle to find lots of information that might inspire me to write an essay about it. I think a brainstorm based on some of my independent research might be beneficial and I can take this into the A3 sheet presentation that we’ll be looking at in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I’m not too worried about the referencing of this piece of work, I think the exhibition review we did has helped me to get my head around referencing and I’m pretty confident about that. More confident than some of my classmates who appear to be struggling with the referencing a little. This will only be my second time of using referencing in academic style writing and it took me a while to understand the basics, we’ll all get there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No images in this post as it was really a note taking exercise from the seminar but there will be some in the next post about the Typography lecture we had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In this post, a list of the notes I made with some conclusions as to what it will mean to me when it comes time to write the second contextual assignment, an essay.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Could revisit a lesson topic on materiality or reinterpretation eg
\u2022 Could pick a single image or a body of work.
\u2022 Might visit another exhibition and go into greater detail about what it achieves\/doesn\u2019t achieve
\u2022 Comparison of photographers or styles where similar<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat does the essay need to contain?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Essay needs to be convincing to the reader.
Research, quotes,citations etc.
Harvard referencing must be used. Can organise referencing 121s with the library if required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Where to begin?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
To prepare for the idea generation phaase Alice has assigned a task to get our creative juices flowing and possible topics for the essays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What excites you, what intrigues you, what do I enjoy making,photographers that inspire
Collect images\/quotes\/ideas\/themes\/examples of the interests and collage them into a single board. Mood board in A3 format
Over Christmas develop two or three essay possibilities
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
27th January 2-4pm
5 minutes presentations and 5 minutes for questions
If digital, email to Alice before 1pm to ensure it’s in place to do the presentation. <\/p>\n\n\n\nEssay Writing Workshop<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 People who need to think about the subject you\u2019re writing about
\u2022 Analysis of a subject broken into parts with a conclusion
\u2022 Method of formalising ideas based on research<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Balanced research to show both sides of arguments
Use of other credible voices to persuade<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Use of correct academic language to help convince people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Titles<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Captures attention, or a question that prompts reading
\u2022 Clear as to topic
\u2022 Appropriate language
\u2022 Easy to find in a list of other essays in terms of chosen topic theme of the person looking<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Informative- reader should get a sense of what essay is trying to achieve
Include key words or themes that are important to body of text<\/p>\n\n\n\nStructure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Don\u2019t raise any questions or start haring any further info
Concise and conclusive and not left open<\/p>\n\n\n\nParagraphs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
1. Topic sentence introduces the paragraph
2. Arguments using language like griffiths states that
3. Evidence. Using evidence to underpin the argument
4. Discussion. We know the argument no evidence what is left to say.
5. Concluding sentence. It is important to connect
<\/p>\n\n\n\nLanguage <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Range of sources
Use diverse sources
Better to use primary research<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Uncertainty of truth
Use CRAAP method to find good quality research<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Use subject specific vocab
Helps credibility
Tate have a list of vocabulary on their website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Use quotes and references to build discussion or debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The important difference-both artists do something similar but are different<\/p>\n\n\n\nPresentation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Table of contents
Page numbers bottom right hand corners
1.5 spaced text
Sensible font choice, arial size 12
Reference list on a completely new page<\/p>\n\n\n\nConclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n