Guidelines and Rubric for Final Paper

One of the requirements for this course is a written paper based on your interaction with and analysis of, artwork seen in a major museum or attendance at a live professional theater, music, or dance event.

This is not a research paper but should be based on your own individual observations and responses to the art and the experiences of attending live artistic performances.

The paper should be written in your own voice and not paraphrased from some other source. Plagiarism will result in a failing grade and an academic referral. If you do provide information about the artwork and live events or descriptions of it based on research, please cite your sources using MLA, APA, or Chicago. The paper should be two to three pages typed double-spaced using 12pt font. Your cover sheet and image page should not be included in your page count. You must include an image of the artwork(s) and evidence of your attendance at the museum or live event as an attachment.

Section I: Introduction-Who, What, When and Where

Music/Dance Event Questions

1. Who was the featured performer (s) at the concert? (Ex. Maryland Symphony)

2. Name the concert venue and location.

3. When did the concert take place?

Visual Art Questions

1. What is the name of the museum or gallery that you visited?

2. Where is the venue located?

3. When did you visit this exhibit?

4. About which artist(s) work will you write?

Theater

1. What is the name of the play that you attended?

2. Who wrote the play?

3. Who were the main actors and who was the director?

4. Where was the play staged and when did you attend the play?

Section II: Contextual Critique

Music/Dance/Visual Art Questions

1. Choose one artwork, dance, or selection of music that was performed. State the name of the composer, artist or choreographer. (Ex. One of the featured works performed during the concert was Moonlight Sonata. This piano sonata was composed by Ludwig van Beethoven.)

2. Does this work represent an historical era or style period? If so, which one?

3. Provide insight about the composer, artist or choreographer. (Ex. birth and/or death dates and places, occupation, education, inspiration, genres of composition, names of important works, interesting facts)

Theater/Opera/Music Questions

1. Provide insight about the author of the play or the composer of the opera/musical. (Ex. birth and/or death dates and places, occupation, education, inspiration, names of important works, interesting facts)

2. Provide a brief synopsis of the story. Include the names of major characters.

Section III: Technical Critique

Music/Opera/Musical Theater/Dance/Visual Art Questions

1. Restate the name of the work about which you will write. If you choose an opera or musical, select one song to write about.

2. State the genre of art: concerto, sonata, sculpture, painting, etc.

3. Describe the medium, material or instrumentation.

4. What is the subject of the artwork? (If there are lyrics, what are the lyrics about?)

5. Give an analysis of the artwork using technical terminology offered by your textbook. Include the correct usage of at least five terms.

Theater

1. Choose one scene from the production and describe what happens in this scene.

2. Give an analysis of this scene using technical terminology offered by your textbook. Include the correct usage of at least five terms.

Section IV: Conclusion

Reflect upon the way in which learning about this specific work, attending this event, or generally studying the arts affects you. Make a statement about the way in which you may appreciate a composition differently when you are informed about its technical and contextual elements.

As an additional guide I have listed a few items that may help you

Try to be specific and articulate in your writing. Write in a way that will allow your reader to visualize the artwork(s) you are describing. Pay particular attention to your opening paragraph. Impress your reader with your thoughtful insight and your use of graphic and descriptive language (avoid trite words like: great, beautiful, interesting, liked, and loved). Arrange for someone to proofread your paper or try reading it out loud, as a way of testing your language and sentence structure. Remember that the Writing Center here at FCC offers a variety of resources (including free one-on-one drop-in sessions) to help you improve your writing skills. As you develop the papers, remember the ideas discussed in the lectures and textbook.

DESCRIBE:

What is the title? When was it made? Who made it? What kind of artwork

is it? What is it made of? How is it made? What are the materials and

techniques? How big is it? What are the visual/formal elements? What is

the structural form or composition? How are the various parts related to one

another and the whole? Is there a focal point? How did the performance

progress and develop through time?

INTERPRET:

What is it about? What is the subject matter? What is the style of the

work? Does it speak to you directly about its content? What is its function?

Is it realistic, naturalistic, distorted, or abstracted in any way? Does there

appear to be any symbolic content?

EVALUATE:

What is the overall effect or impact on the viewer/audience? Does the

scale/size affect your response? What is your overall emotional response?

Do you like the art? Could you live with this art? How does the physical

context and the surrounding environment affect your response? How does

the creator or performers control the way you respond to the artwork? How

does the craftsmanship and technical execution of the artwork affect your

response?

SYNTHESIZE:

Is it like anything we have studied in class? Would you need to do some

research in order to fully understand and appreciate it? What can you infer

about the creator and the society the artwork came from? What do you think

was the original intention of the artist? Do you feel any sense of kinship with

the artist/performers? How does it make you feel? Does it evoke any

strong emotions? What larger issues of human existence seem to be

communicated through the artwork?

Note: Any resources must be formally cited. MLA, APA, and Chicago citation styles are acceptable. If you have questions about citations, please ask. There is a Writing Center available on campus. All work must be original. Plagiarism will not be tolerated.

RUBRIC:

Introduction

Sets the tone of the paper 20

Includes a thesis statement 10

Body

Contextual analysis of the art form (visual art, music, theater or dance) 25

Formal analysis of the art form visual art, music, theater or dance) 25

Descriptive analysis of the art form (visual art, music, theater or dance) 25

Demonstrates use of evaluative and synthesized analysis of the art form (visual art, music, theater or dance) 25

Conclusion

Includes personal reflection 10

Reiterates the thesis 10

Summarizes main points of paper 10

Grammatical and mechanical elements of writing (including correct use of citations and references) 20

Total: 180

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