Museum Visit essay
- Image which you will be discussing
- An introduction with a strong thesis
- 1000-1200 words of text which describes your artwork in detail using the formal elements and principles of design (more is fine!)
- A conclusion
- A references page or bibliography
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Very little of your essay should be about artist biography or context. 80-90% of your paper should be descriptive. • Your thesis should tell me the artist, title, medium and specifically what elements/principles you’re going to write about. Do not try to write about more than 3-5 elements/principles. • Each body paragraph then should focus on those elements/principles you mentioned in your thesis. Describe specific areas of the painting to support your claims from the thesis. • Break the paper into logically grouped paragraphs and then make each paragraph flow neatly into the next. Use transition words (ex., thus, moreover, however, etc) and prepositional phrases to avoid a “choppy” paper. • Repetition is repetitive. Vary your descriptors. Try not to repeat key vocabulary words within the same paragraph. Be as specific as possible. If an object is red, what color of red is it? Avoid “empty” adjectives like “beautiful,” “interesting,” “amazing,” etc., as these words tell your reader nothing. If you believe an image to be beautiful, tell your reader WHY. • Remember this is the written word and NOT the spoken word. Do not write how you talk (ex. using phrases like “I mean” or “the guy” or “you know”). Always refer to “the viewer” as opposed to “you.” • Read your paper aloud to yourself to catch “awkward” sentences and technical errors. • Avoid run-on sentences & use appropriate punctuation!?%&*’’! • Use the resources available to you. Librarians are an excellent resource for research. The MLA handbook is an excellent resource for formatting.
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