How to Write a Thesis Statement

Above is a .pdf of a power point presentation on thesis statements I made several years ago.  PLEASE NOTE: the contact information on the first page is INCORRECT.  If you need help with writing, please contact the Student Development Centre.

Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography comes in many forms, but, in general, it is a bibliography that contains additional information about the sources.   For this course, you will compile an annotated bibliography on a narrowly defined topic where each source is summarized and assessed for its usefulness for your project.

Here are the steps you should take to successfully complete your assignment.  Please click on the links for more information about the specifics of writing and research.

Choose a Topic:
For this assignment, first choose an art historical issue, artist, art movement or work of art as a broad topic that interests you.   The parameters are open – it can be anything from cave painting to 1950.  Next, narrow this broad topic to a manageable topic (that could be the topic of a 7-page undergraduate paper) and develop a research question or set of questions.  What do you wish to know about your topic?

Research:
The next step is to begin to conduct research on your topic in light of answering your question.   Begin with the library website.  Search databases for articles, RACER for interlibrary loan and the library catalogue for books at Brock.  You are required to use academic sources for this assignment.  Gather a number of different types of sources – as many as you can find.   The assignment only asks for seven sources, but you want to find the seven best sources on your topic.

Your seven sources must include:

•      at least two peer-reviewed journal articles
•      at least one book or article obtained through inter-library loan
•      at least two academic books, or chapters from academic books
•      no more than one web page, which must be a good web page, suitable for academic research (please note that you are not required to use a web page)

Read & Think:
Read your sources.  A brief overview is all you will need at first.  Then choose your seven best sources.  Read these more closely and take good notes.  After reading, devise a thesis about your topic.  A thesis statement is the short answer to your research question.

More Research:
If you haven’t found seven good sources, keep looking.  Get creative.  Look at the bibliographies and notes of all your sources.  Who are these authors citing?  Track down the authors’ sources.  Still stuck?  Consult a research librarian on the help desk.  Do not leave any of this until the last minute, or you will be unable to complete your assignment.

Write your Annotations:
Write a brief summary and assessment of each source, in paragraph form.  Each annotation should be 150-200 words long. Your goal here is concise, precise writing. Summarize the main argument of the source and then explain how and why it is useful or not useful for your purposes.  Edit and revise these annotations carefully.  You have a few words in which to describe and analyze the source.  Make sure you choose your words carefully.

Assemble Your Annotated Bibliography:
Do no use a cover page.  Type your title, name, course information, date and student number at the top of the page.  This will be followed by your narrowed topic, research questions, thesis statement and annotated bibliography.

You must write up each bibliographic entry in perfect Chicago style and arrange them alphabetically, according to author’s last name.  It is up to you to find out the proper format for each of your sources.  This might include going to the library to look at the reference copy of the Chicago Manual of Style.  Bibliographic entries are single-spaced.  After the entry, insert another space before your annotation, which will be single-spaced.  There should be two spaces between each bibliographic entry.   Please see this example for format.

IMPORTANT!

➢    Your use of Chicago Style must be exact
➢    You must summarize and evaluate/assess your sources
➢    Follow instructions carefully
➢    Your topic must be sufficiently narrowed for an imagined paper that will allow you to properly evaluate your sources in light of your topic (i.e. not “Egyptian art” or “Raphael” or “Romanticism”; instead choose “the function of the ka statue in Egyptian funerary practices,” or “Raphael’s use of classical mythology,” or “why Turner persistently focused on Venice as a subject in his paintings.”
➢    You likely will not be able to discover your topic until you have done some reading
➢    Make your topic the title of your annotated bibliography
➢    Single space your annotations; double space between annotation and entry and between entries
➢    Spelling, grammar, punctuation, format, writing style etc. all count
➢    Your entries must be concise and precise
➢    Please come and see me if you are having difficulty
➢    Leave yourself plenty of time to work on this assignment
➢    Have fun!  This is your chance to research a subject that interests you

This is how your annotated bibliography will be graded.

Some students have had trouble signing in to the quiz.  If this is the case with you, don’t worry, systems is working to resolve the issue.  Watch the blog for updates.

Please follow these instructions CAREFULLY.

1.  Go to https://learning.library.brocku.ca/

2. Log in using your PORTAL ACCOUNT (NOT the course password)

3. Choose “Humanities” from the list on left

4. Select “Visual Arts” from the sub-categories

5. Then select “Introduction to the History of Western Art.”

6. The enrollment key is the course password  (shown in class last week and available in the student area of this blog).  It is NOT the same as the blog password.  You need to input the enrollment key to add the course before you can take the quiz.

Please remember to add this course in turnitin.com and to submit your first writing assignment via turnitin on Monday morning.   You will also need to bring a hard copy to your seminar.

The schedule of readings for the term is now available: http://introart.wordpress.com/about-the-course/lecture-reading-schedule

If you’d like to download a .pdf of the schedule for printing, you can do that HERE.

Please note that you MUST complete the required readings before the lecture on the date scheduled.  The suggested readings are optional.  Additional links along with focus questions and a description of seminar activities will be provided before each class.  Check the blog regularly.

All students who have been de-registered need to go through Monika Lederich, VISA Department Admin Assistant, for  an override before they can register again.  She asks that student please email her their name, student # and the seminar # they were in so she can give an override.  They will then have to register again for the course through the online registration system.  Her email address is: mlederich@brocku.ca

Please attend the seminar of your original registration (you should be on your TA’s class list as these wereprinted BEFORE students were de-registered).  Additionally, please ask your TAs to collect a list of de-registered student names and  numbers and forward that to Monika.

Due: January 19, in seminar

Value: 5%

For this assignment you will visually analyze a work of art.  Please do the following:

1.  Connect to ArtStor via the university library: http://library.artstor.org/library/welcome.html

2. FInd  a work of art that you think is visually interesting.  It can be in any medium, from any culture and from any time period.

3. Print the image and copy down all the relevant information.

4.  Write a 1-page (double spaced) discussion of the visual elements of the work using proper grammar, complete paragraphs and sentences.  Use the vocabulary from the Barnet reading, week 2.  This is not an essay.  You do not need a thesis statement.

5.  Attach a copy of the image to your 1-page discussion, label it properly with artist, title and date.

6.  Bring this to seminar.  This is due at the beginning of seminar — NO EXCEPTIONS.  If you miss your seminar, your grade is 0.

7.  Submit your paper to turnitin.com

8.  In seminar, you will exchange your paper with a peer who will provide comments, following instructions given in class.  You will then hand in your paper to your TA.

8.  For  Short Writing Assignment #2, you will rewrite this assignment following the comments of your peer and your TA.

We will examine art as symbolic representation in two cases on Monday: the cave paintings at Lascaux in France, and Ancient Egyptian art (pyramids, and ka statues).  Here are a few resources for this topic.

Official site of the Caves at Lascaux: http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/lascaux/en

A useful timeline of Ancient Egypt:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/timeline.shtml

Basic information on Ancient Egypt from the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/egypt_importance_01.shtml

And one interesting aside from BBC News: King Tut ‘died from broken leg’

The registration system is apparently de-registering some students.  I will look into this Monday after class.  Meanwhile, don’t worry — everyone who has been de-registered will be able to take the class. Please keep coming to lecture and seminars.