ENGL 1020: Composition/Analysis    

University of Memphis

Argument Revision Assignment 

I have rewritten — often several times — every word I have ever published. My pencils outlast their erasers.” — Vladimir Nabokov, Speak, Memory, 1966

“I don’t write easily or rapidly. My first draft usually has only a few elements worth keeping. I have to find what those are and build from them and throw out what doesn’t work, or what simply is not alive.” — Susan Sontag

“Put down everything that comes into your head and then you’re a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff’s worth, without pity, and destroy most of it.” — Colette, Casual Chance, 1964

“By the time I am nearing the end of a story, the first part will have been reread and altered and corrected at least one hundred and fifty times. I am suspicious of both facility and speed. Good writing is essentially rewriting. I am positive of this.” — Roald Dahl

“The best advice I can give on this is, once it’s done, to put it away until you can read it with new eyes. Finish the short story, print it out, then put it in a drawer and write other things. When you’re ready, pick it up and read it, as if you’ve never read it before. If there are things you aren’t satisfied with as a reader, go in and fix them as a writer: that’s revision.” — Neil Gaiman

Overview: 

As the above quotes from famous writers explain, successful writers are successful revisers. Writing courses often don’t build in time to allow for revision, leaving the false impression that effective writing can actually happen in a few days or weeks. Thus, your final and major project of this course asks you to take all that you have learned about writing processes, composing, and research in order to revise your researched argument.  You may use writing you produced in your first draft, but if the paper does not change significantly, then your essay grade will be lowered. Your goal for this paper should be to improve your argument and to improve your presentation (tone, sentence structure, organization) of that argument. This paper should be a minimum of eight pages and use a minimum of eight sources (five of which have to be academic/government). 

What is revision? Revision involves making global changes to your writing. It involves deleting, moving, and rewriting large parts (if not all) of your previous drafts. It often means doing new research, finding new ways to discuss your topic, and even starting fresh—only pulling words from your first draft when absolutely necessary (and even then those words might need to change). Revising is not the same as editing and proofreading. Editing and proofreading focus on sentences, words, and correctness. Revision focuses on making meaning and on the overall organization and development of your argument.

This is the culmination of all of our work this term and is worth 35% of the semester grade.

The Process: 

This assignment is going to ask you to complete a number of steps in order to improve your essay. 

1. Create a reverse outline of your argument. 
2. Create a revision plan and meet with your instructor to discuss it. 
3. Do new research. Find new sources to support your argument (the reverse outline should help you identify the type of research you need to do in order to support your claims). 
4. Rewrite and revise! 
5. Edit and proofread. 

Requirements: 

• Eight to ten full pages (excluding works cited)
• Must include eight sources, of which five must be academic or government sources 
• MLA format 
• Topic related to Memphis (unless you are out of the area, in which case you may argue a topic in your own area.)

Due Dates: 

• Revision Plan Due end of week #13.
• Complete additional research and begin rewriting
• Conferences Week#14—continue researching and writing 
• Writers Workshop Draft due Thursday of Week #15 
• Final draft is due Sunday 11:59pm of Week #15

 

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Question 1. The Evolution of Greek Sculpture

As we learned this week, sculptors in Ancient Greece strove to achieve perfection in the works of art they created. Carefully examine the following sculptures and read about each one in your textbook, course and video lectures, and through reliable internet resources:

Peplos Kore, from the Acropolis, Athens, c. 530 BCE
Warrior, found in the sea off Riace, Italy, c. 460-450 BCE
Hagesandros, Polydoros, and Athanadoros of Rhodes, Laocoön and His Sons, 2nd-1st c BCE

Then, in a minimum of 2 well-developed paragraphs, answer the following questions:

• What specific visual similarities do you observe in these three sculptures?
• What specific differences do you see? Consider the representation of the figure, facial expression or suggested emotion, additional objects portrayed, and the role of the viewer for each sculpture.
• How is each sculpture representative of the period in Ancient Greece (e.g., Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic) in which it was created?

Be sure to explain your ideas clearly and support them by discussing specific details about each sculpture.

Question 2. Religious Symbolism

This week, we studied cultures that recognized a pantheon of gods and goddesses, such as Ancient Greece and Rome, and also explored the early artistic objects of the Jewish and Christian faiths.

Carefully examine the following sculptures and read about each one in your textbook, course and video lectures, and through reliable internet resources:

Initiation Rites of the Cult of Bacchus, wall painting in the Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii, c. 50 BCE
Ark of the Covenant and Menorahs, wall painting in a Jewish catacomb, Villa Torlonia, Rome, 3rd c CE
The Transfiguration of Christ, Church of Sant’ Apollinare in Classe, 533-549 CE

Then, in a minimum of 3 well-developed paragraphs, address the following questions:

1. What is the subject matter shown in each work?
2. What is the belief system or faith represented in each work?
3. What religious symbols do you observe in each work?
4. How would the setting of each work have influenced how the contemporary viewer interpreted or understood its meaning?

Be sure to provide citations for any outside sources you reference in this part of your response.

Respond to both questions as thoroughly as possible, making sure to use information from this week’s readings, lectures, and additional resources. All responses should be in complete sentence form, using proper spelling and grammar.

 

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Instructions

Time Travel

Assume you have been given the ability to travel back in time, and you are about to set off on a trip to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The purpose of your trip is to visit artists in their studios and view firsthand the creation of some of their paintings and sculpture.In your time travels, you will collect information on five different styles of nineteenth- and twentieth-century art, as represented by one artist from each style. Before you set out, decide which specific styles you would like to explore.Select one style from each of the five categories listed below:Late Nineteenth Century: Impressionism or Post ImpressionismEarly Twentieth Century: Fauvism, Expressionism, or FuturismCubism: Analytic or SyntheticPost-World War I Art: Dada or SurrealismPost-World War II Art: Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, or Pop ArtFor each of your five selected styles, identify one artist who represents that style whose studio you will explore in your time travels. In your visits to each artist’s studio, plan to identify one work of art that best exemplifies the artist’s style. When you return from your time travels, prepare a report that includes the following information for each of your five representative works of art:A photograph of the objectIdentifying information: Name of the artistTitle of the workDate of the workMedium/materials used to create the workIdentify the style of the work of art. Then, write a paragraph of 4-6 sentences that: Describes the visual characteristics that makes the object representative of its stylePlaces the work within its social and historical context and explains why it is culturally significant. Finally, in a well-developed paragraph of 6-8 sentences, summarize what you have learned from your “time travels, ” highlighting key similarities and distinctions between the artists you visited and their representative works of art. Your report should conclude with an explanation about which style you find most interesting and why. 

Offer a citation of your sources for each image and the information provided as appropriate

 

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Instructions

Art as Revolution

This week, we have studied works of art produced in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that reflected, or in some cases, incited, social change or even revolution.

Carefully examine the following works, and read about each one in your textbook, course and video lectures, and through reliable internet resources:

• Hogarth, The Marriage Contract, from Marriage à la Mode, 1743-45
• David, Death of Marat, 1793
• Delacroix ,Liberty Leading the People, 1830
• Goya, Third of May, 1808, 1814-15
• Courbet, The Stone Breakers, 1849

In an essay of 5-7 well-developed paragraphs, address the following questions, making specific references to the five paintings listed above:

1. How did each painting reflect or inspire social change or revolution? What was the social or revolutionary context of the painting?
2. What additional historical events or social factors may have influenced the creation or interpretation of each painting?
3. Explain how the style and specific visual characteristics of each painting contributed to or reflected its overall content or meaning.
4. Do these paintings have the same impact or meaning to audiences today? Why or why not?

Include details about the visual characteristics and content of each painting in your response. Provide proper citations for any information from outside sources included in your essay.

 

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Question 1: Manuscripts of the Early Middle Ages

Before the invention of the printing press, books were copied by hand one at a time by illuminators, and the vellum was often embellished with beautiful calligraphy and intricate patterns and designs.

Using your course textbook locate three examples of illuminated manuscripts from the early Middle Ages. Read about each one in your textbook, course lectures, and through reliable internet resources

First, completely identify each manuscript and/or manuscript page by title, date, and location where it was created.

In a minimum of 2 well-developed paragraphs address the following questions:

1. Who commissioned the creation of the manuscript? Why?
2. What was the purpose of the manuscript?
3. How do the visual characteristics of each manuscript contribute to or enhance its message or meaning?
4. How do the reasons these manuscripts were created compare with religious texts created today?

Be sure to explain your ideas clearly and support them by discussing specific details about each manuscript.

Question 2: Romanesque and Gothic Cathedrals

Both Romanesque and Gothic architecture displayed distinctive characteristics and features. For this assignment, select one example of Romanesque church architecture and one example of Gothic church architecture from your course textbook. Read about each one in your textbook, course lectures, and through reliable internet resources.

First, completely identify the two cathedrals you have selected by name, date, and location.

Then, in a minimum of 3 well-developed paragraphs, address the following questions:

1. What architectural details are evident in each cathedral that make it representative of either the Romanesque or Gothic style?
2. What sort of decoration (interior and exterior) was employed in each cathedral? What was the meaning of the sculptures, paintings, windows that adorned each cathedral?
3. What was the visitor or viewer experience in each cathedral?

Respond to both questions as thoroughly as possible, making sure to use information from the readings and the lectures. All responses should be in complete sentence form, using proper spelling and grammar.

 

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