HUM 201 FINAL COMPARE/CONTRAST ESSAY*
Preliminary components and final essay worth 200 pts total
A successful essay will be written in several stages, not in one night.
* If you choose this option, you do NOT need to complete the alternate final creative project.
Preliminary and Final Due Dates (continue reading for details on each section of the assignment):
Topic selection is due by 11:59pm at the end of Module 4—Part 1 (10 pts)—see pgs. 5-6
Draft elements due by 11:59pm at the end of Module 4—Part 3 (20 pts)—see pgs. 6-7
Final 6-8 page paper due by 11:59pm on Friday of Module 4—Part 5 (170 pts)—see pgs. 1-4, 7-14
Tutoring—Strongly Recommended. Schedule your appointment!
Tutors are available to you in the Tutoring Center. so you can get feedback and make sure that the work you submit communicates your good ideas as fully as possible.
Please set up an appointment (or several!) once you select your topic so you can get support as you move through the different stages of the writing process: organizing your ideas, generating a rough draft, citing your sources, and/or editing your draft.
Overview of the Assignment
You are being asked to write a 6-8 page analysis essay comparing and contrasting two works of art that represent one or more of the following art forms: visual art, architecture, prose (short story), or poetry (see pg. 6 for some topic possibilities).
The two works of art you select should address a similar theme to make sure you have a point of comparison between the two works.
In the BSP:Content:Course Resources folder, I have included several subfolders (such as Literature, Visual Art, and Architecture Resources or Research & Citation Resources) with links to resources you should use to help analyze the works of art and correctly format and structure the paper, including MLA in-text parenthetical and bibliographic citations.
I have also included an example of a successful student paper that you can consult.
Consult the rubric (pgs. 11-14) of this document early and often to monitor your progress toward a successful paper.
Use your feedback from the earlier assignments (especially the inline edits and marginal comments) as well. I expect you to implement my recommended edits from there and from your preliminary work—in fact, it’s part of the rubric score you’ll earn on the final.
Each of the two artworks you select for this assignment needs to be described, analyzed, and interpreted. And the interpretations of the two artworks need to be compared and contrasted.
Overall, think about how subject matter + formal elements or literary devices combine to convey a particular message, meaning, or mood to the reader/viewer, and describe how the artist’s/author’s decisions regarding subject matter and formal elements or literary devices lead the viewer/reader to understand a particular meaning that you explain through your essay.
VOCABULARY DEFINITIONS
Describe= to tell or depict in written words; give an account of by paying close attention to details and explaining them to the reader as clearly and completely as possible. Begin by observing your subject closely and deciding which details are most significant. Articulate them so the reader is able to imagine everything you observe, and explain how the details interrelate.
Analyze= to examine critically, so as to bring out the essential elements or give the essence of something; to examine in detail in order to discover meaning, essential features, etc.
Interpret= to explain or tell the meaning of; present in understandable terms. Based on the observations you have made and described in clear and complete sentences, explain to the reader why those details are significant in supporting your thesis statement/argument.
Compare=to articulate similarities (in theme, style, materials, message, etc.) between two objects
Contrast=to articulate differences (in theme, style, materials, message, etc.) between two objects.
Check the BSP:Content:Course Resource folder (Literature, Visual Art, and Architecture Resources or Research & Citation Resources subfolders) for a compilation of helpful links and resources
In describing, analyzing, and interpreting the two works, your paper should answer the following two questions:
What does each work convey to the viewer/reader about the theme you think they have in common, and how is that message or meaning conveyed in each one? (This is your interpretation based on description and analysis of subject matter and formal elements or literary devices)
How do the two works’ messages and the methods of conveying them compare and contrast?
Make sure your thesis not only states that the two works of art you selected are similar and different but that it specifies how they are similar and different.
What is the subject matter or topic being depicted or explored?
What formal decisions does each artist/author make to depict or explore that subject matter?
Guiding your Observations and Building toward your Interpretation
In order to accomplish these goals, here are some examples of questions that will help you organize your thoughts in the essay. You should not feel that you have to address description, analysis, and interpretation in separate steps or paragraphs. It is actually more helpful, once a piece of description is provided, to analyze it and connect it immediately to your interpretation, so you are encouraged to weave description, analysis and interpretation together within and across paragraphs (If that sounds confusing, please seek help from the Tutoring Center).
Remember that, whatever your topic, I am primarily interested in what you are able to observe and articulate. Whenever you draw on ideas from other sources, make sure to cite their contributions to your argument (their ideas as well as instances of exact wording) properly in MLA format.
Describe (What do you see?)
Provide the credit line information (artist/author, title, date created or published, medium)
Describe the obvious subject matter (who/what)
Analyze (How is the work organized?)
Questions for analyzing literary work (poem, short story, etc.):
In what sequence did the author convey ideas?
What tone(s) did the author employ?
What do you know about the speaker (poem) or narrator (short story)?
Did the author use repetition, and what effect does it have?
What does the author emphasize?
When does the author use figurative language (simile, metaphor, symbol) instead of literal language, and what effect does it have?
Questions for analyzing visual work (painting, sculpture, architecture, etc.):
What are the most important art elements & design principles in the artwork?
Where is the focal point(s)?
What did the artist do to achieve balance in the work?
What lines, shapes, colors, etc. were used, and where did the artist place them?
How do the specific materials/media used contribute to other aspects of design?
Interpret (What is it saying? What is the message/mood/meaning conveyed to the viewer (for visual art and architecture) or reader (for short story and poem)?)
Use the information from your description and analysis to help you identify the meaning of each work: what it tells you about an individual or universal human experience.
What mood does this work suggest?
What do you think the work is about? (you’ll explain why/how by relying on your observations derived from describing and analyzing the artworks)
Paper Formatting Guidelines:
6 full pages is the minimum length for your writing in this paper.
Title pages, images, and works cited/bibliography pages are considered separately.
Papers should be written in Times New Roman, 12 pt. font, double spaced, 1” margins (top, bottom, left, right), page numbers in the header. No extra spaces between paragraphs.
Papers should be spell-checked and grammar-checked, saved as a Word doc or PDF, then uploaded to the appropriate assignments link (BSP:Assignments) by the due date.
Papers should be written in third person (“one notices,” “the viewer observes,” “the reader understands,” etc.). Minimize first person statements (like “I see”), and completely avoid using second person in formal writing (avoid all statements like “you think” or “you wonder”).
When writing titles of works of art and literature: titles of works of visual art go in italics. Short story and poem titles go in “quotation marks.” The first letter of every main word in a title is capitalized for poems, short stories, works of art and architecture.
Historical figures (including authors and artists) should be referred to by last name after being introduced with their complete name.
Avoid narrating the process of completing the assignment or narrating the structure of the paper (avoid phrases like “I picked this artwork because” or “First I will show this, then…”). Instead, your paper should begin from the point of having selected your topic. Similarly, your paper should have structure, but you shouldn’t need to describe it to the reader. Show the reader the structure by just making your argument in a coherent, organized way.
Papers should have a title that is descriptive of your specific argument (not just the name of the assignment, not just the name of the authors/artists or works of art under investigation)
If any sources are consulted, you must cite them properly—in MLA style—in a properly formatted and complete bibliography or Works Cited page at the end of your document.
You must also provide in-text parenthetical citations for any idea or piece of information that did not originate in your own head, whether you are directly quoting it, paraphrasing it, or summarizing it (in-text parenthetical citations go at the end of the sentence that includes ideas or information from other sources).
Any wording that is not your own must be in quotation marks in addition to having an in-text parenthetical citation and bibliographic entry on your Works Cited page.
If you are analyzing poetry, please consult these guidelines on quoting lines of poetry: (see sections within “short quotations” and “long quotations” for guidelines about poetry in particular).
If you are analyzing images (works of visual art or architecture), you should provide the image at the end of your document with a caption below it that provides the artist name, title, and date.
In the BSP:Content:Course Resources folder, I have included subfolders with links to resources you should use to help analyze the works of art and correctly format and structure the paper.
PRELIMINARY AND FINAL DUE DATES
Module 4—Part 1: Submit topic selection for compare/contrast essay on BSP:Assignments section (10 pts)
Completely fill out the form provided below with information about the two artworks and the theme that connects them to each other. Copy and paste the text in the box below into a separate word document or directly into the Assignment submission box on BSP:Assignments.
You may use one of the pairs suggested on pg. 6 or you may come up with your own pair of artworks.
WORK OF ART 1 (must be from the class syllabus and materials):
Artist/Author Name: ___________________________
Title: ___________________________________ (italics for visual art titles; “quotation marks” around short story and poem titles)
Date of creation: ___________
This work of art is a:
Check one: _____Visual Art _____Work of Architecture _____Short Story _____Poem
WORK OF ART 2* (may be from outside the class syllabus as long as it is by a professional artist or author):
Artist/Author Name: ___________________________
Title: ___________________________________ (italics for visual art titles; “quotation marks” around short story and poem titles)
Date of creation: ___________
This work of art is a:
Check one: _____Visual Art _____Work of Architecture _____Short Story _____Poem
Identify the theme that you see connecting these two works of art: _________________
*One of the works you choose to write about in this paper must be one that we’ve looked at in class (a work of visual art or architecture that was in one of the textbooks or on a lecture PowerPoint, or a work of prose [short story] or a poem listed on the syllabus).
The second work of art you write about may be one from beyond the class syllabus and material covered on lecture PowerPoints, but it should be by a professional artist or writer (not a random person who posted online), and you should get it approved by the instructor.
You may even consider song lyrics as a form of poetry to analyze (just make sure you’re focusing on the lyrics, not the rest of the musical components for this assignment).
You may not select a scholarly article or video as one of the two artworks you compare
Topic options to get you started
You may make a different selection using the works from our class modules, or you may select one of these pairs.
You will be responsible for articulating a theme the two works have in common.
Architecture & Architecture: Jeanne Gang, Aqua Tower vs. United4Design [Yasaman Esmaili, Elizabeth Golden, Mariam Kamara, Philip Straeter], Niamey 2000 Housing
Visual Artwork & Architecture: Frida Kahlo, Frida and Diego Rivera (1931) vs. Juan O’Gorman, Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo
Visual Artwork & Architecture: Chris Ofili, Holy Virgin Mary (1996) vs. Mariam Kamara, Hikma Religious and Secular Complex
Visual Artwork & Visual Artwork: Maya Lin, Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial (1982) vs. Ai Weiwei, Good Fences Make Good Neighbors (2017)
Visual Artwork & Short Story: Harriet Powers, Pictorial Quilt (1895-98) vs. Alice Walker, “Everyday Use” (1973)
Visual Artwork & Short Story: Maya Lin, Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial (1982) vs. Ray Bradbury, “There Will Come Soft Rains” (1950)
Poem & Poem: Emily Dickinson, “We Grow Accustomed to the Dark” (c. 1886) vs. Joy Ladin, “Death” (2015)
Poem & Short Story: Idris Goodwin, “Say My Name” (2011) vs. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “The Thing Around Your Neck” (2009)
Poem & Short Story: Langston Hughes, “Mother to Son” (1922) vs. Octavia Butler, “Speech Sounds” (1983)
Short Story and Short Story: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “The Thing Around Your Neck” (2009) vs. Francisco Jimenez, “The Circuit” (1973)
Module 4—Part 3: Submit draft elements: thesis statement draft and 8 bullet points for compare/contrast essay on BSP:Assignments (20 pts)
I will provide you with feedback on this draft of the thesis statement to make sure you have a strong thesis for the final draft of your compare/contrast essay. Check for feedback on your previous Assignment submissions (like earlier close reading analysis assignments and topic selections) for additional feedback.
A good thesis in a compare/contrast essay sets up a paper in which the author will SHOW the reader how these works are similar and different. It should not merely state that the two works have similarities and differences, nor should it merely state that you will discuss similarities and differences in your paper. You need to be specific about what those similarities and differences are. (Review the example of a strong thesis statement, provided below)
As you write your essay, that thesis should be supported within each body paragraph with evidence derived from your description and analysis of the text, work of visual art, or building. That’s why you must also provide, along with your thesis draft, at least four bullet points about each of the two works (that’s 8 bullet points total) that you will use to help support your thesis statement. Each bullet point should describe a piece of evidence (a detailed point of description or analysis about one of the works of art you selected) that reinforces the thesis statement you drafted.
Submit a thesis statement that argues about how the two works of art are similar and different in the way they address the particular theme you have selected.
Example of a strong thesis statement: Although the __[poem]__and __[painting]__ both address the ways in which parenthood changes a person, _[the painting]__ illustrates the joys of parenting while __[the poem]__ highlights its corresponding pains.
Notice that the element they have in common would be related to the theme specified in the topic selection part of the assignment.
Example of a weak thesis statement: The [painting] and [short story] are similar yet different in many ways.
This is weak because it only states that the two works are similar and different. You must explain how the two works are similar and different.
Your thesis should come at the end of your intro paragraph and do the following three things:
1) identify both works of visual/literary art you selected (this means providing the artist’s/author’s name and the title of the work (italics for titles of works of visual art; “quotation marks” around poem titles and short story titles)–and provide the date of publication or creation of each work somewhere in the introduction); then 2) identify the unifying theme that the two artworks have in common; and 3) explain an important, specific way in which they differ. (Can you see how the example of a strong thesis provided above accomplishes these three things? If not, schedule an appointment with a Tutor).
Points #2 &3 in the preceding paragraph (identify the unifying theme that the two artworks have in common; and explain an important, specific way in which they differ) can be accomplished in a single sentence by relying on words like “whereas,” “while,” or “although” in your thesis statement, which will enable you to point out both similarities and differences in one sentence (here’s a helpful list of other transitional devices that can be applied to help structure your paper).
Friday of Module 4—Part 5: Submit final essay on BSP:Assignments (170 pts)
It must meet ALL formatting guidelines provided on pg. 4 of this document. The final draft should incorporate edits and suggestions from the preliminary stages (topic selection, thesis statement draft) of your work, and all questions regarding the assignment should have been asked in advance of the due date.
You may follow this framework to structure your essay:
Title
The title of your paper invites the reader to read the essay. It should describe your paper’s argument, not just the assignment (i.e.: it should not be titled “Compare/Contrast Essay”). It should also provide more than the titles of the works of art or names of the artists/authors. Give the reader a preview of the paper’s specific argument with a descriptive, intriguing title, not something generic that would suit many other papers equally well.
Intro paragraph
One opening paragraph, the final sentence of which is your thesis. Avoid narrating the process of writing the paper. Instead, tell the reader what has been discovered about the artworks’ similarities and differences as a result of that process. In the intro paragraph of your essays, be sure to begin with a “hook” to grab the reader’s attention, and as you transition into your thesis statement, introduce your works of art. When you identify them, you need to provide the artist name (if the artist name is unknown, identify the culture responsible for the work), the title (italicized for visual artworks; in “quotation marks” for short stories and poems), and the date of creation /publication for each artwork that will be discussed.
Err on the side of specificity instead of generalizations in your essays, especially when writing a thesis statement. In a compare and contrast essay, you need to do more than merely state that two works of art have similarities and differences. Instead, you must describe in your thesis how the two works of art you have selected are similar and how they are different. You will go on to provide evidence supporting your thesis statement in the body paragraphs of your essay. For more thorough guidance on writing a strong thesis, please see pgs. 6-7. of this assignment.
The body of the essay
In between the intro paragraph and the concluding paragraph, you should have several body paragraphs. Each paragraph should be at least five complete sentences long but no longer than a page.
Each body paragraph should begin with a topic sentence and provide support for your thesis while demonstrating your understanding of the works of art as they relate to our study of art and literature. Describe what you observe about both works of art individually and, based on that, explain what they have in common as well as what makes the two artworks different from each other.
Make sure to support your statements with visual or textual evidence (ask yourself and then answer the question: “What do you see that makes you say that?”). Your body paragraphs should each support the thesis statement from your introductory paragraph and address the types of description, analysis, and interpretation questions provided on pg. 3.
Conclusion
Provide one closing paragraph to summarize your argument and tie your points together, reinforcing your thesis. It should not just replicate the words from your thesis statement or intro paragraph. Consider what the main takeaway is from your paper’s argument, and make sure that is reflected in the concluding paragraph. The conclusion should tie everything you’ve already shared together, not introduce any new information.
You should also include photographs or other images in your essay or at the end of the essay as a reference to the reader. Please make sure you identify the source of the images by including a complete caption for each image (at minimum: artist (or culture if no artist is identified), title, date of creation). The images and bibliography or works cited page do not count in the page count; they are considered separately from the 6 page minimum requirement of the essay.
RESEARCH & ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
When you do outside research, you must accurately and thoroughly cite any ideas that are not your own (whether paraphrased or quoted) with an in-text parenthetical citation. Note that there are different rules for quotations, depending on length of the quoted passage, and also on whether you are quoting lines of poetry or lines of prose.
A Works Cited page must also be included at the end of the document, and all citations (in-text and bibliographic) must be properly formatted according to MLA.
If a student does not provide in-text citations whenever an idea or wording that did not originate with (and therefore does not belong to) the student is used, this is plagiarism, and the student will earn, at minimum, an F on the paper. Consult the syllabus section on plagiarism and academic integrity, or ask the instructor if you have any questions about this. Unintentional plagiarism is still plagiarism and will be subject to penalty, as explained on the syllabus.
Rely primarily on your own powers of observation and interpretation, but cite any ideas and words that did not originate in your own head.
Resources to Consult for Compare/Contrast
Utilize the ones most relevant to your selected works of art or literature.
Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL): MLA resources
List of Literary Devices
Points of View in Literature
Reading a Novel of Story (Purdue OWL tips)
Reading a Poem (Purdue OWL tips)
Poetry: Close Reading (Purdue OWL)
Image in Poetry (Purdue OWL)
Elements of Art (Getty Museum)
How to do Visual/Formal Analysis (video)
Art Terms (TATE gallery)
Art21 Documentaries (contemporary artists)
Timeline of Art History (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Introduction to Writing in Art History (Purdue OWL)
Architecture Dictionary (Chicago Architecture Center)
Buildings of Chicago (Chicago Architecture Center)
Explore HWC Library Guide on Visual Art
Explore HWC Library Guide on “Artist Research”
Other reputable sources include Poetry Foundation, SmartHistory, artsy, hyperallergic, artnet news, museum websites, university websites, scholarly journals like those you can access through the HWC library, including the Literature Resource Center (GALE).
Do not rely on Pinterest or Wikipedia or other non-reputable sources.
Additional resources for you to consult related to the writing process, citations, analyzing visual art and literature are posted in BSP:Course Resources
Quoting and Citing your Sources
When you incorporate background research about the artwork, author/artist, or any other information related to your topic, you should only use reputable sources such as museum and university websites, the recommended resources listed above, or scholarly journals like those you can access through the HWC library. You must also make sure to abide by the rules of academic honesty and provide appropriate MLA citations.
TurnItIn will generate an “Originality Report” for your final draft, highlighting any wording that comes from another source (internet, another student’s paper, etc.) rather than your own head. Be sure to resolve any issues with your Originality Report before the due date by fixing the issue in your paper and resubmitting a corrected draft.
If the Originality Report only highlights passages of “matching text” that have been properly quoted and cited in MLA format (following the three steps listed below), then you are fine. Do not use an AI tool like quillbot for paraphrasing.
If, however, the Originality Report highlights any passages that have NOT been placed in quotation marks AND ALSO provided with an In-text citation and Works Cited page citation in MLA format, then you must fix these issues and resubmit a new draft by the due date.
Three steps to properly quote and cite your sources
Step 1: Put all borrowed wording in quotation marks, using proper MLA style: Formatting quotations in MLA style (Note that the length of the quotation affects the formatting that you should follow).
Step 2: Construct in-text parenthetical citations for all borrowed ideas (whether you’ve kept and quoted the original wording, or whether you’ve summarized or paraphrased it in your own words—do not use an AI tool like quillbot for paraphrasing), using proper MLA style:
MLA In-text citations (basic book)
MLA In-text citations (electronic sources)
MLA In-text citations (artwork, movie, etc.)
Step 3: Construct a Works Cited page, using proper MLA style: MLA Works Cited page
Compare/Contrast Essay RUBRIC
Criterion
Exceeds Outcome
Pts
Meets Outcome
Pts
Emerging Skills
Pts
Does Not Meet Outcome
Pts
Tutoring & Integration of Preliminary Feedback
Student fully incorporated feedback from the instructor and tutor:
student arranged and met with our embedded tutor or another writing tutor.
Additionally, all edits made by instructor to preliminary work (topic selection, thesis draft, plus first paper feedback) are reflected in the final draft.
15
Student incorporated much of the feedback from the instructor and tutor:
student arranged and met with our embedded tutor or another writing tutor,. Additionally, nearly all edits made by instructor to preliminary work (topic selection, thesis draft, plus first paper feedback) are reflected in the final draft.
13
Student only minimally incorporated the feedback provided by the instructor and tutor:
student set up tutoring appointment with our embedded tutor or another writing tutor but did not keep or reschedule it. Additionally, some edits made to preliminary work by instructor are applied to final draft.
11
Student did not seek or incorporate feedback provided by the instructor and tutor:
student did not set up tutoring appointment with our embedded tutor or another writing tutor. Additionally, suggestions or edits made to preliminary work by instructor are ignored in the final draft. OR student did not submit preliminary work and thus had no feedback from the instructor to integrate.
7
Clarity/
Presentation
Exceptionally clear, mechanically sound presentation that suffers only from rare, minor errors in sentence structure, grammar, or punctuation. Terminology and names are used accurately.
15
Generally clear, mechanically sound presentation that suffers from only occasional, not persistent, grammatical errors or from a repeated error that would not be caught by spell-check. There is no more than one minor inaccuracy regarding terminology or names.
13
Frequently unclear or mechanically unsound presentation that suffers from one persistent grammatical error or a few occasional grammatical errors. OR Misuses terminology or names numerous times.
11
Extremely unclear or mechanically unsound presentation demonstrating a lack of quality that does not meet expectations for a college-level paper (i.e. 10+ fixable errors). Has not been spell-checked. OR Frequently misuses terminology or names.
7
Thoroughness
Author’s paper meets the requirements concerning length and fully addresses topic.
10
Author’s paper meets the requirement concerning length and addresses most of the topic.
9
Author’s paper is less than a page shy of the length requirements and partially addresses topic.
7
Author’s paper is one page or more shy of the length requirement and does not adequately address topic.
5
Title
Paper features a creative, descriptive title that reflects the author’s specific argument (ex: It’s Not Easy Being Queen: Power Dynamics in England)
10
Paper features a descriptive title that reflects the paper’s theme but is generic and could apply to many papers (ex: Violence and War)
9
Paper features a title that is merely a version of the assignment title, the artist name(s), or the title(s) of the selected artwork (ex: Compare/Contrast Essay).
7
Paper features no title
5
Selected works of art meet assignment criteria
Paper focuses on two works of art (either short prose, poetry, architecture, or visual art), and at least one of the works of art was covered in the class lectures and/or readings, and student offers new insights beyond what was previously made in class.
10
Paper focuses on two works of art (either short prose, poetry, architecture, or visual art), and at least one of the works of art was covered in the class lectures and/or readings, but student largely rehashes points previously made in class.
9
Paper focuses on two works of art (either short prose, poetry, architecture, or visual art), but neither of them were covered in the class lecture or readings.
7
Paper does not focus on artworks that meet the assignment requirements, demonstrating a lack of understanding of the assignment, but student did not ask for clarification.
5
Formatting
All guidelines about font, margins, and bibliographic citations are followed. Titles of works of visual art are always italicized, poem and short story titles are always in “quotation marks,” & all titles have the Main Words Capitalized.
10
Guidelines about font, margins, and bibliographic citations are usually followed with a couple minor errors. Titles of works of visual art are usually italicized, while poem and short story titles are in “quotation marks,” and most titles have Main Words Capitalized.
9
A few errors regarding font, margins, and bibliographic citations. Some but not all titles of artworks are correctly formatted.
7
Numerous errors regarding font, margins, and bibliographic citations. Titles of artworks are usually incorrectly formatted
5
Articulation of Thesis
Author makes a clear, explicit claim (thesis) about how the two artworks are similar and different in how they address the selected theme, and the thesis is the final sentence of the first paragraph
20
Paper contains a mostly clear claim (thesis) about how the two works of art are similar and/or different, and the thesis is the final sentence of the first paragraph.
17
Paper contains a general claim (thesis) that the two works of art are similar and different, and/or the thesis is located somewhere in the first paragraph but not the final sentence of the first paragraph.
15
Paper contains an unclear claim or no organizing claim (thesis) in the first paragraph.
12
Support of Thesis
The thesis statement is thoroughly supported with evidence in every body paragraph and fully explains how the two artworks are similar as well as how they are different.
20
The thesis is supported with evidence in the body paragraphs that mostly explains how the artworks are similar and different but with opportunity for further development.
17
The paper does not sustain the analysis with sufficient evidence (potentially due to short paper length) or does not fully tie evidence to the author’s thesis, only partially explaining how the two artworks are similar and/or different.
15
The paper lacks focus with respect to supporting the thesis and does not explain how the two artworks are similar or different.
12
Focus and Relevance
Paper exclusively uses details that support the thesis and does not lose focus by veering off on tangents. The selected theme’s connection to both works of art is clearly and thoroughly explained in a sequence that makes organizational sense.
20
Paper suffers no more than one lapse in focus or coherence by providing a detail unrelated to the central theme or a brief lapse in organization, thus diminishing but not destroying the strength of the argument. The selected theme’s connection to both works of art is explained mostly clearly.
17
Paper suffers a couple lapses in focus or coherence by providing details unrelated to the central theme (such as emphasizing the artists’ biographies rather than the artworks themselves), significantly detracting from the strength of the argument. The theme’s connection to one work of art is explained, but the other is omitted, or the theme’s connection to both works of art is only partially explained.
15
Paper is largely disorganized or indulges in several tangents unrelated to the central theme (thesis) such that numerous provided details are irrelevant to the analysis. The theme’s connection to both works of art is not addressed or is inadequately explained.
12
Integration of visual or textual support from selected primary sources & Originality
Paper provides many relevant quotes from the selected literary works and/or clear descriptions of formal elements/literary devices and subject matter in selected visual works in order to support the thesis statement. Additionally, paper emphasizes personal observations, demonstrating sustained and deep involvement with all dimensions of the artworks.
20
Paper provides some quotes from the selected literary works and/or visual description as evidence from the selected artworks but ignores some important detail related to either subject matter or formal elements/literary devices. Paper demonstrates involvement with all dimensions of the artworks but few personal insights.
17
Paper integrates some evidence from the selected artworks, focusing on either subject matter or formal elements/literary devices but not both. Paper demonstrates sufficient involvement with one dimension of the artworks but short-changes the others.
15
Paper inadequately integrates evidence from either of the selected artworks, and neither integrates quotes from the selected literary works or description of the works to the author’s argument nor ties the quotes to the author’s thesis. Paper demonstrates insufficient involvement with the selected works of art.
12
Citations
All ideas and wording that came from sources are cited accurately in MLA style with in-text parenthetical citations and a Works Cited citation, and only reputable or scholarly sources (like museum websites, journals) are consulted..
20
All ideas and wording that came from sources are cited in MLA style with in-text parenthetical citations and a Works Cited citation, but there are some minor formatting errors.
17
Ideas and wording that came from sources are given incomplete citations with in-text parenthetical citations OR a Works Cited entry; OR student copies and pastes large chunks of text from sources instead of incorporating details into the student’s own answer; non-scholarly sources (Wikipedia, blogs, etc.) are sometimes relied upon for info that was available from scholarly sources (museum websites, journals).
15
No outside sources were consulted, but assumptions were made that should have been investigated and cited; OR non-reputable sources (Wikipedia, blogs, etc.) are exclusively relied upon for info that was available from scholarly sources (like museum websites, journals)..
12
If the paper submission earns “Exceeds Outcome” in every dimension: 170/170 (100%)
If the paper submission earns “Meets Outcome” in every dimension: 147/170 (86%)
If the paper submission earns “Emerging Skills” in every dimension: 125/170 (74%)
If the paper submission earns “Does Not Meet Outcome” in every dimension: 94/170 (55%)
HUM 201WW 14
HUM 201 (WW) 2