Women Artists Comparative Essay

MINIMUM 1250 words

Times New Roman, 12pt. Font, Double-spaced, MLA Formatted and submitted as a Word .doc or .docx file.
In this paper you should compare two women artists from the 16th-18th centuries (between the years 1500-1800). You must choose artists from different centuries (they cannot both be from the same century). Compare these artists\’ strategies for artistic success and life circumstances as well as 2 pairs of their works (two works by one artist, and two works by the other artist). Choose works that can be easily and logically compared to one another (for example, compare Biblical scenes by each artist, mythological scenes by each artist, self-portraits by each artist, portraits, genre scenes by each artist, or, in general, works that have something obviously in common. You could, for example, compare one self-portrait by one artist to one self-portrait by the other artist, and then some comparable scene that they painted.)

Compare the works both in visual terms (how they look), and in terms of meaning.

In the first paragraph, the introduction, you will include:

a brief introduction of the artists you will discuss as well as the works you will compare
thesis statement – usually the last line of your first paragraph. Your thesis should clearly state what is the main point of your comparison between your artists and their art works. It cannot just state that there are many similarities and differences between the works. It should state exactly how the works are similar and different in terms of their visual aspects and meaning. Your thesis should be so specific that it only makes sense for the artists and paintings you are discussing.

After the introductory paragraph, use the rest of the paper to lay out evidence to support the thesis. The second paragraph should compare the two artists’ artistic strategies. The next paragraphs should compare works. You may compare the first two works in any of the following ways:

Compare the works throughout. Each paragraph should make one point about the comparison between the works. For example, one paragraph may compare the use of light in both works, while another may compare the works in terms of their meaning.
Write about the first work. Then when you write about the second work, compare it to the first work by using words like “Like,” or “Unlike.” But do not simply talk about one work in depth, then say \”Unlike…\” and then go on to just talk about the other work. Draw specific and direct comparisons.
Include important factual information \”when necessary\” because it directly relates to a point you are making about the works and how they compare. DO NOT simply rattle off historical information you copied from other sources. Only include it if it makes specific sense with regards to your comparative analysis

Then do the same for the second pair of art works.

If it makes sense to you, you could compare all 4 works to one another as well.

Organize your ideas into paragraphs, and write one paragraph per main point you are making. The first sentence of each paragraph, the topic sentence, must summarize the point of that paragraph, so that your reader knows from the first sentence of that paragraph what the point of that paragraph will be. Your last paragraph, the conclusion, should be substantial and should sum up your main points.

Your paper must show that you have read and understood the main ideas in the PowerPoint lectures, readings, and videos in which we learned about these artists. Do extra research if necessary.

Cite all your sources (including textbook, PowerPoints, and videos).

If you are quoting something word-for-word, you MUST use quotation marks “ ”, an in-text citation, and the provide a fully documented citation entry on your Works Cited page.Limit word-by-word quotes to maximum 3 short quotes per paper. Use your own words as much as possible.
If you are putting the ideas from a source in your own words, you MUST STILL USE IN-TEXT CITATIONS. This especially applies to copying passages from another source and changing \”some\” of the words. That is still plagiarism, and will result in Failure of the course if proper citation is not provided. Here is an essential guide to quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/using_research/quoting_paraphrasing_and_summarizing/index.html Here is detailed information on how to paraphrase without plagiarizing: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/using_research/quoting_paraphrasing_and_summarizing/paraphrasing.html
Include in-text citations. Here is info on using in-text citations: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/ Basically, at the end of a sentence, or a group of sentences with information from a source, you must use parentheses in the text with the title of that source. If you err, err on the side of caution, and include in-text citations even when not sure you need them.
You need to include a list of Works Cited at the end of the paper.