How to Write a Final Paper

 

1. DUE DATE

The final paper is due on or before our last class on December 10th as a Word or PDF document.
2. THE FORMAT

The paper should be between four and six double-spaced, typewritten pages…but if you want to write
more, you can and should.

Please include a cover page with your name and the title of your paper (or the name of the image) at
the front, and include a good quality copy of the image you select as the last page of your paper.
3. CONTENTS

This paper is a visual analysis of a single image…it is a summation of everything you have learned in
this course, as applied to the study of one single image.

Use what you have learned in this course to probe into the full meaning of the image.

Select a single image from any source (photo, painting, billboard, ad, etc.). The image you pick may
have multiple parts (images, words, etc.) but do not assemble a collection of images. Pick one that
you find absolutely fascinating, riveting, intriguing, or otherwise compelling enough to write about.
You can re-use an image you picked for one of the weekly assignments if you want, or select a new one.
4. REQUIREMENTS

This is not a research paper but a reaction paper…it is about your response to the image and what you
think is important about it, what you notice in it, what you feel gives it its impact or its meaning in
all the ways we have discussed.

No need for footnotes. If you want to use any quotes from the articles, chapters, or other texts just
put the words within quote marks and state where they come from. Like this:
As Ada Louise Huxtable says in the article Living with the Fake and Learning to Love It, “Distinctions
are no longer made or deemed necessary between the real and the false.”

Other than a sentence or two as a cited quote from someone else, this paper MUST BE IN YOUR OWN WORDS
or it will not be accepted.

5. THE STRUCTURE

After the cover page, the paper itself should be in six parts:

Introduction
Write a paragraph or two introducing the image and explaining what attracted you to it
in the first place, why you thought it was interesting enough to write about.

Analysis
The bulk of the paper is going through the four approaches to meaning one by one
(Content, Appearance, Use, Context) and relating these to the image just as you have done
separately for various weekly image assignments.

Content: what are the important things you see in the image and how and
why do they contribute to the impact?

Appearance: what visual elements (colors, shapes, lines, etc.) and visual
principles (balance, hierarchy, etc.) seem to matter in this image
and why do they matter?

Use: what aspects of how the image is being used matter here? Who do
you think is using the image and in what ways and for what
purposes?

Context: what else that you know or find out about the image seems to
affect it’s meaning or impact?

Summary
The last paragraph or two should summarize what you have said in the paper and relate the
points you have made to the reason the image has an impact on you. Did the process of analyzing
change your mind at all or give you new insights?
6. STEPS IN WRITING THE PAPER

1. Pick an image that works

Pick an image that is interesting, fascinating, troubling…an image that you
respond to in some way, one that you find compelling enough to look carefully at
and write about for an extended period.

Pick a good quality image…don’t use a tiny thumbnail off the Web, get one that
is clear and sharp.

Avoid abstract images (no Content to write about), cliché images (too obvious to
be interesting), classic images (too much already written about them), and simple
cartoons or logos (not enough to think about).

2. Explain your choice

Write a paragraph or two about why you picked this image, what appealed to you about it, why
it seemed more compelling to you than the trillions of other images out there.

A polished version of this will become the opening paragraph or two of your final paper.
3. Write about the Content

Start with a description of what you see in the frame, what you notice that seems
important.

Content is not about listing everything you see. Content is about why you notice
certain things, why the order you notice them in might matter, why certain details
have an impact on you and others do not, why how real an image might seem is
important…or not.

Content includes what you notice (denotation) and also what you infer
(connotation).

4. Write about the Appearance

Go through your class notes, the chapters, and the readings about Appearance to
remind yourself about what this covers and what to look for.

Appearance is about how the image makes you feel, what your response is to the
colors, the shapes, the lines, the balances, the visual rhythms, etc.

Look at it upside down to avoid the Content and focus on the visual impact.

Look at the list of visual elements and principles and see which ones matter in
terms of the impact of the image you picked.
5. Write about the Use

Who created the image and why? How and what is the image being used to communicate? What kinds of
information does it convey? Do the people who published the image want something from you? Are the
questions of value and worth part of the significance of this image? Is the image used to convince or
persuade you of anything and, if so, is this successful?

Refer back to the chapter, readings, lectures about Use to get ideas about what to think about as you
work on this.
6. Write about the Context

Is there any outside information (stories, ideas, facts, even other images) that you had in mind when
you picked that image that made you think about in a certain way?

Is there any information that came with the image, or even that you found on your own after you picked
the image, that might contribute to or affect its meaning?

Again look at the chapter, readings, and notes that relate to Context to remind you about what it
covers and to give you ideas about what to look for and think about.
7. Write a summary

One or two paragraphs that summarize what you have said in the paper and relate the
points you have made to the reason the image has an impact on you. Did the process of analyzing
change your mind at all or give you new insights?
7. YOUR GOAL

The most important question throughout this paper is not “what” but “why.” This is college, not high
school…you are being asked to think here.

In terms of Content, not only what you notice inside the frame but why those things matter in the
meaning of the image.

In terms of Appearance, not only what colors or shapes or lines are in it, but what impact you think
they have on you.

In terms of Use, not only what you think the creator of the image had in mind or what the message is,
but why that is important to mention in analyzing the image.

And in terms of Context, not what facts you can dig up about the image but why knowing or learning them
seems important in experiencing the image.

Remember, this is the final paper in a college course…a visual analysis of an image. It is not about
listing things you notice, it is about thinking about what significance they have.

Your paper should flow from the reason you picked the image, through an analysis of the various aspects
of impact and meaning that it has on you (with three quotes to support your ideas), to a conclusion
that summarizes this experience.
8. A WARNING

This is a formal document, a final paper for a course. So make sure your ideas and sentences are
clear. Remember that clear, simple writing is better than fancy, confusing writing.

Use Spellcheck!

IMPORTANT…read your paper slowly OUT LOUD (preferably to someone else) before you hand it in. This
will help you catch errors that Spellcheck misses like the right word in the wrong place.

Papers with more than ten mistakes in spelling, grammar, word use, etc. are not at a college level and
will not be accepted.

9. ANOTHER WARNING

Plagiarism is taking someone else’s words and passing them off as your own.

The paper you write for this course (like all papers) must be your own words, your own work. If the
writing in the paper does not conform to the writings you have done all semester long, your paper will
be googled to see if you have plagiarized.

Never take the risk of trying to get around this…really bad idea with terrible consequences since
plagiarism is an automatic failure in the course!
10. CORRECT THESE MISTAKES

This is not a paper to me personally, it is a formal document anyone might read. So use formal
language…use I not i to refer to yourself, you not u, because not caws, etc.

Avoid the following phrases:

“as I said before” (if you said it before, you don’t need to say you said it)

“most people would think” (you don’t know what most people think)

“society tries to…” (this paper is about your own personal response to an image)
11. THE BOTTOM LINE

Show me that you have become fascinated with an image, prove to me that this course has given you a way
to analyze or study that image, and convince me that with your guidance and probing, I too would find
the image you selected fascinating.

Discover new things, go beyond the obvious, probe the image.

Think about all the different ways that images affect us as discussed in this course.
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