arts midterm

Midterm Paper Instructions

Write a biography on a visual artist whose active period falls within the timeframe of this course (Renaissance to present day). Be as thorough as possible.

Note: Make sure to choose an artist early and gather your resources as we don’t have a lot of information on earlier artists – you may have to choose another artist.

Include the following information:

· Artist’s background: Well-known personality traits, childhood family life, education and training, marriage, children, important dates like birth, death, major exhibitions, etc.

· Career: Major successes or failures, well-known works, medium the artist worked in, typical subject matter, styles the artist worked in

· Lifetime: Major events/technology that occurred in the artist’s lifetime that shaped his/her work

· Influences: Who influenced the artist and whom the artist influenced? Include an example of another artist’s work that you believe was influenced by your chosen artist and describe those characteristics.

· Conclusion: Why did you choose the artist? What did you learn?

Formatting

When writing your paper, the following guidelines should be followed.

· Use MLA format

· Must be a minimum length of 4 pages

· Must be double-spaced with a 1” margin

· Must not exceed 12-point font

· Must have at least three (3) book sources and unlimited web sources properly cited

Remember to proofread your paper prior to submitting your paper to the the appropriate folder in the Dropbox section of the Course. You are encouraged to read the document, “Important-Tips to Avoid Plagiarism” located in the Content section as well.

You must submit your paper by Sunday at 11:59 pm CT.

A detailed scoring rubric is available in the  Course Overview module.

Papers

Papers will be graded on the basis of percent of completeness, correct spelling, neatness, citations, and content. The papers must be submitted to the proper Dropbox by the specified due date. The Dropbox records the date and time of submittal. Make sure the files are labeled accordingly: Midterm Paper or Final Paper.

All papers must be in a .doc, .pdf, or .rtf format. Your work should be double-spaced, 12-point sans serif font, with 1 inch margins all around. 

When citing resources, you must adhere strictly to MLA style. All assignments must be your own original work and you are not allowed to turn in papers for this course that you have used previously for another course (even if it is from taking this very course during a previous session).  You are expected to write professionally with correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar. 

Midterm Paper

The Midterm paper is due by 11:59 p.m. CT on Sunday of Week 4. The paper is worth 180 pts. You must use MLA format. The minimum length of the paper should be 4 pages, it must be double-spaced with a 1” margin, and type size should not exceed 12 points. The paper must have at least 3 book sources and unlimited web sources. You must always cite your sources.

You must remember to proofread your paper and submit the completed paper to the appropriate folder in the Dropbox section of the Course.

Please read the document, “Important-Tips to Avoid Plagiarism” located in the Content section. The Midterm Dropbox will not be available until you have completed the Plagiarism Tutorial and Quiz, which can be accessed through the Content area of the course.

Refer to the Grading Rubric to know more about the grade scales.

How You Will Be Graded on the Midterm Paper

Criteria	Excellent	Adequate	Needs Work
Artist's Background	10 points Introduces and fully identifies the artist, style, and the working timeframe.	7 points Introduces and adequately identifies the artist, style, and the working timeframe.	0 points Introduces and poorly identifies the artist, style, and the working timeframe.
Personal Life	90 points Appropriate formal biographical research paper that excels in responding to the assignment and all required elements are addressed and details the personal history including well-known personality traits, childhood family life, education and training, marriage, children, important dates like birth, death, and major life events.	63 points Solid response to the assignment; addressed most required elements and details the personal history including well-known personality traits, childhood family life, education and training, marriage, children, important dates like birth, death, and major life events.	0 points Weak or does not respond to the assignment, addressed few to none of the required elements and poorly details the personal history including well-known personality traits, childhood family life, education and training, marriage, children, important dates like birth, death, and major life events.
Career	30 points Summarizes the major successes or failures, well-known works, media, subject matter, style, and major exhibitions.	21 points Adequate summary of the major successes or failures, well-known works, media, subject matter, style, and major exhibitions.	0 points Poor summary of the major successes or failures, well-known works, media, subject matter, style, and major exhibitions.
Influences	10 points Identified who influenced the artist and whom the artist influenced; included an example of another artist’s work that was influenced by the chosen artist and described those characteristics.	7 points Partially identified influences and other artist’s characteristics.	0 points Lacked identification of influences and other artist’s characteristics.
Lifetime	10 points Identified major events/technology that occurred in the artist’s lifetime that shaped his/her work.	7 points Partially identified major events and/or technology.	0 points Lacked identification of major events and/or technology.
Conclusion	15 points Concludes with an insightful interpretation of the artist’s life and work, and lessons learned.	10 points Concludes with adequate but less effective interpretation.	0 points Concludes with weak interpretation.
Format	5 points 4-5 pages; 1” margins; 12-point font; uses a logical structure, sentence style is appropriate, correct documentation is included, and almost entirely free of spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors.	3 points 3-4 pages; 1” margins; 12-point font; structure is random, documentation is poor, and may contain several mechanical errors.	0 points 0-3 pages; 1” margins; 12-point font; structure is poor, documentation may be missing, and contains many mechanical errors.
Citations	10 points Follows MLA style – utilizes 3-5 references.	7 points May not follow MLA style correctly, utilizes fewer references.	0 points Uses MLA incorrectly or not at all, utilizes 2 or fewer references.
Overall Score	144 or more	126 or more	0 or more