Research Paper Assignment:
The final research paper for this course will require you to write and present a scholarly paper, in which you will select a facet of Picasso’s work that interests you. Investigate that theme, utilizing the literature and articles we have discussed in Packback the class as a starting point. This should be an art-object-based paper. In other words, your thesis will begin with a concern/trend/problem you discover in an artwork. Your thesis will – in the first paragraph of your paper – describe that problem and give your proposed solution to it. Then let your literature support your argument. In other words, your paper should resemble this diagram:
INTRODUCTION
1st paragraph…should end with a strong and direct statement of your thesis. (FYI – A thesis is NOT a summary. It is a proposition you are putting forward for consideration, one you will discuss, prove and maintain against objections. In other words, this is an ARGUMENT paper.)
Some sample topics might include:
• The “Weeping Women” of Pablo Picasso
• Influences of African/Oceanic Art in Picasso’s Cubist Work
SET UP THE PROBLEM
Introduce a specific artwork by describing it fully and pointing out the aspect about it that called out to you for greater research. This is where you SET UP your inquiry. Do NOT give us all of your conclusions up front. Let us discover them as the essay unfolds. Also, be sure to use a third-person scholarly voice. First-person (“I”) voice is not appropriate in formal research papers.
RESEARCH – POINT #1
Present literature and artworks to support the first point of your thesis. If quotes exceed 3 lines deep, then indent and single-space them. Be sure to footnote ANY outside material. If you don’t, you’ll be committing plagiarism – which can get you kicked out of school. If in doubt, cite it!
RESEARCH – POINT #2
Literature and artworks that support the next stage of your argument go here. Be sure to refer back to the artwork/s to anchor your discussion in a study of the object itself.
RESEARCH – POINT #3, 4, etc…
Literature and discussions of artworks that support/s the next stage of your argument go/es here.
CONCLUSION
Restate your thesis and summarize in a couple of sentences how you’ve arrived here, given your chosen artwork. Your conclusion paragraph should begin with a statement of your thesis, then should gradually become more broad in scope. Think of it as the inverse of your introduction. You should end with a statement about why your study matters.
Some sample paper topics might include:
• Making Politics Non-Confrontational: Picasso’s “Au Bon Marche”
• Picasso, Classicism and the Angst of Academic Training
• Picasso in 3D: A Working-Through of the Problems of Cubism in “Guitar”
• Picasso: Restless Surrealist
• Picasso and Braque: The Story of a Tense Collaboration
Etc…!
Mechanics:
You must have 6 books/articles as research sources, cited properly (Chicago/MLA or Turabian).
WEB MATERIAL OR TEXTBOOKS OR COURSE READINGS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE!!!!!!
I recommend starting your research by visiting the library for books. Then log into JStor (research databases link at the top of the library page for academic articles).
FINAL RESEARCH PAPER GUIDELINES:
• All work must be double-spaced with standard margins of 1 inche, 12-point
Times New Roman (or equivalent) font. Place your name and the title on the paper’s first page, and
number all subsequent pages. Pages of illustrations, while helpful, are not required and may not
be used to satisfy the length requirements.
