Essay Assignment

Stephen Mazepa June 5, 2002

1. Six Objectives

Knowledge (K) TSWBAT list the six compositional elements of the visual arts.

Reasoning (R1) TSWBAT explain their primary purpose for each of the six elements. (Comprehension)

Reasoning (R2) TSWBAT describe at least one way each of the six elements has been applied in a given piece of art. (Analysis)

Skills (S) TSWBAT mix colors according to the rudimentary principles of the color wheel.

Product (P) TSWBAT combine at least two of the elements in an original piece for the purposes of garnering an intended affect and be able to explain why or how those elements achieved their affect.

Affect (A) TSWBAT discuss his or her own favorite (or most important) compositional element for the visual arts.

R1 In this essay question, you will have the opportunity to demonstrate your comprehension of the compositional elements of the visual arts by way of a written description of your own creative process. Use scratch paper for your prewriting and preliminary drafting. Neatness on your prewrites and preliminary drafts will not be factored into your grade. Be as messy on your scratch paper as you must to get it right! Then, write "FINAL DRAFT" next to your name at the top of the page that will in fact, be neat and legible your final draft. You may use a dictionary or a thesaurus. Being an essay question, your grammar and spelling do factor into your grade, so, take care not to write exactly the same way you talk, even though the question below asks you to explain some aspect of your own creative flow because you’ll produce run-on sentences like this one that sound ok, but read terribly. Be organized in your essay with a beginning, middle, and an end. Now, read the essay question below and start prewriting. Note the scoring criteria on the reverse of this page to guide you.

Think back on a work that you’ve recently completed - over the last four months or so. Describe the evolution of that piece starting from your initial conceptions to finished product. Which compositional element/s got you started at the outset of the process? What percentage of the overall time spent on the piece was spent exploring/developing that/those first musings. How did you fill in or expand through applying other elements and how did the character of the piece change when these new elements are added/developed? Finally, was there any design element that was irrelevant or insignificant for this piece? How? WASL: p. 7 (10th grade)

R2 In this essay question, you will have the opportunity to demonstrate your comprehension of the compositional elements of the visual arts by way of a written description of those elements within a famous painting. Use scratch paper for your prewriting and preliminary drafting. Neatness on your prewrites and preliminary drafts will not be factored into your grade. Be as messy on your scratch paper as you must to get it right! Then, write "FINAL DRAFT" next to your name at the top of the page that will in fact, be neat and legible your final draft. You may use a dictionary or a thesaurus. Being an essay question, your grammar and spelling do factor into your grade, so, take care not to write exactly the same way you talk, even though the question below asks you to explain some aspect of a piece of art, potentially quite inspiring to you, because you’ll produce run-on sentences like this one that sound ok, but read terribly. Be organized in your essay with a beginning, middle, and an end. Now, read the essay question below and start prewriting. Note the scoring criteria on the reverse of this page to guide you.

Starting with its use of contour lines, analyze and describe how (or if) all six compositional elements found in the visual arts have been employed in The Autumn of Central Paris (R.B. Katij, after Walter Benjamin, 1972-73. WASL: p. 7 (10th grade)

 

Commentary

I believe my rubrics are definitive enough to guide a valid assessment. Upon further consideration of the target age group that the unit was originally designed to teach however, (7th grade) I fear it is pretty steep and more in line with the WASL essay questions I had available to refer to (10th grade.) As for efficiency, I haven’t a clue except that if I "aim high" with my questions for 7th graders, I can expect shorter answers, right?