Essay Briefing

Essay due: 23/1/12
Module deadline: 26/03/12

Essay Briefing Notes:

- Analyse sources, un pick challenge,
- Detailed, complex points comparing different writers
- More research than last year
- 2,000 words (10% either way) 1.5 line spacing
- Aim for something specific and focused
- Choose what you want to write about, something that would interest you
- Find a title: take a lecture (or an aspect of one) and apply the theory to a work of graphic design or a graphic designer. Or, take an aspect of you graphic design practice and find ways to theorise that... e.g. print - issues of ethics and sustainability, focus on one company or branding - critique it in an anti-capitalist way, such as Nike
- Essay can help development of studio work. (Praxis)
- Detailed theoretical topic
- Don't use first person, not just about your thoughts, opinions need to be backed up with points by other writers
- Formal intro and conclusion (conclusion about 200 words)
- Developed main section with at least 6 different academic sources
- Bibliography with at least 12 sources
- Starting dissertation in April, good idea to think now what you want to write about for 8,000 word dissertation
- 2nd year essay can be stepping stone for dissertation
- You don't have to cover the same topic you do this year next year
- Explore criticisms on something you like
- Historical and technical understanding
- Quality and quantity of research
- Primary and secondary research
Primary: gallery visit, read original writers work as well as theorists e.g. look at Benjamin's work not just Barnard's
- Sign up lectures give info about chosen topic
- Proposal for essay, including title and bullet points of things you might want to address and initial bibliography by 19th Dec
- Proposal for dissertation at the end of May - get feedback to work on over summer and get assigned a tutor who knows about this topic
- Make sure topic isn't too broad
- Triangulated argument: three or more positions to reach a conclusion
- Different sides of the argument
- Can triangulate to back up one point by topic or a writer
- Look at CTS forum
- Include an image of the design you are talking about but don't put too many in
- Extended quotes of more than 2 lines are to be considered block quotes, and need to be separate from the rest of the text, by missing a line, and indenting the quotes. These block quotes don't count towards the word limit.

Sign up tutorial options:
- Eco issues, geopolitics, design in third world, relationship to planet
- Gender, through the media and design, sub cultural identities, challenge stereotypes
- Anti-capitalist approach to commodity culture. explore brands
- Communication theory - journey from sender to receiver - is design for an audience?
- Technical side of design
- Impact of digital technologies, effect on designer/process. Argument that software removes skill.