I copied in the essay plan from the blog and put it into my own blog post so that while I was working on my essay draft, I would be able to stay on track and know what I was doing:

Literary sources: Go to this blog post here: Theory: Literary Sources and copy relevant key texts relating to the subject of your essay and list in alphabetical order in your bibliography. In addition, find your own key texts in relation to artists selected for in-depth analysis in your essay and list these too. These texts could be interviews with the artist, or reviews/ critique’s written by others. See useful online sites/ sources here .

• Research and identify 3-5 literary sources from a variety of media such as books, journal/magazines, internet, Youtube/video that relates to your personal study and artists references .
• Begin to read essay, texts and interviews with your chosen artists as well as commentary from critics, historians and others.
• It’s important that you show evidence of reading and draw upon different pints of view – not only your own.
• Take notes when you’re reading…key words, concepts, passages, page number to be used for in-text referencing etc.

Bibliography
List all the sources that you have identified above as literary sources. Where there are two or more works by one author in the same year distinguish them as 1988a, 1988b etc. Arrange literature in alphabetical order by author, or where no author is named, by the name of the museum or other organisation which produced the text. Apart from listing literature you must also list all other sources in alphabetical order e.g. websites/online sources, Youtube/ DVD/TV.

Essay Question

• Think of a hypothesis and list possible essay questions
• Below is a list of possible essay questions that may help you to formulate your own.

I began going through the Theory: Literary Sources blog post to look at the different subjects that were there to see which ones were the most relevant to my personal study and my artist references. I took screengrabs of these so that I could have a brief overview of all the key texts that I could use:

I included a section about snapshot/vernacular photography as this may be useful in my essay as this is part of my personal study.

Possible essay questions:

1. How does the work of Carole Bénitah and Jessa Fairbrother explore issues of memory and loss within family?

2. Compare How Phillip Toledano’s  and Nancy Borowick’s photography represent the concept of loss?

3. How have concepts of family, separation and memory been explored in the photo books of Sarello, Casanova and Germain?

4. How are concepts of loss and memory narrativised through the works of Markosian, Toroptsov and Sarello?

5. How have Yury Toroptsov, Mariela Sancari and Julian Germain reflected upon the  themes of memories and remembrance in the construction of their photobooks?

6. Explore How both Yury Toropstov and Julian Germain Convey the Theme of Loss, Through their work.

I thought it would be appropriate to go through possible essay questions on the blog and list them on my own because this way I can easily see which question would be the most relevant to my personal study. This way, I can start to go through and find quotes from the different sources so that I can begin my essay clearly. As well as this, it gives me a good starting point for my own research too.

Previous essays:

Below are previous high-marking essays from students that I feel are the most relevant to the concept of my personal study as this gives me good examples of what an effective structure looks like so that I can use this as a tool in my own essay.

How do Diana Markosian and Rita Puig-Serra Costa express the notion of family history and relationships in their work?

 In what ways do alterations in Jessa Fairbrother’s work make the visible what is invisible?

Format:

• Essay question: How does the work of Yury Toroptsov and Philip Toledano explore issues of memory and loss within family? 
• Opening quote: ‘surplus of Faustian energy and psychic damage needed to build modern, inorganic societies’ (Sontag 1977:4)
  
• Introduction (250-500 words): What is your area study? Which artists will you be analysing and why? How will you be responding to their work and essay question?
• Pg 1 (500 words): Historical/ theoretical context within art, photography and visual culture relevant to your area of study. Make links to art movements/ isms and some of the methods employed by critics and historian. 
• Pg 2 (500 words): Analyse first artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.
• Pg 3 (500 words): Analyse second artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.
• Conclusion (250-500 words): Draw parallels, explore differences/ similarities between artists/photographers and that of your own work that you have produced
• Bibliography: List all relevant sources used – example:

Sontag, S. (1977). ‘In Plato’s Cave’ in On Photography. London: Penguin Books.