Fix up your description of the photo. Your description will be your first paragraph and you should try to make it readable and engaging since it is your chance to draw in the reader. Write it in the present tense. For example, “The photo portrays a boat in which a women is sitting and a man is lying down.” In addition to writing about the components of the photo, don’t forget to write about the style. For example, “The photo is somewhat fuzzy and it has a surreal quality.” (If you are a photographer or if you like to take photos here is another chance for you to shine. Do you like the style? Do you think it is effective? It is appropriate to include all of these opinions in this paragraph.) This paragraph is intended to include your initial impressions only. Do not include any research and do NOT mention the title.

In these paragraphs you will write about your impression of the photo now that you know the title and now that you have done some research.You will mention the title and discuss how it affected your appreciation of the photo; you will also discuss how your research affected your appreciation of the photo. It is in this paragraph (para 2) that you will probably include at least two of your quotes. In paragraph 3, you will get into a comparison of the categories of identification and description. What contributed more to your enjoyment of the photo—the exercise of writing a detailed description (before you knew the title) or the exercise of doing research (after you knew the title) and were able to identify the photo. What kind of a student are you? Do you like the chance to record your own observations and come to your own conclusions or do you like the chance to do research and read other people’s observations? Many of you will probably like both observation/description and research / identification.

In this concluding paragraph you will discuss the importance of titles in art. Open up your discussion in this paragraph to other types of art— paintings, poems, novels, etc— but use the example of the photo as a comparison. In other words, now that you have done quite a bit of work analyzing the effectiveness of the title, The Passing of Arthur, in this particular case, bring what you have learned in a specific, particular case, into your general discussion of titles and art.

You will include three quotations, two from the Malcolm article, and one from another source, using proper MLA citation. We will go over this in class.

Don’t forget to use proper format and to carefully proofread your essay!