Survey of Design and Media Art
	Instructor: Lindsay Grace

Critique Paper Guidelines

The critique paper is your opportunity to demonstrate the following:

o An understanding of critique
o An understanding of terminology and concepts discussed in this course
o Your ability to write clear, concise, and persuasive arguments

Strong critiques will be thoughtful, thorough, and well written. Discuss your topic with authority. Always back your claim with general principles, concepts and industry standard that the piece either does well or fails to do.

Writing

Presentation is often important. In a critique paper, your ability to present well includes following the conventions of standard written English. Please review paper grading criteria for written work provided on the first day of class.

You should begin your critique with a brief description of the piece. Descriptions should include a summary of the plot, important elements, how the work is used or displayed or any other that provides background on your chosen piece.

A quality critique will have depth and authority. You should discuss in enough detail to make your point clear, but not overstated. Likewise, you can add credibility to your critique by using industry terminology and evaluating the work based on general industry concepts. Simply claiming that the work is bad is never enough. Describe the particular parts that are bad (or good) and give evidence to back your claim.

The critique must be a minimum of 3 double-spaced pages in 12 point Times New Roman font. Papers should be an appropriate length for the topic they discuss. If you choose a collection of works (e.g. a series of anime shorts) you should expect to write considerably more than 3 pages. While more is not necessarily better, a portion of the grade will always involve the amount of effort you have put into the work.

This paper is worth half as much as the midterm and is equal to five homework assignments. It is good idea to put time and effort into this paper.

Topic

The piece you choose to analyze can be any artistic work created by a group or individuals that relates to the Graphic Design, Animation or Multimedia industries. Acceptable topics include recent video games, commercial works of art, collections of commercial art, anime, or short pieces of work, and software. Please keep the following in mind

· You must provide proof of the work’s existence. A photocopy of the work, a copy of the packaging for the work, web pages describing the work, etc would be acceptable.
· Depth of discussion is important. If your chosen work is long, it may be difficult to adequately discuss it.
· Familiarity with the genre is important. If you do not have much experience with the any of the topics in this course, you should consider analyzing a piece of graphic art or animation. Those topics will be discussed earlier in the course, providing you with a basis for thoughtful discussion.

As always, if you need help, just ask. I am available for you.