Assignment 4

Today I began my research for Assignment 4. I will be looking at gender representation in photography. Mostly looking at it from the aspect of women as there has been much critical discussion around this subject.

I've looked at some of the relevant texts in the course reader. I decided to use the study method described in the course notes to paraphrase a paragraph at a time after a first read through. This enabled me to get to the gist of the text and has proved to be very useful.

Edit 23rd October:
Feeling a bit down today. Depression is something I have always struggled with. I've been reading essays from the course on the subject of the 'gaze' and making notes. I think I might only do a half day study today and slow down a bit to re-charge my batteries.

I've looked up some primary sources relating to the subject of gender representation and ordered them from the library.

My preparation strategy for my assignment is to do lots of research, make notes and then hope a topic or structure will somehow coalesce in my mind. This works for me visually with photography projects but I have a nagging worry that this isn't going to happen this time. Plan B is to do a bit more researching and reading and then contact my tutor with a plea for help.

That's it for now. I think a cup of coffee and a catch up with the Grayson Perry lecture on iPlayer is probably the best thing to boost my mood.

Edit 7th November:
I thought that I would be further on with my essay than I am. I had a huge amount of reading and research to do on my topic of gender representation in photography. There are so many side issues with psychoanalytic theory being one of the biggest topics to cover. I've read a number of essays including their primary sources. My tutor has also recommended a good book that really expands on a lot of the theories. It is hard going though and I'm having to stop at virtually every sentence to look up words that I've never come across before. I think I'm getting the gist of it though.

My research is mostly done and with half an eye on my end of November deadline I've begun to draw up an outline of my essay. I went back to the course notes and began by writing down a checklist of items that must be covered. Here's the list:

CHECK LIST:

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES

QUOTE PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKS/PHOTOGRAPHERS

EVALUATE ALL SOURCES

ASK THESE QUESTIONS:

• WHAT IS WRITERS RELATIONSHIP TO THE WORK?
• WHEN WAS THE ACCOUNT WRITTEN?
• FACT OR OPINION?
• OBJECTIVE OR BIASED?
• IN A POSITION TO WRITE AUTHORITATIVELY?
• WHAT RESEARCH HAS BEEN DONE?
• WHAT IS THE AUDIENCE AND HOW MIGHT THIS INFLUENCE THE ARGUMENT?
• DON'T RELY ON WRITTEN SOURCES ONLY – EXHIBITIONS
• MUST BE REFERENCED

THREE TYPES OF WRITING ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY:

• DESCRIPTION
• INTERPRETATION
• JUDGEMENT

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

Once I had this down I turned back to my course notes and re-read the notes on how to construct the critical essay and transferred the information to my document:

TITLE

STATEMENT? – DEFEND

QUESTION? – ANSWER

INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH - 150 WORDS

INTRODUCE THE QUESTION, STATEMENT

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND – 500 WORDS

DESCRIBE THE SITUATION/CONTEXT/HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

OUTLINE YOUR ARGUMENT – 200 WORDS

INTRODUCE THE ARGUMENT/ANSWER QUESTION

SUMMARISE AND INDICATION OF CONCLUSION

BODY OF ARGUMENT – 1000 WORDS

DEVELOP YOUR ARGUMENT PARAGRAPH BY PARAGRAPH

MENTION COUNTER ARGUMENTS, STATE POSITION

ANALOGIES TO PHOTOGRAPHY

CONCLUSION – 150 WORDS

RECAPITULATE AND SUMMARISE

DRAW CONCLUSION AND STATE HOW THIS AFFECTS OR IS RELEVANT TO YOUR OWN PHOTOGRAPHY

I found that by beginning my document in this manner I tricked myself into making a start - gets me past that blank page scenario!

There is always more research that can be done and there is a danger that it becomes a displacement activity for actually getting on and writing the essay. By creating a structure I put myself into writing mode.

Edit 14th November:

I'm really struggling with this essay. I've written about 1100 of the 2000 words so far and it is really hard going. I'm still on a first draft too so there is no end in sight for the next few weeks. I don't know why it it is but I feel like my thought processes are mired in treacle. I did loads of research on a topic that I find interesting and made copious notes so it should be such an easy matter to start pulling them together. I thought it would take me a couple of days to produce this essay but the actual writing is tortuous. I've only managed a couple of hundred words a day which is pitiful. I'm trying not to beat myself up over it though. I've put in place a couple of strategies to keep me going such as rewards for making a start each day - no matter how long it takes me to get some words out I allow myself a coffee and treat break or a trip into town when the sun is shining. I think I may have to pop out and get some fresh air today as well as I can feel my depression trying to get a grip and I'm determined to keep on top of it and not let my studies slip.

Edit 27th November:

It's finished! I did a re-read of my final draft last night. I was happy with it so I printed it out and asked my partner to have a read too. My tutor, Keith, advised at the start of this assignment that I get another person to have a look. Glad that I did as I had to make a couple of amendments just for clarity.  I spent today editing to lose a few hundred words - not easy! I'm still a little bit over the word limit. Then I checked the formatting instructions in the course notes and critical essay guide. I chose a font size, wide margins and double line spacing for my images and text so that the last few lines of paragraphs and image captions are not split across pages - I hate that. I still have until Friday to meet my end of month deadline so I think I will hang on to it and do another quick check tomorrow before sending it off.

I'm so relieved to get this essay off my hands to be honest. I spent far too much time on it. The writing just didn't come together as easily as I'd hoped. I never have a problem writing about my other assignments. I think my mood had a lot to do with. I've had a few mental health problems just lately and I've struggled.

Still, at least I don't have to think about the essay for a while now and can concentrate on catching up on pulling everything else together that I will need to get this course ready for assessment. I'm yet to start my final assignment so I don't think I will be any way near ready for March assessment - so it is looking like a summer assessment for the first time. I will start my next level 2 course in January, regardless. I still want to stay on track and try to complete a module a year.

Edit 6th January:

I'm a bit late in documenting my tutor feedback here as I received it before Christmas. On the whole the response was positive with some further research to be done (I have a book on order from the library and will post my thoughts here later) and there are a few minor grammatical errors to sort out.

I've also finished some background reading on women artists that I'd started well before my essay and took me a while to finish. My thoughts on it are here.

Edit 6th March: 

Today I began the edit of my critical essay. After a good few months break and with fresh eyes I was quite pleased with what I'd initially written. With that said I took into consideration my tutor's feedback and read his book recommendations. I've removed a couple of paragraphs from my essay to make way for some new thoughts. There were also a couple of reference typos to be amended. I think the changes have definitely tightened up the essay and improved it.

Edit 12th March:

I've undertaken some further research for my essay and written about the photographer E J Bellocq and his Storyville portraits. My thoughts can be found here.

My thoughts on the photographer Berenice Abbott can be found here.

Edit 17th March:

I've finally written the last draft of my essay. I've taken into account the points mentioned on my tutor feedback and incorporated them into my argument. This took me well over the word limit so a couple of superfluous (in the light of the new draft) paragraphs have been removed - I'm still over the word limit. I had a final look today and tweaked and removed some extra words - still over the word count though. I really don't think I can tighten up the essay any more so it is done and I can move on to other outstanding exercises for this blog in preparation for assessment.