VISUAL COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT
Course Name: _History and Theory of Visual Communication II _ / Course Code: ARTS 3301/

Assignment #: Final / Assignment Type:LiteratureReview /

ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION:
The literature review is central to forming an argument. It lays the foundation and helps you focus on what really matters to you within your topic.
Through the process of analyzing what each source says and then how they relate to each other and your thesis statement:
• It demonstrates an in-depth understanding of your chosen topic and thesis
• It demonstrates your critical understanding of the theory
• It cites existing research sources
• It provides additional information and gives a context to your own ideas

Introduction to the Literature Review
o Introduce the topic (If Semiotics, explain what the Theory of Semiotics is and what it is all about)
o End with your thesis statement (Your Opinion about the topic and the connection to Graphic Design or Visual Communication)

The Body: Part 1

o You need to decide which source agrees with your thesis statement the most. This is your first source.
o You need to FRAME each source properly
o You will summarize each article’s main point from the midterm paper
o You will then tell EXACTLY what the article says that agrees with you the most. (directquote.)
o Explain how that fits with your thesis statement
The Body: Part 2
o Compare the ideas of all 3 articles (In what way do they all agree with each other?)
o Contrast all 3 articles (In what way do they disagree or look at things differently?)
o Fit your ideas into their ideas – Where does your thesis ‘fit’ with the ideas and focuses of the articles?

The Body: Part 3
o Do you see any problems or limitations with the research in each article?
o Do they miss anything important to the theory(ies) or do you notice if one completely contradicts one or all of the others?
o Write what problems you notice.

Conclusion

o You will restate your thesis with authority
o You will summarize the main points of compare and contrast for each article.
o You will draw a conclusion based on the compare and contrast: What do you understand about the topic that you didn’t before?

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:

1. Utilizing 3 of your research sources and the topic chosen at midterm: you will form a thesis statement about the topic and proceed to compare/contrast and argue your opinion based on what your sources say and what you believe.
2. The class text will be a secondary source.
3. Based on this research you will produce an academic essay in which you:

• Critique what you have found from the 3research sources
• Connect how they relate to each other, contradict or support each other
• What you have found of value that compliments or adds to your thesis and ideas
• Use the structure given to you in class to do this
• Citation and all formatting of the document will be APA style
• The University coversheet MUST be attached to the bibliography
• A soft copy of the paper WITHOUT the coversheet and in .DOCX format will be uploaded into SafeAssign on the due date, not after. ( Have 2 versions of your paper — One in .pdf for proper printing of APA format and a .docx for upload to BB)
• If no soft copy, it is considered a non-submission.
• If no process is seen for each part of the paper, submission will not be accepted.

VISUAL COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT
Course Name: _History and Theory of Visual Communication II _ / Course Code: ARTS 3301/

Assignment #: Final / Assignment Type:LiteratureReview /

ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION:
The literature review is central to forming an argument. It lays the foundation and helps you focus on what really matters to you within your topic.
Through the process of analyzing what each source says and then how they relate to each other and your thesis statement:
• It demonstrates an in-depth understanding of your chosen topic and thesis
• It demonstrates your critical understanding of the theory
• It cites existing research sources
• It provides additional information and gives a context to your own ideas

Introduction to the Literature Review
o Introduce the topic (If Semiotics, explain what the Theory of Semiotics is and what it is all about)
o End with your thesis statement (Your Opinion about the topic and the connection to Graphic Design or Visual Communication)

The Body: Part 1

o You need to decide which source agrees with your thesis statement the most. This is your first source.
o You need to FRAME each source properly
o You will summarize each article’s main point from the midterm paper
o You will then tell EXACTLY what the article says that agrees with you the most. (directquote.)
o Explain how that fits with your thesis statement
The Body: Part 2
o Compare the ideas of all 3 articles (In what way do they all agree with each other?)
o Contrast all 3 articles (In what way do they disagree or look at things differently?)
o Fit your ideas into their ideas – Where does your thesis ‘fit’ with the ideas and focuses of the articles?

The Body: Part 3
o Do you see any problems or limitations with the research in each article?
o Do they miss anything important to the theory(ies) or do you notice if one completely contradicts one or all of the others?
o Write what problems you notice.

Conclusion

o You will restate your thesis with authority
o You will summarize the main points of compare and contrast for each article.
o You will draw a conclusion based on the compare and contrast: What do you understand about the topic that you didn’t before?

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:

1. Utilizing 3 of your research sources and the topic chosen at midterm: you will form a thesis statement about the topic and proceed to compare/contrast and argue your opinion based on what your sources say and what you believe.
2. The class text will be a secondary source.
3. Based on this research you will produce an academic essay in which you:

• Critique what you have found from the 3research sources
• Connect how they relate to each other, contradict or support each other
• What you have found of value that compliments or adds to your thesis and ideas
• Use the structure given to you in class to do this
• Citation and all formatting of the document will be APA style
• The University coversheet MUST be attached to the bibliography
• A soft copy of the paper WITHOUT the coversheet and in .DOCX format will be uploaded into SafeAssign on the due date, not after. ( Have 2 versions of your paper — One in .pdf for proper printing of APA format and a .docx for upload to BB)
• If no soft copy, it is considered a non-submission.
• If no process is seen for each part of the paper, submission will not be accepted.