The work of Norman Rockwell influenced the way Americans perceived American life.
Artist Norman Rockwell gave millions of Americans a quaint, idyllic, often humorous look at American life according to a distinctive point-of-view. His work appeared regularly on the covers of the "Saturday Evening Post," "Life" magazine and "Literary Digest." The wide reach of his influence lives on, not only in his paintings and sketches, but also in the work of students who studied his style and eventually became artists in their own right. Because of his popularity and long success, Norman Rockwell is someone whose life and work offer fruitful territory for discussion, including discussion by students dedicating a study or a post-graduate thesis to the unique American talent.
Instructions
1. Choose an aspect of Norman Rockwell's life that holds the most appeal to you. This will keep you engaged during the weeks or months you may be researching his life and work.
2. Start your research. Look for the most relevant scholars writing about Rockwell's work, making notes of the merits of each source. You also want to start thinking about how you will expand on the scholarly research in order to draw your own conclusions about Rockwell's work in your thesis.
3. Decide the slant of your research. For example, if you know that the work of Norman Rockwell influenced American artist Thomas Kinkade, think of ways that you can incorporate this insight in your thesis. You might compare painting styles of the two artists and make an argument for or against how Kinkade incorporates a Rockwellian influence. Your thesis should answer a question, but not be so broad that you can't finish your thesis in a reasonable number of pages and a reasonable duration of time.
4. Use images in your thesis. Take a broad sampling of Rockwell's work and of the man himself. You can break the discussion down by the era in which certain works were created or by the theme(s) of the work. If you are pursuing post-graduate work, have a conversation with your thesis advisor on the proper format to add photos as well as caption preferences and citation guidelines.
5. Edit your work, making sure not only that the sentence structure is sound and flows smoothly, but also that you've properly cited quotes by and about Norman Rockwell.
6. Write your introduction after you're done writing the thesis. By waiting until you have concluded your study into Rockwell's life and work, you'll be better able to sum up your argument and conclusions and talk about them knowledgeably in your introduction.
7. Create the abstract last. This will allow you to give the reader pertinent information about how you used your research on Rockwell. Abstracts are usually between 400 and 500 words and don't contain citations.
