Tutor profile: Lauren C.

What are the key elements of a good essay?

Within an essay, the basic essentials would include an introduction, body, and conclusion that center around a strong thesis. This thesis stresses the main idea of what the author is trying to convey in the essay and there must be support, evidence, and details or explanations to back up the thesis. A quality essay would engage the reader through techniques to grab the reader's attention, such as through humor or shocking statistics, and connect what is being discussed with the audience they are focusing on.

Why are the visual arts crucial in a child's education?

Art education is proven to boost self-confidence and understanding, can bolster creativity and expression, and broadens cultural awareness within not only the students' environment around them, but with culture globally. Additionally, art can be used across disciplines to support other subjects, it teaches critical thinking skills and problem-solving strategies that can extend far beyond the classroom.

What element of art does Carvaggio use in his painting, The Denial of St. Peter, to create form and to direct the viewer's eye?

In The Denial of St. Peter, Carvaggio masterfully utilizes the art element of value. By placing lighter hues on the faces of the subjects, with the lightest hue on the main subject, the viewer can draw the obvious connection that this must be Peter, whom the painting is about. By using darker shades in places, like in the folds of the subjects' clothing, or on the parts of their bodies that would be furthest from the light source in the painting, Caravaggio creates the illusion of 3-D form in 2-D design.