Encounters in Humanities
Final Artifact Report (70 Points) and Presentation (20 Points) Guidelines
Report Due, Presentations: Wednesday, August 6, 6 PM
Assignments:
6.
- Turn in a three-page (minimum) typed Artifact Report about an artifact on Wednesday, August
- Present selected content of your report to the class (7-10 minutes) on Wednesday, August 6.
Artifact Report Guidelines (70 Points):
 Select an artifact that you feel strongly about and that has not already been explored in class.
 Library book usage required. Turn in a photocopy of the book cover or your checkout receipt with your report.
o If your artifact is a book (or a poem in a book, for example) you still need to get another book as a source
to help you write your report.
o I recommend selecting an artifact that is well known, so you can find a book at a library that has useful
information about it. If you can’t find a book directly about your artifact, you can use a book about the
general topic – reading portions of that book will still help you write your report.
 Your report will focus on the five “Inquiry Method” questions:
o What are the elements of the artifact?
 What is the artifact made of or composed of? Is it book, is it a film, is it a sound recording, is it a
wood sculpture, a marble sculpture, etc.?
o What is the unifying theme?
 Is there a style, message, or idea that is consistent throughout the artifact that binds it together?
o Who is the creator and what is the context?
 Who made the artifact? When was it made? Where was it made? What was happening at the
time when and where it was made that may have influenced the creation of the artifact? What
were the circumstances of the artifact’s creation?
o What was the purpose of the creator?
 Why did the creator make the artifact? Was it to convey a message, or was it created for some
other reason? Was it to commemorate an event or place, to serve a purpose for some human
activity, or something else?
o What is the effect of the artifact?
 How does it make you feel? What does it make you think about? Does it remind you of other
artifacts?
 Use many details in your report.
 Use 1 or 1.5 line spacing, Times New Roman or Times font size 11 or 12.
 List the Inquiry Method Question and then your response (as required for the midterm report).
 Use the full three pages, or more. Don’t unnecessarily spread out elements on the page.
 Review the plagiarism content in the syllabus. (Important: The instructor wants to read what you think about the
artifact, not the information posted at Wikipedia.com. Online resources should be used sparingly and typically
only for learning about the creators of the artifact. Always write information you learn from books and online in
your own words.)
 Include another page with a list of sources (including Internet sources). Use MLA or Chicago bibliography
formatting. There is a link at our course web site to a great Purdue University writing lab site that has information
and examples about the MLA format.
 The typed report will be graded by letter grade and then converted to points.
Artifact Presentation Guidelines (20 Points):
 Spoken presentations are to be 7-10 minutes long, maximum 10 minutes. Keep track of your time.
 Present selected content of your report to the class. Do not read directly from your report – prepare note and
practice in advance.
 You may use a PowerPoint slideshow, or other visual aides if you would like to.
o You may only show video, play audio, etc., if you have already spoken for the minimum 7 minutes.
o For example, you may speak for 7 minutes and then show a short video clip (3 minutes).
 Make eye contact with the class.
 Present the amount of information that fits nicely into the limited timeframe – you probably won’t have enough
time to share everything in your typed report.