Tips for Not Fearing Eras Once you have carefully looked at all three paintings, asked a bunch of questions about them and about your personal views, even looked through some Internet links; it's time to get your ideas together. There's no one right way to do this, but here's one you might consider: Step One Make a column (like below) for each of the three paintings and list all the features for each that you think are important. These are things that probably standout and draw attention to each of the paintings. Painting #1 Painting #2 Painting #3 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Step Two Look at the three lists with an eye for things that are similar. The trick here is to see similarities in patterns, themes, attitudes, or any of the elements of design. Try to find three key features, techniques, ideas, etc, that each of the works uses. Make sure you look for specific examples within the paintings to prove your point. Step Three Use what you think are the three most important common features to write your explanation back on the previous page. Remember, the quality of your seeing, thinking and writing will make a difference in how well people understand and agree with you. (Would you like to see the rubric people could use to evaluate your writing?)