A Short Guide to Writing About Art

"Extraordinarily useful and necessary for any class in art history!" - Johanna Movassat, San Jose State University "A step-by-step guide, incorporating both theory and practice, to critically thinking and writing about art." - Janet Carpenter, City College of San Francisco "An extremely useful book for art history students at all levels of study." - Melissa Dabakis, Kenyon College "I find the text to be fundamental in teaching students to write. It is concise enough to cover in a course on a particular art historical topic without overtaking the topic itself. It is always my secondary text." - Rebecca Trittel, Savannah College of Art and Design "Excellent definitive source on writing about art for the advanced student." - Carey Rote, Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi

• In this Section: Brief Table of ContentsFull Table of ContentsBRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS: Writing About ArtWriting About Art: The Big PictureFormal Analysis and StyleAnalytical ThinkingWriting A ComparisonWriting an Entry in an Exhibition CatalogWriting a Review of an ExhibitionVirtual Exhibitions: Writing Text Panels and Other MaterialsHow to Write an Effective EssayStyle in WritingArt Historical ResearchSome Critical ApproachesWriting a Research PaperManuscript FormWriting Essay Examinations FULL TABLE OF CONTENTS: Chapter 1: Writing About Art What Is Art?Why Write about Art?The Imagined Reader as the Writer's CollaboratorThe Functions of Critical WritingSome Words about Critical ThinkingA Sample Critical EssayWhat Is an Interpretation—and Are All interpretations Equally Valid?Expressing Opinions: The Writer's “I”Chapter 2: Writing About Art: The Big Picture Standing Back: Kinds of Writing (Informing and Persuading)Close-Up: Drafting the EssayChecklist of Basic MattersChapter 3: Formal Analysis and Style What Formal Analysis IsFormal Analysis Versus DescriptionSample Essay: A Formal AnalysisPostscript: Thoughts about the Words "Realistic" and "Idealized"Cautionary Words about Slides and Reproductions in Books and on the World Wide WebChapter 4: Analytical Thinking Subject Matter and ContentForm and ContentGetting ideas for Essays: Asking Questions to Get AnswersAnother Look at the QuestionsChapter 5: Writing A Comparison Comparing as a Way of DiscoveringTwo ways of Organizing a ComparisonSample Essay: A Student's ComparisonRebecca Bedell: "John Singleson Copley's Early Development: From Mrs. Joseph Mann to Mrs. Ezekial Goldthwait"Checklist for Writing a ComparisonChapter 6: Writing an Entry in an Exhibition Catalog Keeping the Reader in MindA Sample EntryChecklist for Writing a Catalog EntryChapter 7: Writing a Review of an Exhibition What a Review IsThree Sample ReviewsChapter 8: Virtual Exhibitions: Writing Text Panels and Other Materials Kinds of ExhibitionsKinds of Writing AssignmentsChapter 9: How to Write an Effective Essay The Basic StrategyLooking Closely: Approaching a First DraftRevising: Achieving a Readable DraftPeer ReviewPreparing the Final VersionChapter 10: Style in Writing Principles of StyleGet the Right WordWriting Effective SentencesWrite Unified and Coherent ParagraphsA Note on TensesChapter 11: Art Historical Research Accounting for TasteHistorical Scholarship and ValuesChapter 12: Some Critical Approaches Social History: The New Art History and MarxismGender Studies: Feminist Criticism and Gay and Lesbian StudiesBiographical StudiesPsychoanalytic StudiesIconography and IconologyChapter 13: Writing a Research Paper Primary and Secondary MaterialsFrom Subject to ThesisFinding the MaterialArt Research and the World Wide WebKeeping a Sense of ProportionReading and Taking NotesChecklist for Note-TakingIncorporating Your Reading into Your Thinking: The Art of Synthesis and Drafting and Revising the PaperChecklist for Reviewing a Revised Draft of a Research PaperChapter 14: Manuscript Form Basic Manuscript FormSome Conventions of Language UsageQuotations and Quotation MarksAcknowledging SourcesDocumentationFootnotes and Endnotes: Chicago Manual StyleChicago Manual of StyleChapter 15: Writing Essay Examinations What Examinations AreWriting Essay AnswersLast Words