Short Guide to Writing About Art, A

Preface.

1. Writing About Art.
Why Write About Art?
The Writer's Audience as a Collaborator.
The Functions of Critical Writing.
A Sample Essay: Robert Hert, Millet's “The Gleaners.”
What is an Interpretation—and Are All Interpretations Equally Valid.
Expressing Opinions: The Writer's “I.”
What Writing About Art Is: A Very Short View.

2. Analysis.
Analytic Thinking: Seeing and Saying.
Subject Matter and Content.
Form and Content.
Getting Ideas: Asking Questions to Get Answers.
Formal Analysis.
Style as the Shaper of Form.
Sample Essay: A Formal Analysis.
Postscript: Thoughts About the Words “Realistic” and “Idealized.”

3. Writing a Comparison.
Comparing as a Way of Discovering.
Two Ways of Organizing a Comparison.
Sample Essay: A Student's Comparison.
Rebecca Bedell, John Singleton Copley's Early Development: From Mrs. Joseph Mann to Mrs. Ezekial Goldthwait.
Checklist for Writing a Comparison.

4. Writing a Review for an Exhibition.
What a Review Is.
Drafting a Review.
A Checklist for Writing a Review.

5. How to Write an Effective Essay.
Looking Closely: Approaching a First Draft.
Revising: Achieving a Readable Draft.
Peer Review.
Checklist for Peer Review.
Preparing the Final Version.

6. Style in Writing.
Principles of Style.
Get the Right Word.
Write Effective Sentences.
Write Unified and Coherent Paragraphs.
Checklist for Revising Paragraphs.
A Note on Tenses.

7. Some Critical Approaches.
Social History: The New Art History and Marxism.
Gender Studies: Feminist Criticism and Gay and Lesbian Studies.
Biographical Studies.
Psychoanalytic Studies.
Iconography and Iconology.

8. Art—Historical Research.
Some Critical Values.
Historical Scholarship and Values.

9. Writing a Research Paper.
A Concise Overview.
Primary and Secondary Materials.
From Subject to Thesis.
Finding the Material.
Art Research on the Internet and the World Wide Web.
Checklist for Successful Electronic Searching.
Checklist for Evaluating Web Sites.
Checklist for Electronic Documentation.
Reading and Taking Notes.
Drafting and Revising the Paper.
Checklist for Reviewing a Draft.

10. Manuscript Form.
Basic Manuscript Form.
Some Conventions of Language Usage.
Quotations and Quotation Marks.
Acknowledging Sources.
Documentation.
Footnotes and Endnotes.
Chicago Manual Style.
Art Bulletin Style.
Corrections in the Final Copy.

11. Essay Examinations.
What Examinations Are.
Writing Essay Answers.
Last Words.
Credits.
Index.