Writing as an Art Historian
What you've learned in PDP150, ENG101, ENG102:
  • Every paper needs a thesis, or a focus, or a point. Ask yourself, "What is my paper saying in a nutshell?"
  • Each academic discipline has customary ways of presenting information, arguments, and evidence. See "What you need to learn" below. Read critically. Understand an author's argument--don't just copy information from the source.
  • Ethically use information from sources (even your textbook) by (1) quoting (using quotation marks where needed), paraphrasing (using your own words to report another author's point), or summarizing (presenting another's ideas in a shortened form in your words) and (2) citing sources.
  • Document every idea that is not your own with in-text citation and a bibliography. Use MLA for Art History
  • Give yourself time for all steps of the writing process (drafting, revising, and editing), and talk to a Writing Center tutor at any point in the process.

MLA in-text citation and bibliographic format

When you quote, summarize, or paraphrase information, cite your source by placing the author's last name and page number in parentheses at the end of the cited information.

The bibliography is called Works Cited. This means the works listed are those you've actually cited in your paper (made parenthetical reference to).

The basic format for a bibliographic entry is:

Author's name, last name first;

Title of the text;

City of publication;

Publishing company;

Year of publication.

See the Writing Center's Guide to MLA Documentation for more information and examples.

 

What you need to learn about writing as an art historian:

Information: basic facts (these are also what you need to know for the Identification section of the exam)

A. Recognition and identification - you need to be familiar enough with the works of art to know what they are when you see them or when their titles or descriptions are presented to you. Knowing what they are includes cognizance of the artist's name, if it is known to history.

B. Chronology - how does a specific work of art fit into the whole record of art making?

C. Culture of origin - in what culture was the art object made?

Professor Covert's General Principles:

Writing = communicating what you know and understand

* Remember that the purpose of writing is to communicate when you are not present.

* Your reader should be able to understand what you write easily. Good writing illuminates.

* Be specific. Explain ideas by citing how specific works of art illustrate them.

* Use the appropriate vocabulary specific to the subject being discussed.

Ideas: You should be able to discuss any work of art in four basic ways.

A. Style - how the work of art looks and how that look is distinctive from or connected to styles of other works of art.
B. Content - the subject (what is depicted) and the meaning (the message communicated)
C. Context - the relationship of the work of art to the historical time in which it was made

1. How does the work of art exemplify (stand as an example of) or reflect the ideas, values, and life style of the culture and time in which it was made?
2. A related question: How does the context effect the meaning or importance of the work of art?

D. Significance in art history - How is an individual work of art important in the history of art making?

1. Is it new or "ground breaking" in style or content?
2. Is it an important example of an established style or content?
3. What are its antecedents? How did it influence later works of art?

 

The writing process:

When you draft, just get your ideas down as fully as possible. Plan to revise later.

When you revise, pay attention to:

    • How clear your thesis is;
    • How well the main points support your thesis and how they're organized;
    • Whether there's one main idea per paragraph;
    • Whether you've included sufficient evident to make each point and clearly related the evidence to the point you're making; and
    • Whether connections between ideas are clear.

When you proofread and edit, pay attention to:

    • Accuracy of quotation and citation;
    • Bibliographic format;
    • Sentence structure;
    • Grammar;
    • Punctuation;
    • Word choice;
    • Spelling; and
    • Formatting.

Remember that you can get Writing Center help at any point in this process.