Table of Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
INTRODUCTION: Writing as Critical Thinking 1
1
CHOOSING IMAGES: How to Select the Works of Art You
Plan to Write About 9
Visiting Museums and Galleries, 9
Choosing Works of Art to Write About: Some Questions of Taste, 16
Writing Comparative Essays: Some Advantages, 18
Choosing Works from “The Museum without Walls,” 21
The Computer and “The Museum without Walls,” 24
Summary, 27
2
USING VISUAL INFORMATION: What to Look For
and How to Describe What You See 29
Considering the Subject Matter of the Work, 31
Describing the Formal Elements You Discover in the Work, 35
Line, 35
Shape and Space, 36
Light and Dark, 40
Color, 43
Other Elements, 47
Recognizing the Principles of Design, 54
Rhythm and Repetition. 54
Balance, 55
Proportion, 56
Scale, 57
Unity and Variety, 58
Considering Questions of Medium, 59
Beginning Your Essay By Describing the Work, 61
Asking Yourself about the Work of Art: A Summary, 64
Questions to Ask Before Writing About a Work of Art, 64
3
RESPONDING TO THE VERBAL FRAME: Where Else
to Look for Help in Understanding What You See 66
Taking the Title and Label into Account, 66
Considering Informational Labels Accompanying the Work, 70
Consulting Artists’ Statements and Exhibition Catalogues, 72
Discovering Other Helpful Material in the Library and Online, 74
Research Online, 75
Using the Library Catalogue and Databases, 77
Using Art Dictionaries and Other Guides, 81
Considering the Work’s Historical and Cultural Context, 82
Quoting and Documenting Your Sources, 89
Learning the Art of Quoting, 89
Acknowledging Your Sources, 90
Choosing Your Footnote Style, 91
Citing Internet Sources, 96
4
WORKING WITH WORDS AND IMAGES: The Process
of Writing about What You See 98
Gathering Together What You Know, 98
Taking Notes in a Gallery or Museum, 98
Taking Notes As You Read, 99
Focusing Your Discussion, 101
Brainstorming and Mapping, 103
Using Prewriting as a Way to Begin, 105
Online Writing, 110
Creating a Finished Essay, 112
Organizing Your Essay: From Description to the Verbal Frame, 112
Developing an Argument or Thesis, 116
Revising and Editing, 118
A Revision Checklist, 120
Writing about Art: The Final Product, 121
Appendix
A SHORT GUIDE TO USAGE AND STYLE: The Rules
and Principles of Good Writing 126
1. Possessive Apostrophes, 127
2. Commas, 127
3. Comma Splices, 128
4. Run-on Sentences, 129
5. That and Which, 129
6. Titles, 129
7. Foreign Phrases, 130
8. Split Infinitives, 130
9. Sentence Fragments, 130
10. Colons, 131
11. Semicolons, 131
12. Dashes, 132
13. Parentheses, 132
14. Quotations, 133
15. Ellipses, 133
16. Dangling Modifiers, 134
17. Subject-Verb Agreement, 134
18. Pronoun Agreement, 135
19. Pronouns and Gender Issues, 135
20. Indefinite Antecedents (it and this), 136
21. Correlative Expressions, 136
22. Verb Tense Consistency, 137
23. Diction Consistency, 137
24. Concrete and Specific Language, 138
25. Frequently Misspelled Words, 138
Notes 140
Index 143
