Illustrations.
Preface.
Acknowledgments.
INTRODUCTION: The Process of Writing About Art.
Writing about Art as a Process of Interpretation.
The Test of Interpretation.
1. CHOOSING IMAGES: How to Select the Works of Art You Plan to Write About.
Visiting Museums and Galleries.
Choosing Works of Art to Write About: Some Questions of Taste.
Writing Comparative Essays: Some Advantages.
Choosing Works from The Museum without Walls.
The Computer and The Museum without Walls.
Summary.
2. USING VISUAL INFORMATION: What to Look For and How to Describe What You See.
Considering the Subject Matter of the Work.
Describing the Formal Elements You Discover in the Work.
Recognizing the Principles of Design.
Rhythm and Repetition.
Balance.
Proportion.
Scale.
Unity and Variety.
Considering Questions of Medium.
Asking Yourself about the Work of Art: A Summary.
Questions to Ask Before Writing About a Work of Art.
3. RESPONDING TO THE VERBAL FRAME: Where Else to Look for Help in Understanding What You See.
Taking the Title and Label into Account.
Considering Informational Labels Accompanying the Work.
Consulting Artists' Statements and Exhibition Catalogues.
Discovering Other Helpful Material in the Library and On-line.
Research Online.
Using the Library Catalogue and Databases.
Using Art Dictionaries and Other Guides.
Considering the Work's Historical and Cultural Context.
Quoting and Documenting Your Sources.
Learning the Art of Quoting.
Acknowledging Your Sources.
Choosing Your Footnote Style.
Citing Internet Sources.
4. WORKING WITH WORDS AND IMAGES: The Process of Writing about What You See.
Gathering Together What You Know.
Focusing Your Discussion.
Creating a Finished Essay.
Writing about Art: The Final Product.
Brainstorming and Mapping.
Appendix.
A SHORT GUIDE TO USAGE AND STYLE: The Rules and Principles of Good Writing.
1. Possessive Apostrophes.
2. Commas.
3. Comma Splices.
4. Run-on Sentences.
5. That and Which.
6. Titles.
7. Foreign Phrases.
8. Split Infinitives.
9. Sentence Fragments.
10. Colons.
11. Semicolons.
12. Dashes.
13. Parentheses.
14. Quotations.
15. Ellipses.
16. Dangling Modifiers.
17. Subject-Verb Agreement.
18. Pronoun Agreement.
19. Pronouns and Gender Issues.
20. Indefinite Antecedents (it and this).
21. Correlative Expressions.
22. Verb Tense Consistency.
23. Diction Consistency.
24. Concrete and Specific Language.
25. Frequently Misspelled Words.
Notes.
Index.
