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Guidelines for Writing Art History Research Papers

Writing a paper for an art history course is similar to the analytical, research-based

papers that you may have written in English literature courses or history courses.

Although art historical research and writing does include the analysis of writtendocuments, there are distinctive differences between art history writing and other

disciplines because the primary documents are works of art. A key reference guide for

researching and analyzing works of art and for writing art history papers is the 1th

edition !or later" of #ylvan $arnet%s work, A #hort &uide to Writing about Art. $arnet

directs students through the steps of thinking about a research topic, collecting

information, and then writing and documenting a paper.

A website with helpful tips for writing art history papers is posted by the 'niversity of

(orth )arolina,

http*++writingcenter.unc.edu+handouts+art-history+

Wesleyan 'niversity Writing )enter has a useful guide for finding online writing

resources,

http*++www.wesleyan.edu+writing+workshop+resourcesforstudents.html

he following are basic guidelines that you must use when documenting research

papers for any art history class at 'A. #olid, thoughtful research and correct

documentation of the sources used in this research !i.e., footnotes+endnotes,

bibliography, and illustrations//" are essential. Additionally, these &uidelines remind

students about plagiarism, a serious academic offense.

Paper Format

esearch papers should be in a 10-point font, double-spaced. Ample margins should be

left for the instructor%s comments. All margins should be one inch to allow for

comments. (umber all pages. he cover sheet for the paper should include the

following information* title of paper, your name, course title and number, course

instructor, and date paper is submitted. A simple presentation of a paper is sufficient.

#taple the pages together at the upper left or put them in a simple three-ring folder or

binder. o not put individual pages in plastic sleeves.

Documentation of Resources

he Chicago Manual of Style (CMS), as described in the most recent edition of #ylvan

$arnet%s A Short Guide to Writing about Art  is the department standard. Although you

may have used 2A style for English papers or other disciplines, the )hicago #tyle

is required for all students taking art history courses at 'A. here are significant

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differences between 2A style and )hicago #tyle. A 34uick &uide5 for the Chicago

Manual of Stylefootnote and bibliography format is

foundhttp*++www.chicagomanualofstyle.org+tools6citationguide.html.he footnote

e7amples are numbered and the bibliography e7ample is last. 8lease note that the

place of publication and the publisher are enclosed in parentheses in the footnote, but

they are not in parentheses in the bibliography. E7amples of )2# for some types of

note and bibliography references are given below in this &uideline. Arabic numbers are

used for footnotes. #ome word processing programs may have oman numerals as a

choice, but the standard is Arabic numbers. he use of super script numbers, as given

in e7amples below, is the standard in 'A art history papers.

 A. Print

he chapter 32anuscript 9orm5 in the $arnet book !1th edition or later" provides

models for the correct forms for footnotes+endnotes and the bibliography. 9or e7ample,the note form for the FIRST REFERENCE to a book with a single author is*1$ruce )ole, Italian Art  10:-1:: !(ew ;ork* (ew ;ork 'niversity 8ress, 1<=1", 1>?.

$ut the BIBLIOGRA!IC FOR" #or that sa$e book is*

)ole, $ruce. @talian Art 10:-1::. (ew ;ork* (ew ;ork 'niversity 8ress. 1<=1.

he FIRST REFERENCE to a %ournal arti&le !in a periodical that is paginated by

volume" with a single author in a #ootnote is*0 Anne . Ban $uren, 32adame )Czanne%s 9ashions and the ates of er 8ortraits,5 Art

Quarterly  0< !1<DD"* 1<<.

he FIRST REFERENCE to a %ournal arti&le !in a periodical that is paginated byvolume" with a single author in the BIBLIOGRA!' is*

Ban $uren, Anne . 32adame )Czanne%s 9ashions and the ates of er 8ortraits.5 Art

Quarterly  0< !1<DD"* 1:-0?.

@f you reference an article that you found through an electronic database such as

F#G, you do not include the url for F#G or the date accessed in either the footnote

or the bibliography. his is because the article is one that was originally printed in a

hard-copy HournalI what you located through F#G is simply a copy of printed pages.

;our citation follows the same format for an article in a bound volume that you may

have pulled from the library shelves. @f, however, you use an article that originally was

in an electronic format and is available only on-line, then follow the 3non-print5 forms

listed below.

B. Non-Print

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)itations for @nternet sources such as online Hournals or scholarly web sites should

follow the form described in $arnet%s chapter, 3Writing a esearch 8aper.5 9or e7ample,

the footnote or endnote reference given by $arnet for a web site is*

> (igel #trudwick, Egyptology Reource, with the assistance of he @saac (ewton

@nstitute for 2athematical #ciences, )ambridge 'niversity, 1<<?, revised 1D Fune

0,http*++www.newton.ac.uk+egypt+, 0? Fuly 0.

@f you use microform or microfilm resources, consult the most recent edition of Jate

urabian, A Manual of !er" #aper, !hee and $iertation% A copy of urabian is

available at the reference desk in the main library.

. !isual Documentation "#llustrations$

Art history papers reKuire visual documentation such as photographs, photocopies, or

scanned images of the art works you discuss. @n the chapter 32anuscript 9orm5 in AShort Guide to Writing about Art, $arnet e7plains how to identify illustrations or

 3figures5 in the te7t of your paper and how to caption the visual material. Each

photograph, photocopy, or scanned image should appear on a single sheet of paper

unless two images and their captions will fit on a single sheet of paper with one inch

margins on all sides. (ote also that the title of a work of art is always italici&ed% Within

the te7t, the reference to the illustration is enclosed in parentheses and placed at the

end of the sentence. A period for the sentence comes after the parenthetical reference

to the illustration. 9or 'A art history papers, illustrations are placed at the end of the

paper, not within the te7t. @llustration are not supplied as a 8owerpoint presentation or

as separate .Hpgs submitted in an electronic format.Edvard 2unch%s painting !he Screa", dated 1<>, represents a highly personal,

e7pressive response to an e7perience the artist had while walking one evening !9igure

1".

he caption that accompanies the illustration at the end of the paper would read*

9igure 1. Edvard 2unch, !he Screa", 1<>. empera and casein on cardboard, >D 7

0<L !<1.> 7 =>.= cm". (asHonalgalleriet, Gslo, (orway.

Plagiarism8lagiarism is a form of thievery and is illegal. According to Webster%s (ew World

ictionary, to plagiarize is to 3take and pass off as one%s own the ideas, writings, etc. of

another.5 $arnet has some useful guidelines for acknowledging sources in his chapter

 32anuscript 9ormI5 review them so that you will not be mguilty of theft. Another useful

website regarding plagiarism is provided by )ornell

'niversity,http*++plagiarism.arts.cornell.edu+tutorial+inde7.cfm

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8lagiarism is a serious offense, and students should understand that checking papers

for plagiarized content is easy to do with @nternet resources. 8lagiarism will be reported

as academic dishonesty to the ean of #tudentsI see #ection B@ of the #tudent

andbook which cites plagiarism as a specific violation. ake care that you fully and

accurately acknowledge the source of another author, whether you are Kuoting the

material verbatim or paraphrasing. $orrowing the idea of another author by merely

changing some or even all of your source%s words does not allow you to claim the ideas

as your own. ;ou must credit both direct Kuotes and your paraphrases. Again, $arnet%s

chapter 32anuscript 9orm5 sets out clear guidelines for avoiding plagiarism.