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It
is essential to read this guide carefully before you select an essay
topic or begin your research. Most students find it difficult to
write essays and this guide is designed to help plan your research
and structure your essay. Even if you are experienced in writing
essays, this guide is still indispensable, since it outlines the
formal requirements for art theory essays. Different University
subjects, courses or disciplines do not necessarily follow the same
bibliographic format or requirements for citation of sources.
If you did well with your school essay writing
do not assume that you will automatically succeed with tertiary
writing. Some students find that the gap between school essays
and academic essays is more like a chasm: since the emphasis in
tertiary writing shifts substantially from the simple presentation
of facts to interpretation and critical analysis. Also, it is
not uncommon to read student essays from secondary school level
in which material is taken, unacknowledged, directly from text
books, the Internet or teacher notes. Such practice is unacceptable
in tertiary writing and is regarded as plagiarism which is a serious
transgression in academic writing. There will be more on
plagiarism later in this guide. |
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An essay is a written exposition or elaboration of your view
on a particular topic, subject or issue. Within a stipulated length,
usually 1200 to 3500 words, your essay will consist of a clear statement
of what you think about a particular issue or topic followed by
a logical argument supported by strong, well documented evidence.
The essay is also an important learning process and assessment instrument,
since when you begin your research on a selected topic you often
have no idea of what your view or argument will be. The process
of research, planning and writing of your essay helps you shape,
clarify and finally expound your thinking or analysis. Many notes
and several drafts of your essay might have to be written before
your argument or perspective on a particular topic falls into place.
This is why it is imperative to allocate enough time in your study
programme for writing preliminary drafts. Students often lament
that they discovered what they really wanted to say at the end of
a hastily written essay, when they had no time for a rewrite. |
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The information and evidence used in formulating an argument,
in essay form, will come from texts (mostly books and journals),
electronic sources and actual works of art. When writing about art
the most important focus of your analysis should be original art
objects or exhibits; but any judgements you make about works of
art should be informed by what has been written about them, and
your interpretation should be measured against the existing research
in your field of interest. Therefore wide reading is essential in
any art theory essay. However, choose your source material intelligently,
many "coffee-table" style art books contain misleading generalisations
and factual information that is dated or incorrect. Also, school
textbooks (such as Gardner's Art Through the Ages) are
poor source material for most tertiary writing. As with encyclopaedia
articles, they may be useful in initially surveying a topic but
you will need to consult more specific secondary sources. Most of
the information you access on the Internet using generic search
engines and sites such as Google will fall into the encyclopaedic
category. Only very refined searching of specialist databases will
allow you to access high quality and primary material. There will
be more later on how to access this material via the Internet. (On
using the Internet for Research see this short online reflection)
The diagram and description below should help
explain the difference between primary, secondary and tertiary
sources of information. |
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The information contained in the
inner circle is constantly changing and expanding with continuing
research, while the outer circle changes more slowly. This is exemplified
in the results of the Rembrandt Research Project (RRP.) on the works
by Rembrandt. Conducted from 1969, by a team of Dutch scholars,
this research found that many Rembrandt paintings, including famous
works such as The Man in the Golden Helmet and The
Polish Rider, were wrongly attributed to him. Specialist art
journals kept art historians up to date with progress during the
thirty years of research but it was not until the publication of
three volumes 1982, 1984 and 1989, detailing the preliminary findings,
that museums started to change the labels on their Rembrandt paintings
and book publishers took heed of the new evidence and attributions.
Naturally, some art museums have doggedly held on to the original
attribution of their work to Rembrandt (reattribution is regarded
as demotion in this case, and certainly devalues the work in terms
of cold economic worth). The RRP is ongoing, and as you might expect,
galleries are quick to publish a press release when the RRP examination
of one of their works confirms it is a genuine Rembrandt. (See,
for example this press release from the National Gallery in Ireland)
Also, amazingly, even today some general art surveys and encyclopaedic
entries on Rembrandt have yet to show the full results of the Dutch
Rembrandt Project. What about the Internet? There is at least one
private, essentially anonymous, site outlining information on the
RRP
but giving no specific findings, and when I visited this site in
Jan. 2003 there was no update noted since 1996. In fact, the most
recent discussion of the RRP to be found by a search of the Web
in Jan. 2003, was dated 1999. A search in Feb. 2005 lists the most
recent as a notification for a lecture on the RRP in Feb. 2004.
All of which demonstrates the potential for Internet sites to be
the most current secondary sources and the reality that they are
usually dated tertiary ones. It should be added that a search of
the journal databases and indexes not only reveals the results of
the Project but also finds an article by Mariet Westermann in the
Art Bulletin in June 2002 "After iconography and iconoclasm:
current research in Netherlandish art, 1566-1700" questioning
the very basis for the project and criticizing the massive funding
devoted to it. At the risk of labouring the issue, all of this can
be fitted to the above diagram with the following summary. The primary
material in the inner circle is made up of paintings by Rembrandt
and his workshop or circle, as well as letters and contemporary
official documents. The circle of investigation around these is
made up of the art scholars and scientists in Amsterdam and their
interpretations of this primary evidence is published as secondary
analysis along with the published debate that results from their
findings. Generalized reports on the work of these scholars or use
of the results of their work makes up the outer circle. If you were
researching one of the Rembrandt's in the NGV in Melbourne and wanted
to be sure of the latest opinion on its authenticity you could not
rely on a Web search unless it was in one of the specialised databases
that contain the latest art history journal articles.
In research on any artist or works, as you move
away from the centre of the diagram, in search of information,
you multiply the number of authors involved. The resulting second-hand
or third-hand information is obviously less reliable. Different
opinions and interpretations should, of course, be sought but
do not allow them to cloud accurate analysis of the primary data.
An added difficulty in selecting sources is created
by the fact that guarded generalisations made in secondary sources,
close to the inner circle, become more emphatic and oversimplified
in sources further out. For example, the artist Claude Monet (1840-1926)
produced thousands of paintings in his long career. He used various
techniques to paint many different subjects, most with specific
appeal to a developing, comfortable and mainly urban middle class.
Also, significantly, he marketed his work through an increasingly
complex private dealer system. Yet he is described in an encyclopaedia
entry as a radical "Impressionist" - a term which is itself highly
problematic.
While it is not expected in first and second
year writing that you will necessarily consult primary sources,
whenever possible you should sight works of art in the original
to make unqualified analysis of them.
Use books, articles or Web resources recommended
by your lecturers as the starting point for your reading list
or bibliography. The most valuable secondary source will often
be the most recent publication on your topic of interest, especially
if it contains a comprehensive bibliography. You must also establish
if there are any recognised authorities writing in your field
of study and review their publications.
If the subject you are to research is completely
new to you, familiarise yourself with the visual material or works
of art you will be discussing. In writing about the art of an
Australian artist such as Margaret Preston, for example, a visit
to the Newcastle Region Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of New
South Wales to view examples of her work is as important as seeking
out references and reproductions in the library.
Although the Huxley and Auchmuty Libraries have
one of the most comprehensive collections of art books, magazines
and related material in New South Wales, there is always competition
for valuable references and you must begin your research early
to ensure availability before the last minute rush. |
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Select a topic most
relevant to your studio interests. Usually topics or questions are
of equal difficulty, however sometimes lecturers set one or two
more demanding or challenging questions to extend experienced students.
Check with your lecturer if you have any doubts about the compatibility
of your selection to your educational background and interests.
STEP 1
Compile a working bibliography
of books, articles, catalogues, videos, films and any other sources
you think will be relevant to your chosen topic. To do this, use
the subject index catalogue in the library and consult the Art
Index, and other periodical indices, that are also held in the
Library. If you are reading this on a computer connected to the
University of Newcastle network, you can go directly to the NEWCAT
index for books, catalogues videos and films. You can also access
the Art Index database which includes articles in 280 art journals.
However, this will only give you references forward from January
1989 to last month and you will also need to use the CD-ROM computer
format which lists articles published since 1984. ( If you are
unsure about use of the CD-ROM machine, in the Library, ask at
the reference desk.) For a search of articles published prior
to 1984 you will have to consult the print version of the Art
Index which is bound in volumes from 1929 forward. The
Bibliography of the History of Art (Bibliographie de l'Histoire
d'Art), established in 1991, is the international scholarly reference
database in art history that incorporates the older indexes, the
RAA (Repertoire d'Art et d'Archeologie) from 1973 to 1989 and
the once primary index the RILA (International Repertory of the
Literature of Art) from 1975 to 1989. The focus is European and
American art with abstracts in both French and English. Some Australian
material can be found through AVAD 5 : Australian Visual Arts
Database which is made up of four datasets: NATSIVAD (National
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Visual Artists Database),
ARTEX (Australian Art Exhibition Catalogues 1990 - 1995) , AustArt
(This Index mainly covers journal issues published since 1988)
& ARIADNE (results of the 1991 Indexing the visual arts in
Australia: a survey). AVAD is only useful for specialized searches
as apart from NATSIVAD it is a very incomplete index. The Library
has a single user license only so you must contact the Library
to gain password access in addition to your Library PIN. This
is explained on the linked AVAD page.
Using the Library Database List you
will find direct access to electronic databases that give you
articles with full text and images. The following are the most
useful.
Expanded Academic ASAP Int'l Ed. which has over three million
articles (from 1980 - 2003) and includes journals such as Art
News, Art in America, Artforum, the Art Bulletin and Art in Australia
(abstracts only). Unfortunately, the original illustrations or
images are often omitted or degraded in the Expanded Academic
online versions, although more recently this seems to be improving.
This is not the case with the Project Muse (John Hopkins Press)
database which includes good quality black and white images and
also contains several electronic journals which are exclusively
published on the Web. Depending on your research topic you will
also find other useful databases such as IDEAL (now part of Science
Direct).
The Library subscribes to Britannica Online - which is of course
the definitive encyclopaedic source for general information. The
Library also subscribes to the electronic Grove Dictionary of
Art, although its coverage is fairly patchy.
As well, the Library subscribes to Oxford Reference Online this
not only includes the Oxford Dictionary but most importantly
gives access to Oxford Dictionary of Art, Concise Oxford
Dictionary of Artand Artists , Concise Oxford Dictionary
of Art Terms as well as A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century
Art. A word or phrase query will automatically search across
all these and many other Oxford reference works. What is more,
a full-citation is shown below each entry ready to be clipped
and pasted into your notes.
You will find links to the above and many more databases on the
Library Journal and Reference Database site.
Your lecturer will generally direct you to others, if they are
relevant to your topic.
For general Internet searches take care using generic search sites
such as Google, Yahoo, etc. Instead, first go to the Art Theory
Resources site and use the links that are included there, as these
have be checked for quality. (The exception to this is the case
where you may be searching for a reproduction of a particular
painting or print. The search engine Google
now has an image search feature which is very powerful or comprehensive
and certainly the quickest way to find a reproduction.)
Particularly useful under the Art Theory Resources listings
are links to electronic journals and home sites for print journals
- which often have the contents of the latest edition.
When you access Internet sites take great care to carefully document
the address and full particulars for correct citation of any information
you collect. Always record the date of any connection you make
as this must be included in your citation. The Internet is now
a major resource but still a supplement to print sources and the
most up-to-date relevant art information is still to be found
in text based journals or periodicals. For this reason, it would
be expected to find at least four or five references to art magazine
or journal articles, as well as references to books and other
sources, in a successful first-year essay.
At this stage, when you have completed
your working bibliography, ask your lecturer if he or she will
check if you have missed any major source on your topic.
STEP 2
Read/view the sources you have chosen
and make notes to use in the formulation of your essay. When making
notes, or photocopies, of information you might use in your assignment,
always add the bibliographical details of the source, including
page numbers. You will need this if you decide to quote the information
in your essay. When taking notes from books and articles be sure
to distinguish between your own musings/words and material you transcribe
as this will avoid any possible problems with inadvertent plagiarism
when you come to write the essay. When reading articles online or
material from Web sites be sure to record all the relevant source
information you will later need for citation, including the date
of access. While searching for information, avoid clipping blocks
of text from screen and pasting it into your word-processor unless
you add all details of the source including the URL. Otherwise,
this material will be useless when it comes to writing your essay.
It is always safest to save the entire file you are reading in a
directory on your computer for later access when formulating your
argument. Also note, that if a site has no designated author, be
it institution, corporation, individual or magazine title, do not
use the material.
It is usual to spend about 60% of your allocated time
on Steps 1 and 2.
STEP 3
When you are familiar with all the major facts and
issues that are pertinent to your topic, decide what argument you
will adopt in your essay. Next draft a plan of your essay by writing
short notes on the content and order of each paragraph. Usually
this is followed by the writing of a full first draft.
Your first paragraph will state your main argument regarding
the topic. The body of the essay will expand and defend the argument
stated in the opening paragraph. Information you have collected
will be used to support your arguments and your final paragraph
will round off your discussion with a suitable conclusion.
STEP 4
Write your final draft, add your bibliography, check all footnotes
and reread. Most important of all, carefully proofread before submission.
Be sure your presentation follows the
stipulated format. Make and retain a photocopy of your essay. A
clean copy may be needed later for reassessment by another marker
in cases of appeal or disputed results.
There are a number of books in the Library that considerably expand
the above information. Probably the best introductory text is: J
Clanchy and B Ballard Essay Writing for Students, Melbourne
1991 [Huxley Call No.: 808.042 clan 1991 c.3. There is also a 1981
edition] A more comprehensive source is: Douglas Bate and Peter
Sharpe, Student Writer's Handbook: How to write better essays,
Marrickville, 1990. [Huxley: 808.042/B9] Also useful is J Anderson
et al, Thesis and Assignment Writing, Sydney 1980 (pp 3-18), and
K Betts and A Seitz Writing Essays in the Social Sciences,
Melbourne 1986. For information on advanced research writing refer
to K Howard and J A Sharpe The Management of a Student Research
Project London 1983. On the Internet you will find a simple
and fairly sensible introduction to writing Art History essays in:
Belton, R. J. Art History: a preliminary handbook, 1996,
Online, Available Netscape: http://www.ouc.bc.ca/fiar/hndbkhom.html
(verified 30 Jan. 2003).
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Plagiarism is the unacknowledged
copying of the ideas or words of other writers or authors. Plagiarism
in essays will make them unacceptable for assessment. This refers
to both direct transcription and paraphrasing other material (putting
it into your own words).
Most students understand that to copy another student's assignment
and present it as your own work is fraudulent behaviour and such
practice is the most obvious and serious breach of academic integrity.
When this form of plagiarism is detected it results in automatic
failure of the subject for the student involved and possible disciplinary
action by the Faculty or University.
You may be aware that there are now many so called
"Cheat" sites on the Internet offering (usually at a
price) completed essays on countless topics. It is unlikely you
will find an example that precisely answers a given question,
but if you find a similiar topic and access to read it is free,
by all means do so. You may pick up some tips on structure or
useful pointers to sources. However, never clip any of the information
to paste into your essay. Not only is this plagiarism but it is
relatively easy to detect through a Web search using your text
as a search string.
However, most breaches of plagiarism occur because:
firstly, students have not developed the writing skills to sufficiently
wean themselves from the phrases, style and words used in the
sources found in their Library research and, secondly, they present
the ideas and information taken from Library sources without acknowledging
the original author.
There are art historical facts, which are generally
known and agreed upon. That the Museum of Modern Art in New York
was founded by Alfred Barr in 1929, is an example and would not
need acknowledgement in an essay. However, it should be obvious
that you would not write in an essay that Monet earned 24,800
francs in 1873 from the sale of his paintings without telling
the reader how you came by such precise and little known information.
We might assume you had access to Monet's account books and that
you spent considerable time tabulating this figure. Equally so,
if you claim that Monet earned ten times the average annual income
for Paris in 1873, you would need to show the origin of this calculation.
When you present any precise or contentious evidence
in you essay you must add a full reference or citation that will
accurately take the reader to your source so that they can check
the veracity of your information or judge the quality of your
source. Both Monet examples above are taken from the same source
(Paul Tucker Monet at Argenteuil, New Haven, 1982, n33,
pp. 194/5) and by citing this book in your footnotes and adding
it to your bibliography you also acknowledge that your work is
dependent on the intellectual effort of others. In this case,
Paul Tucker.
Presumably, if you used the factual evidence
or data on Monet's income in an essay it would be to draw some
conclusion about his attitude to selling his art or his relationship
to dealers and buyers; or, to put Monet's work in the context
of the developing economic and social forces associated with modernity.
This is where problems can occur with plagiarism since Tucker
has explored these issues in his book. Any direct quotes or phrases
taken from Tucker would naturally be referenced. In addition,
if your conclusions are in any way dependent on, or, in any way
parallel, the views or ideas of Tucker you must acknowledge this
in footnotes. To give a specific example, here is a direct quote
from Tucker's book:
Monet was no economist, but the subjects
he painted were drawn from the progressive world. And the people
we know who bought his paintings, like the opera singer Faure,
the banker Hecht, or the department store owner Hoschede, were
immersed in it. Monet was able to profit from many people's patronage,
for he made a considerable amount of money during these years,
far more than earlier historians ever imagined. He was doing so
well that two years after he left Paris for Argenteuil - a flight
to the suburbs that was typical of his time - he was able to move
to a bigger, more expensive house. [p.3]
After reading your notes you might write a sentence
in your essay such as: " Monet was part of the modern world in the
sense that he was not the mythological artist starving in a garret
but very much a comfortable member of the middle-class, living in
the suburbs. " Clearly, this is dependent on the above quotation
and the source would need to be acknowledged. You would do this
by adding a number at the end of the sentence which would refer
to a footnote which might look like this:
This has been demonstrated by Paul Tucker, in Monet
at Argenteuil, New Haven, 1982 (see esp. p.3)
Alternatively, you may remodel the sentence to read: "As Tucker
has shown, Monet was part of the modern world in the sense that
he was not the mythological artist starving in a garret but very
much a comfortable member of the middle-class, living in the suburbs."
In which case, the footnote would take this format:
Paul Tucker, Monet at Argenteuil, New Haven,
1982, esp. 3
It is a relatively
easy process to learn and follow the formats for citation of references,
which are listed later in this guide, although it takes some experience
to understand the degree of referencing or acknowledgement necessary
in academic writing. To help you understand the requirements,
the first essay you write in first-year Art Theory is treated,
in part, as a diagnostic test of your understanding of the rigorous
requirements of academic writing and research. Your lecturer will
carefully highlight any unacceptable examples of plagiarism in
your semester one first-year essay and detail remedial strategies.
Put bluntly, this means that this is the only essay you submit
in which breaches of minor plagiarism will not make the essay
inadmissible for a passing grade. Second-year and third-year essays
which contain any form of plagiarism will be unacceptable for
assessment. This will be regardless of whether you completed first-year
studies in this University or not. Lecturers are very familiar
with the primary and secondary sources in this subject and generally
can easily detect plagiarised passages. However, sometimes dramatic
variation in style, vocabulary or expression might suggest plagiarism,
even though the source may not be precisely locatable. In detecting
plagiarism, a lecturer may use their professional judgement to
question the construction of a particular essay so all students
are advised to retain their working notes and drafts for every
essay they write. These offer some evidential proof that your
essay is of your own making and should only be discarded after
the marked essay has been returned.
Taking information from Internet
sources without acknowledgement can be a particular problem. Often
this results from the bad habit of clipping and pasting blocks
of text into a page of notes and forgetting to also include the
source. The University now subscribes to Turnitin which is an
effective tool you may be able to use to avoid any possible breach
of citation protocols. Your draft essay can be submitted to Turnitin
and a report will be sent highlighting any material that duplicates
existing electronic data. A report is generated so you can check
if all your acknowledgements are correct and rectify any potential
problems before you submit the essay for assessment. To use Turnitin
you will need to create a profile and be enrolled in a course
registered for using the software. Your lecturer in each course
will give details if the course is using Turnitin.
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1. It is in
order to use short, relevant, direct quotations from other authors
to expand or support points you make. However these should be
used sparingly, and of course must be acknowledged. Remember your
essay or argument should present a clear structure not a compilation
of quotations you have collected. Generally, no more than
two or three brief quotations would be used in an essay of average
length (2000 words).
2. Direct quotations are indented or enclosed
in quotation marks [" "] and the footnote added at the
end of the quote. If a direct quotation is longer than three sentences
it must be indented. When a quotation is indented, the quotation
marks are not necessary and should not be used and the citation
note number is added at the end. Do not bracket the source or
page numbers of the quote, simply add the footnote number. To
acknowledge the source of a phrase, add the footnote at the end
of the sentence in which it occurs. If you paraphrase a passage
of material, again just add a footnote at the end of the last
sentence. It may sometimes be necessary to make it clear as to
the extent of your borrowing. For example, your footnote might
begin with: "Much of the content of this paragraph is taken from...."
or "This phrase is used by...." or "These few sentences summarise
the view put forward by..." or "I have developed this idea from...".
As a general rule there is no need for such additions; just cite
the source.
3. Do not use note form. An essay should be
a coherent, logical piece of analytical prose.
4. Avoid the use of personal pronouns such as
"I feel....." or, "in my opinion". They are not necessary, since
it is understood that the essay is an expression of your views.
5. Do not use vague or ill-informed generalisations
such as "all art is about beauty". Take care with the use of art
historical terms such as Impressionism, Realism or Postmodernism.
When such terms are capitalised this generally signifies a reference
to their art historical meaning. For example, an Impressionist
painting would refer to a work by Monet or one of his contemporaries,
whereas an impressionistic painting might refer to any
painting in the Impressionist manner or style. It is safest to
always define what the terms mean in the context of your essay.
6. Generally colloquialisms have no place in
formal writing. Words and expressions such as dodgy, daggy, nerd,
nerdy, do-gooder, ratbag or con-artist would not normally be used,
except for dramatic effect.
7. Your essay must be written as near as possible
to the stipulated length. Plus or minus divergence of over 200
words may be penalised.
8. Footnotes or endnotes are not added to the
word count in the length of your essay. [note: some wordprocessing
programs, such as WordPerfect, include footnotes and endnotes
when listing word count, others, such as Word, do not.]
9. In formal essay writing, the convention is
to refer to artists by their surname; although use the full name
when you first mention an artist in your essay. It is also usual
to add birth/death dates in brackets after the first full name
reference. However do this only for artists not generally known
or those who may be confused with another, with a similar name.
If you are uncertain, add the dates.
10. Use italics or bold for the titles of paintings
and other works of art you mention in your essay (alternatively,
you may underline for titles, but be consistent). Also take particular
care to give enough information to identify the particular work
by adding location or collection and date. Adding the date is
the minimum requirement. Check with your lecturer if additional
information is required as for some studies, such as Museology,
you may be required to add all details on medium and dimensions.
Titles of works of art are also given maximal capitalisation,
eg: The Endless Enigma.
11. Discussion between students working on the
same topic is useful but do not exchange notes or bibliography
with another student. Such collaboration will make both essays
unacceptable for assessment, as an essay must be the expression
of your own ideas and effort.
12.Non-sexist or gender-inclusive language should
be used in all your writing and while still accepted, the generic
"he" should be avoided. Sexist language is language that discriminates
against women, usually by exclusion. All writers should avoid
sexist language since many readers find it offensive if not insidiously
disempowering.
The following information is a summary (with additions) from Chapter
8 of the fourth edition of the Style Manual published
by the Australian Government Publication Service, Canberra, (4th
edition) 1988 pp 111-127. Further elaboration is given in the
5th edition of the Style Manual, 1994 pp.126 - 135; and
the 6th edition of the Style Manual, 2002 pp 58 - 60.
Sexism in published texts
When you need to quote from a published text, especially from
another era, and you encounter sexist language there are a number
of approaches you can take.
The Australian Style Manual (1988 p113) recommends the
following:
- The words in question can be
paraphrased, not quoted directly, thus avoiding the sexist expression.
- The word sic, enclosed
in square brackets, can be inserted immediately after the sexist
expression. (sic meaning "thus used")
- In some cases where it is clear
that the language is not the work of the author the expression
can be left intact.
Avoid the use of man in the
generic sense
The word man should be limited to reference to male human
beings. When man is used in a generic sense to refer to
male and female human beings it not only creates confusion but implies
the absence or invisibility of women. In the interests of clarity
and equality replace the generic man with one of the following:
humans, humanity, human beings, humankind, man and woman, women
and men, people, individuals, human race
For compound words where man is used as a prefix or suffix
here are alternative words and phrases:
mankind
manhood (generic sense)
spokesman
chairman |
humanity, humankind,
people
adulthood
spokesperson, advocate, intermediary
chair |
draftsman (generic)
craftsman |
draftsperson
craftsperson, artisan, craftworker, technician |
| to man the desk |
to staff the desk |
the man in the street
one-man show |
the average person, ordinary
people
solo exhibition, one-person show |
In art, master (as a noun or verb) and old master
are common terms associated with maleness. As Griselda Pollock pointed
out some time ago, old mistress is hardly a suitable replacement
description for a female artist who has gained great skill or competency
in her craft.
Mastery, when used as a qualifying noun, can be easily
replaced with expertise or competence. Old master can usually
be avoided or qualified with phrases such as so called
old master. Masterpiece can be replaced with major work.
Sculptor and patron
are the correct inclusive terms for male and female. Do not use
sculptress or patroness.
Because there is no sex-indefinite
pronouns in English, use the following guide to replace the generic
he, him, his.
he/she, him/her, his/her
he or she, him or her, his or her
reverse order also possible: she
or he, she/he. |
13. Non-discriminatory
language should also be used in relation to descriptions of particular
racial, ethnic or national groups or individuals. This is especially
important when discussing the art of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia
or the art of Torres Strait Islander people. See the Australian Government
Style Manual, 5th edition, 1994 (pp. 137 - 140) or Style
Manual, 6th edition, 2002 (pp. 56 - 58) for specific advice on non-discriminatory
language for portrayal of Australian Aboriginal people or usage in naming
individuals. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC)
recommends the inclusive collective reference to Indigenous Australians
as 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' and states a preference
for 'Aboriginal(s)' rather than 'Aborigine(s).' Also 'Indigenous' is
always capitalised when it refers to the original inhabitants of Australia.
It should be noted that 'Koori' is not a synonym for 'Aboriginal' but
is only used to describe Aboriginal groups from New South Wales. Aboriginal
groups from other areas may prefer to identify themselves in local terms
- see p. 57 Style Manual, 6th edition, 2002. Many Aboriginal
people find it offensive to see words such as corroboree or
dreamtime used in a jocular or dismissive context. Avoid such
usage for these and other words or phrases (such as gone walkabout)
which might demean or stereotype Australian Aboriginal people.
For advice on the portrayal of ethnolinguistic
minorities in Australia consult (pp. 140 - 142) in the 5th edition of
the Style Manual, or (pp.56 - 58) in the 6th edition.
14. Write all numbers below one hundred as words and
use figures for numbers greater than one hundred. The exception is when
writing precise sums of money or dimensions of works of art whatever
their value (that is, below or above one hundred). For example: ten
years and $10. Naturally, all precise dates are written as figures,
1845 not eighteen forty five. Twentieth century is
preferable to 20th century and the two words are always hyphenated
when modifying a noun, as in: twentieth-century art.
In other words,
compound adjectives appearing with century are always hyphenated.
This also applies when early or late is added to the compound,
as in: early-nineteenth-century painting.
15.
Although conventions are still developing, here is the recommended form
for terms associated with the World Wide Web. Capitalise Web
and Internet and leave compounds of these open (without hyphens)
Web site, although hyphenate when the compound is an adjective
Web-site designer. Write online as one word without a
hyphen and there is no need to capitalise email. For computer
programs use this spelling and reserve programmes for all
other uses. Web Co-ordinator is preferable to Web Master.
Be careful not to add a full stop at the end of an email address or
Web URL (Universal Resource Locator). If such an address ends a sentence
or citation it is safest to enclose the email address or URL in brackets
thus <http://www.example.au/index.html>. Also,
all recent browsers will recognize a URL without the http://
on the address so you can safely drop this, and begin a citation or
reference to a Web site with www.
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Essays must be presented in the following
way:
1. Leave a wide (4 cm) margin on the left-hand
side of the paper. (This does seem like a lot of space but it is
for lecturer comments. Therefore, be sure this margin is clear of
any plastic reinforcement strip as these refuse to take ink.)
2. Write or type on one side of paper only. (Do
not place individual pages in plastic sleeves. This only hinders
the lecturer's efforts to write comments or corrections on your
essay.)
3. If typed, use double spacing.
4. Number pages and fasten sheets securely.
5. Bibliography to be placed at end of essay.
(Essays without a bibliography will not be accepted)
6. Footnotes to be placed at bottom of each page
separated from the text by a solid line across the page.
Endnotes appear below the concluding sentence of the essay but separated
by a horizontal line.
7. Affix a title page to your assignment listing:
- your name and address
- student number
- module code and title
- title of the topic of your essay
- name of your lecturer
8. Reread and proof
your essay before submission.
[More than three errors (spelling, transposition or typographical)
per page is a sure indication that you have not proofread your essay.
Five to seven errors per page would make your essay inadmissible
for a passing grade.]
Extensions of time for assignments must be applied for, on the form
provided, before the due date. Any other late assignments will not
be accepted, unless exceptional circumstances apply.
If you do not submit an essay on the due date, and you have not
applied for an extension, it is imperative you contact your lecturer.
He or she will clarify your position in relation to assessment.
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All submitted essays
should be in the form of a clear printed copy. However, some lecturers
may permit, or indeed insist on, an electronic version submitted
via email attachment or on disk or CD. If your typing skills are
not highly developed give yourself extra time during the writing
phase to allow for this. Some word-processing programs include footnotes
or endnotes in the word count they give; but others do not. So be
sure to check the status of the word-count on your program, since
footnotes or endnotes do not count towards the final number of words
in reaching the stipulated essay length. Also, do not assume the
use of a spell checker is a substitute for proofreading. A spell-check
will not detect transpositions and other incorrect usage, or the
omission of words. If you are working on a computer in the Library
or in one of the Computer Access rooms avoid working directly from
any disk or CD-RW. So to begin a session load the copy disk
or CD-RW and first save onto the hard drive before editing. After
a session of work, save back to the disk. If space allows avoid
overwriting the existing copy of the essay file. Check it has been
correctly saved by opening it in your word-processor. And only then
delete the copy on the hard drive. If you are an experienced computer
user, you will know how fragile the technology is and you may also
email yourself a copy of your work in an attachment as an extra
backup precaution. When ending a session on an open-access computer,
always be sure to delete any of your working files from the hard
drive. This will automatically happen on many new University computers
as a program is installed that clears the hard-drive of all added
material at the end of each session. These same machines are also
equipped with a CD-RW drive to allow the removal of large files
before shut-down. |
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Bibliography, in terms of assignment
work, is the complete alphabetical listing of all books, journals,
catalogues, films and other reference sources used to research your
paper, whether these information sources have been footnoted, or
not. By convention, no full stop is added at the end of a bibliographic
reference.
Entries should follow the common form.
- Author's name (surname first
in bibliography)
- Title of publication (note that
italics, bold or, less commonly now, underlining are all acceptable
for titles, but be consistent and use one only. Do not use combinations
of underlining and bold or italics and bold. Reserve inverted
commas or quotation marks for subsiduary titles, such as article
titles in a journal.)
- Edition, if other than the first
- Facts of publication: place,
publisher, date (publisher is optional and added thus: London:
Thames and Hudson)
Note: if you are writing at postgraduate
level you must add place and publisher as well as date
- Volume number (if serial); page
number(s)
- Actual date (if periodical);
page number(s)
- If making reference to an image,
add this after page number thus: "pl. 2" or "fig. 2"
Note on capitalisation of titles: We
now follow the practice used for many museum labels and reserve
maximal capitalisation for the initial title only. Any subtitles
are not capitalised: The Object Stares Back: on the nature of
seeing.
Newspaper, journal and periodical titles are given maximal capitalisation
but never the preceeding definite article (except the London Times
- which by convention is always The Times). Others are written
thus: the Illustrated Sydney News, the Bulletin.
Examples:
BOOKS
Gray, C. Cubist Aesthetic
Theories, Baltimore, 1953
(if more than two authors)
Gombrich, E.H. et. al., Art Perception and Reality, London,
1972
(if an edited volume)
Weitz, M. ed., Problems in Aesthetics, second edition,
New York, 1970
The form is slightly different for
the following:
ARTICLES IN JOURNALS OR PERIODICALS
Gibson, A. "Recasting the canon: Norman Lewis and Jackson Pollock",
Artforum, March 1992, 30, 66-73
[Author/title(in quotation marks)/periodical(italics or bold)/Date/Volume/Page(s)]
EXHIBITION CATALOGUES
Signs of the Times: political posters, Queensland Art
Gallery, South Brisbane, May/August 1991
[Title of Exhibition/Gallery/City/Date/Page or Plate Number].
Often catalogues become major reference works and the convention
here is to list the author first. For example:
Rubin, W. Primitivism and Modern Art, Museum of Modern
Art, New York, 1984 |
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The main purpose of a footnote is
to acknowledge the source of any direct or indirect quotation of
any idea, opinion, or factual material which you have taken (not
necessarily in quotation) from another author or authority. Footnotes
can also be used to expand, or supplement, statements made in the
body of your essay with information which is peripheral to your
main argument but still considered relevant.
It is most important that you supply sufficient
information in your footnotes to enable the reader (or marker
in this case) to independently consult the sources used. The information
taken from fluid electronic archives, as might be found on the
Internet, present a problem here; but you must always include
in your reference the date you accessed a particular site or archive.
Insert a number in your text, at the end of a
sentence, for each footnote. In cases where several phrases or
proper names to be referenced appear in the same sentence it may
help avoid confusion by breaking the general rule and placing
the number directly after the name or phrase. But whenever possible
place the number at the end of a sentence or indented quotation.
Make the numbers run consecutively for each page. This means the
first footnote on each page will be numbered one. Place the footnotes
in numerical order at the bottom of the page where the reference
occurs. Some word-processing programs will not allow a new number
for each page. If this is the case with yours, simply run the
numerical order through the entire essay. Alternatively, if your
word processor will only produce endnote format, it is allowable
to use endnotes and is not such a major issue with short essays.
| In thesis
writing endnotes should be used in preference to footnotes
and placed at the end of each chapter below a heading "Endnotes". |
In your first reference to a book
or article in a footnote, give full publication details and page
number. The author's full name is written in the normal way in
footnotes (Christian name followed by surname), unlike in the
bibliography where the surname is written first.
After your first reference to a book or article in which you have
supplied the full details it is not necessary, in subsequent references,
to repeat these. Be sure to give enough information in your shortened
citation to easily identify the source. Some conventional Latin
abbreviations are often used, especially ibid from the
Latin ibidem, meaning `in the same place'. This is used
when a reference to the same book or article immediately follow
one another. It is useful when you make three or four references
to the same source on one page, but should be avoided if the reference
is made to a preceding citation several pages before. Another
common abbreviation is op.cit. from the Latin opere
citato, meaning "in the work cited". This is used (although
very rarely, today) when references to the same book or article
do not immediately follow each other. Far less useful than ibid,
this abbreviation can become more irritating than helpful if the
reader has to flick back five pages to find the initial footnote.
Best to avoid this abbreviation.
Examples
1 Donald Preziosi,
Rethinking Art History: meditations on a coy science,
New Haven, 1989, 18.
2 ibid. (indicates second reference
is to the same book, same page. Sometimes you will see idem
used to indicate "the same").
3 ibid. 35. (indicates reference is
to the same book, different page).
If this reference (3) was several pages after the first note (1)
it could be written as:
1 Preziosi, Rethinking Art Hist., 35.
Another example:
1 Hans Belting, The End of the History of Art?,
London, 1987, 10.
2 Victor Burgin, The End of Art Theory,
London, 1986, 18.
3 Belting, End of Art Hist., 6. (referring back
to Belting's End of the History of Art)
Ultimately, the choice is yours, to adopt or avoid Latin abbreviations,
but be consistent, and above all, be sure your footnotes will
take the reader surely and easily to the precise source of your
references.
It is most important that if you refer to an essay in an edited
anthology or a journal article quoted in another source you must
give both sources in your citation. For example:
Derrick Price, "Surveyors and Surveyed: photography out and
about," ch. 2; in, Liz Wells, ed., Photography: a critical
introduction, second edition, London, 2000 (65 - 115).
This
becomes particularly important when you reference a quote from
a primary source, such as a nineteenth-century newspaper, that
you have found in a secondary source. If you do not give both
reference and source, it may misleadingly suggest that you are
quoting directly from the original primary source. An example:
Bell's Life in Sydney, 28 September 1867, p. 3; quoted
in, Anita Callaway, Visual Ephemera: theatrical art in nineteenth-century
Australia, Sydney, 2000, p. 111.
A final point related to the need for a footnote to accurately
pinpoint your source. It is not allowable to give a citation which
references your lecture notes, since this is not a publication
nor manuscript or thesis and cannot be accessed by any reader.
This is the equivalent of saying "I heard it in a lecture"
- to which the answer might well be "you heard it wrongly."
If the script for the lecture you are citing has been published
in electronic form on the Web or placed in hard-copy Short Loans,
than that is a very different matter. In such a case, you can
cite material from the lecture script following normal citation
style.
Other abbreviations useful
in footnotes
aka.
e.g.
et.al.
i.e.
ed.
ff.
p.
passim
sic.
trans.
viz. |
also known as
(exempli gratia) means "for example"
(etalia) means "and others"
(id est) means "that is"
editor (sometimes also used for edition, but write in full
as edition)
and the following pages
is the abbreviation for "page", pp for "pages"
means "in every part"
usually bracketed is derived from the Latin for "so" or "thus"
and is used to confirm you are quoting faithfully when you
reproduce an obvious error.
translated by
(videlicet) means "namely"
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When abbreviating academic awards do
not use full stops: MFA, BA, MA, MPhil, PhD
NOTE:
Only use the abbreviations "ch.", "fig." or
"vol." in footnotes (with lower-case initial). When making
reference to these in running text in the body of your essay, the
full form is used: "chapter," "figure," or "volume".
As well, do not use abbreviations such as "eg.," "&",
"i.e." and "etc." in the body of your essay.
Also in formal essay writing avoid contractions such as: aren't
for "are not", don't for "do not" and it's of "it is". This means"
it's" (it with an apostrophe) should never
appear in your essay as "it" is never possessive. |
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The Library site offers a guide to
the latest information on Citing Electronic Sources at its Referencing
and Style Guides page.
Conventions are still being established in this area, although a
consensus seems to have been reached on the general form of citation.
See for example this site prepared by K. Wagner of Sarah Byrd Askew
Library, William Paterson University of New Jersey in the USA: Guide
for Citing Electronic Information
For both footnotes and bibliography ensure the following elements
are in this order and separated with commas.
Author
Always begin with the author, if known, and follow the usual conventions
for multiple authors. In the case of information on the Internet,
the author may be a corporate name.
Title
For an entire electronic document, such as a book or essay, list
the title, enclosed in quotation marks, with the first word and
proper nouns capitalised
Source/ Date/Page
After the title add edition and date if known- add "n.d." if none
is listed. If the file or document is part of a larger work, add
this after the title and before the date. For example if you cite
a text in an electronic magazine the journal name, in italics, will
precede the date.
Always record the date listed on the document regardless of it being
the date of original authorship or date of production of the electronic
document. If the document is paginated add the page/s which contain
your reference if citation is a footnote. In a Bibliographic reference
you might also indicate the size or number of pages in the document.
Type of Electronic Medium
Describe the medium containing the electronic document, digital
image or file. ( CD-ROM, Diskette or Online)
Available
You write the word "Available:" in your citation followed by sufficient
information to retrieve the image or document file from the publisher
or supplier. If the information is available as email you list the
address. If available from a site on the World Wide Web, you list
the browser or protocol used (such as Netscape or Telnet) followed
by the address. When citing an image, always ensure that the address
ends with the actual fine name of the image, since the extension
will often indicate the type of image file.
Date
This last element only applies if you are citing information online.
Leave a space after the site/file address and, enclosed in brackets,
record the date you viewed or retrieved the image or information.
This is vital as electronic data from the Internet is retrieved
in real time and may be very different when viewed or down loaded
at a later date.
SOME EXAMPLES
This is a essay written for electronic publication on the Internet.
Even though the document is not paginated, to show this is only
a short essay, the number of pages has been added to the citation.
Filreis, A. "On Frets about the Death of the Book",
1995 [2 pages], online, available: http://dept.english.upenn.edu/~afilreis/sanders-etext.html
(9 Jan. 1996)
Author, Title, Date, Medium, Available (address on the World Wide
Web), Date retrieved.
If you retrieved the essay as an e-mail document your citation would
read:
Filreis, A. "On Frets about the Death of the Book",
1995, online, available email: afilreis@english.upenn.edu (9 Jan.
1996)
The following is a citation for an entry from the Commonwealth Government's
newsletter for the arts, called Visions of Australia. In
this case, no individual author of the piece is listed (nor is the
editor of the newsletter given, although if it were, you may also
begin your citation with her or his name followed by "ed."). As
with many electronic documents, this newsletter is not paginated.
Department of Communications and the Arts, "Invisible
Warriors", Visions of Australia newsletter, May 1997,
online, available Netscape: http://www.dca.gov.au/visions/may97/warriors.html
(19 May. 1997)
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Keep
in mind the singular test of a citation from any source: have
you given enough information to take the reader directly to
the quoted reference. If the information you supply is incorrect
or incomplete your citation is invalid.
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It is not usually necessary to add
photocopies or photographs of the works of art you discuss in your
essay: although, if you mention unfamiliar, or little known works,
you should footnote the location of the work or the source where
it is illustrated (give plate number of page or full file name and
address in case of digital images on the Internet).Obviously, a
reproduction would be included in your essay in those rare cases
where you might discuss a work which has never been reproduced or
is not on public display. Where it is felt essential to add illustrations,
they should be attached as near as possible to the text to which
they relate. All illustrations must be numbered sequently using
the form "Figure 1." and followed by a descriptive caption.
A full-stop is only added at the end of a caption if it is a complete
sentence. Reference to illustrations in the text can be written
as "figure 1" or bracketed "(figure 1)" but
which ever you adopt do not capitalize figure or abbreviate
to "fig." unless it is in a footnote. Always add the source
of any illustrations you attach and acknowledge the photographer
if they are photographs. |
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The
situation is different if you are writing an extended exegesis such
as an Honours' thesis or paper. Here all discussion of specific
works, especially your own, should be supported by illustrations,
preferably in colour. In such a case, a list of figures should be
added after the contents page of the paper. |
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Appendices can be added to provide
detailed information relevant to arguments or discussion in your
essay but not available elsewhere. An appendix might contain the
full transcript of an interview referred to in an essay, full results
of a survey, lists of exhibitions, or a complex argument over provenance
of a particular work of art. In other words, there is usually no
need in first-year essays to add appendices to your essay. |
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matarials are presented by custom
writing |
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