Helpful Hints

Time

Allow enough time to be thorough. Often students second guess the amount of work involved in the Formal Analysis. Realistically, this is the biggest project of the semester and carries the greatest weight towards your final grade.

Address all elements and principles

This site contains the complete list of items to be addressed in a proper formal analysis. Most importantly, if an item is not present it is best to acknowledge it anyway stating that it is absent. Some elements may not appear in a work of art; if so simply say they are not present or that another element is more prevalence

Qualify your analysis

All analysis of principles and elements should be supported with visual evidence. For example: After you declare that lines are evident remember to tell the reader what type, where they occur and any other relevant property of this element of composition. Simply stating that you see a principle or element will not do!

Use resources

You already have two books that might help. Your textbook and study guide are great resources for researching and clarifying terms.

Proper submission of this paper requires research. Plan on taking a trip to the library or using the instructions for using our ACCC library databases.

Make this analysis personal

It is important to address all issues as your own. Theoretically speaking, you are telling the reader what "you" the viewer see. Your analysis of a particular work of art is probably not going to parallel anyone other student's findings. Avoid blanket terms such as "the viewer", "we", "anyone" or "everyone". Do use terms such as "this viewer", "I" or "my".

Cite your resources

All direct or paraphrased references to your textbook or any other resource must be properly documented. Failure to do so could result in an "F" on your paper.

Word process your paper

It is best to word process this final paper on a computer and save a copy to disk. Follow the directions for "Sending Word Processed Documents in a Mail message" under course information to attach your paper and send it to your instructor by the deadline.