This short paper will give you practice reading and analyzing scholarly texts and writing a concise, analytical essay so that you may gradually increase your confidence in your critical-reasoning skills and your writing abilities. This assignment is designed to challenge you to think about art in different ways and to spark your curiosity about the “real” work of art history. At the same time you will improve your ability to express your ideas clearly and effectively. Careful reasoning and writing about assigned texts will in turn help prepare you for humanities courses in any discipline where advanced writing is expected.
Instructions in a nutshell:
Write a 3-page paper analyzing Linda Nochlin’s essay “The Imaginary Orient” (available on Morgan Library’s Course E-Reserves at http://lib.colostate.edu/reserve) and respond to the author’s ideas and conclusions by using your critical-thinking skills.
Full instructions:
We will prepare for this essay as a class by analyzing the text by Nochlin together. On the day we discuss Nochlin, I will coach you through the step-by-step process of analyzing scholarly texts. Writing your paper will involve first reading the text carefully and following these steps:
1. Take note of the main ideas.
Be sure to watch for irony, humor, and rhetorical statements, so that you can pinpoint the author’s standpoint accurately. The author’s style of writing and depth of inquiry varies from text to text, so try not to get bogged down in unfamiliar vocabulary or examples an author uses and focus instead on the overarching idea he or she presents.
2. Then consider the following analysis questions.
Who is the intended audience? What is the author’s aim or purpose in writing the text? What evidence does he or she bring into the discussion to support his or her claims? What kind of sources does he or she utilize and how are these sources employed? How does he or she organize the discussion to move the argument forward? What is his or her conclusion?
3. Write up your analysis of the Nochlin text.
A thorough yet focused analysis should take about 2 pages. Begin by summarizing the main idea of the text using your own words. It is fine to add a brief quotation (with citations using the Chicago Manual of Style) to make
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your point, but you must not over-indulge in quoting. I am more interested in having you express in your own words the central issue that the author is trying to convey in the text and how she accomplishes that, following the list of analysis questions above. Think of this as having to explain to someone who has never read the text before what it is about and how the author supports her claims.
4. Finally, add your closing discussion.
Your task here is to write one page responding to Nochlin’s argument (do you find it convincing? Why/why not?) and to consider her claims in a constructive context by comparing her ideas to some aspect of art, from the 19th century up to today. Aim to put your best foot forward in terms of the quality of your writing and the depth of your thought.
Note that this essay is not a “critique” of the strengths or weaknesses of the texts or the author’s personal style of expression, as you might be accustomed to in journalistic writing or studio critiques. Instead your analysis and response should demonstrate direct engagement with the authors’ ideas. Use first person in your response, so that you make a clear distinction between your analysis and your response (ex. I agree / disagree / believe / argue / contend that XYZ … because / given that / on the basis of XYZ. [State your case or idea, then support it with specific reasons and/or examples]). For ideas on ways to respond, see http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/college-and-university-students/799.
The goal for this short essay is to build your confidence and to provide you with a venue to work on improving your writing as an important means of expression. As with anything, you will get out of it what you put into it, meaning that you should focus your energy on the task to reap the maximum benefits of this opportunity to improve your writing. In the short term you will make your future experience in other humanities courses easier and in the long term you will increase your chances for success in the real world (e.g. writing for grant applications, fellowships, residencies and graduate school, communicating with potential employers, clients, suppliers, galleries, collectors, and publishing artist statements or content for webpages, etc.).
Format:
Papers should be typed double-space, 12-point Times New Roman font, 1” margins, and printed single-sided with pages numbered. Always remember to proofread manually before printing, as with any academic writing assignment (software programs cannot catch all spelling and grammar mistakes).assignment.”

Papers will be graded on the basis of: a) your thoroughness and accuracy in completing the assignment; b) the thoughtfulness of your critical engagement; and c) effective written communication (grammar, spelling, sentence structure, organization, etc.). See below for criteria.
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Grading Criteria
Papers must follow the guidelines for content and format as laid out in the assignment instructions discussed in class and available on Canvas. This includes correct citations using the Chicago Manual of Style. The penalty for papers with incomplete citations is, at minimum, a zero on the paper and the submission of an Academic Misconduct report filed with the Student Resolution Center (SRC). If you are unsure of how to complete your citations, consult with Professor Moseman in advance of the paper deadline. In addition to adhering to the assignment instructions, the following four qualitative categories will be considered in evaluating your paper:
The Unsatisfactory Paper: The D or F paper is strikingly vague, broad, or uninteresting. It does not advance a conclusion that anyone might care to debate. “The author made some enjoyable remarks.” “The text was interesting to read.” There is little indication that the writer understands the material being presented. The paragraphs do not hold together; ideas do not develop from sentence to sentence. The D or F paper usually repeats the same thoughts again and again, perhaps in slightly different language but often in the same words. The ideas seem undigested or not fully thought through. The D or F paper is filled with mechanical faults, errors in grammar, and spelling mistakes. Papers that do not meet the minimum specifications of the assignment are D or F papers.
The C Paper: The C paper may have unified content, but it is vague and broad, or else the discussion does not corral adequate support for the goals of the assignment. The discussion in the C paper often hangs on unsubstantiated opinion. The C paper rarely integrates evidence well; sometimes it does not use evidence at all. Even if it has clear and unified content, a paper with insufficient supporting evidence, or evidence that is not fully integrated with the discussion, is a C paper. The C paper may put forth an analysis of the text, but the analysis is incomplete or superficial. The C paper may indicate the need for deeper consideration of the ideas in the text, and may only offer cursory consideration in the closing discussion. In other words, it doesn’t go far enough to demonstrate intellectual engagement with the ideas presented in the text. The C paper often has mechanical faults, including errors in grammar, spelling, and document formatting.
The B Paper: The reader of a B paper knows exactly what the author wants to say. It presents a worthwhile and interesting discussion that is limited (i.e., well defined). The discussion is supported by sound evidence presented in a neat and orderly way. It is well organized. Some of the sentences may not be elegant, but they are clear, and in them thoughts flow naturally from one idea to the next. The paragraphs may be unwieldy now and then, but they are organized around one main idea that ties in with the overall goal of the assignment. The reader does not have to read a paragraph two or three times to get the thought that the writer is trying to convey. The B paper is always mechanically correct. The spelling is good, and the punctuation is accurate. Citations are correct. Above all, the paper makes sense throughout. It does not contain unexpected digressions, and it ends by keeping the promise to analyze and respond to the text that the writer makes in the beginning.
The A Paper: The A paper has all the good qualities of the B paper, but in addition it is lively, well paced, interesting, even exciting. Its conclusions and implications are thought provoking in a constructive way. The paper has style. Everything in it seems to fit the assignment exactly. It may have a proofreading error or two, or even a misspelled word, but the reader feels that these errors are the consequence of the normal accidents all good writers encounter. Reading the paper, one can feel a mind at work. The reader is convinced that the writer cares for his or her ideas, and about the language that carries them. The paper is memorable for its quality of thought and mature presentation of ideas.