“Well begun is half done” , is a well-known proverb. This principle is very important in the matter of writing applications for jobs as well. The applications and any piece of writing for that matter is a kind of psychological link between the writer and the reader. It mirrors the psychological frame work of the person writing it. An application reflects the job seeker’s mind and enables the potential employer to form an impression about him.
This text is intended to help students improve their ability to write about visual things. I explain the most common types of analysis used by art historians and a little bit about how these methods developed. This is not a history of art history, however, nor is it an introduction to the theory and methods of art history. Major scholars are not mentioned and complicated ideas have been presented only in terms relevant to their practical application. It also is not a guide to learning how to look at art. For that, Joshua Taylor’s Learning to Look remains unsurpassed.3
Almost all of my examples come from texts written in English. Translations change exactly what is of greatest interest here: the words and concepts used by good writers about art. Furthermore, there is a history to the language used in English by art historians. Sometimes this has shaped the meaning of a term, occasionally in significant ways. A few examples will be discussed below. Even in their use of ordinary words, however, these writers can serve as models. Their vocabulary and ideas offer a wealth of contributions to the internal resources upon which we all draw when we write. The more developed these resources are, the more fluent and expressive writing based upon them will be.
Painting, sculpture, and architecture have been considered the major forms of the fine arts during much of the Western tradition. They have attracted many of the most ambitious artists and, consequently, more attention from art historians. Architecture, however, like video and electronic mediums, requires a specialized descriptive and analytical vocabulary. Just as the art historical methods I explain are the ones most commonly used, so the forms of art discussed in the passages I have selected are those most frequently covered in art history courses. For the same reason, most of the art analyzed in the text comes from the West.
I have not included any reproductions, in the hope that more attention will be given to the passages quoted. Glancing at a picture and then skimming text about it is not the same as trying to create a mental image of something from words alone. The absence of illustrations also should make it easier for each reader to decide which words seem particularly effective in communicating information about visual things. However, I have given enough information about each work so that a picture of it can be found without difficulty. Many of them will be familiar from art history surveys.
Another editorial decision I made was to cite the names of the authors quoted within my text. The normal practice of putting that information in the notes makes it easier for the reader, who is given a smoothly flowing argument instead of one constantly interrupted by names and book titles. Here, however, since my subject is writing, identifying the writer with the passage seemed useful. The most important art historians of the past have birth and death dates in parentheses after the first mention of their names.
This is a guide to writing about art, not to writing itself. It is no substitute for a book like The Elements of Style, the classic but still inspiring text by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White.4 Nonetheless, I would like to begin with a few fundamental principles. Paragraphs should be the basic organizing unit of any essay. Each one should develop a single idea, introduced at the beginning of the paragraph by a topic sentence. The paragraphs should be organized so that the ideas follow one another in a logical sequence. This means that the topic sentences should form an outline of what the writer intends to express. Sentences should be complete, and grammar and spelling must be correct. Words should convey the writer’s meaning as directly as possible.
The choice of which verb tenses to use must be consistent throughout a single piece of writing. My personal choice is to use the present tense for anything that still exists, like a work of art or a book, and the past tense for a completed action. In other words, Michelangelo sculpted David (because he did it centuries ago), butDavid shows Michelangelo's interest in the Classical conception of the nude male body (because it still does). This seems to me the most logical approach, although sometimes it leads to awkward phrasing. Many people use the present tense for both cases. In other words, Michelangelo uses the Classical conception of the nude male body in his sculpture David. Whatever the choice, it must be adhered to throughout any particular essay.
To be effective, a paper must be directed toward a single goal. The purpose matters to the writer and it matters to the reader, who will have expectations about what comes next based on what has been promised. Writing intended to evoke a vivid impression of a work of art has to present very different information from an interpretation of the subject that depends upon detailed historical arguments. For this reason, it is important to let the reader know as soon as possible what kind of analysis will follow. Every aspect of the paper should contribute to it.
Success is measured by how well the intended meaning has been communicated to the intended reader. There is no substitute for having someone read a draft, or for putting a paper aside and returning to revise it later. Even before that, though, a writer should try to assess the clarity and logic of the presentation. Underlining topic sentences to see if they really do outline the argument is helpful. Quickly sketching elements mentioned in a visual description is another revealing exercise. If there is no place in the drawing for a particular detail, it has been introduced at the wrong point in the essay or essential elements have been neglected. Most of all, the writer should be prepared to revise and revise and revise. Good papers never just happen.
Like other forms of composition, applications are also written with a specific aim in a view. There is some similarity between a salesman and an applicant. A good salesman is able to sell his goods if he is able to impress his potential buyer. The quality of goods being sold by them is the primary thing. Yet his ability to convince the buyer of that quality is equally important. In the same way, although what ultimately enables the applicant to get a job is his own ability, yet, the first impression that he makes on his potential employer is conveyed by the way he writes his application.
Like any other piece of writing, application writing, which includes writing application for jobs, is also an art. The foremost thing which an applicant should keep in mind is the simplicity and force of the application. A good application is utilitarian in style that is, it keeps the utility in mind. In other words it must directly aim at what it wants to convey. Beating about the bush or using more words than necessary is to be strictly avoided in writing an application.
Here the analogy of a salesman deserves repetition. A goods salesman will not thing of approaching a buyer who has no use for his product. It would be foolish of a salesman if he tried to sell after-shave lotion to a lady. In the same way, the applicant must approach the right kind of employer for his offer of job. This is all the more important where you send an unsolicited application, requesting someone to consider you for employment. If you seek a job as a stenographer, it would be futile to approach a firm which is primarily concerned with engineering goods. They may need a stenographer or two but there is very little likelihood of finding such a post vacant unless you have definite information about it.
Even in case of solicited applications, one must not thinking of sending in an application unless one is completely sure that he has the right qualifications. A salesman who tries to cheat a customer by promising the features which his goods not possess will sooner or later be shunned by his buyers,
So you must be sure whether you are well qualified and have the aptitude for the post you are applying for. Your qualifications and experience must match the requirements of the job mentioned in the advertisement.
However, sometimes you may feel that if you got a particular job, you would be able to satisfy your employers even if you don not possess the exact qualifications required for it. For example, suppose an employer has stipulated that he wants a M.Sc. with first class as a requirement and you have a high second class, or you have only four years, experience whereas the employer wants a minimum of five years’ experience. In that case you can send in your application. But it would be proper to make it clear to the employer that you would be able to satisfy them with your intelligence and hard work. It is possible that the employer is convinced and you might get a chance. But if the qualifications of a candidate are widely different from what are required, he should not think of sending in an application.
If you possess such extra qualifications as are not mentioned in the advertisement, you may still mention then in your application if these qualifications are concerned with the job you are applying for. But if they are not likely to be of use in your potential job, there is no use of mentioning them. For example, if you have obtained a diploma in journalism, it will not be out of place to mention it in your application when you are applying for the post of a script-wrier. But it would be futile to mention it when applying for the job of a Lecturer in history.
Some mention must be made here about the appearance of your application. As we said in the beginning, the first impression counts. Even before you impress the employer with the presentation and language of the application, he is influenced by its physical appearance.
If you have hand-writing your application in a very bad handwriting or if there are smudges and cuttings in your applications, these are likely to cast a bad impression on the man whom you want to impress most in order to get the job. In the same way if you cram too many sheets into a very small envelope, these will reach their destination all folded and cramped and may annoy the potential employer. While no employer would think of rejecting an application only on this count, yet other things remaining equal, a neat and clean application is likely to swing the balance in your favor.
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