Include images in works cited for writing sample?

[hannahbaldwin1]

I am applying to art history programs this fall. Should I include the images I discuss in the paper I'm sending as a writing sample? My inclination is that they should definitely be part of the paper because they are so fundamental to it. I think of them as part of the works cited list but was taught to attach them to the paper as an appendix. Any advice?

[violetvivian]

I am applying to art history programs this fall. Should I include the images I discuss in the paper I'm sending as a writing sample? My inclination is that they should definitely be part of the paper because they are so fundamental to it. I think of them as part of the works cited list but was taught to attach them to the paper as an appendix. Any advice?

First, if you have more questions about the application process for Art History, you will get better feedback on the Art History board: http://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/66-art-history/

To answer your question--it totally depends on the school and the application format. If the application didn't automatically cut off my writing sample at a certain amount of pages, I always included figures. You're right, they are very important! Nobody really seems to know what the rule is for this, but I don't consider bibliography and figures as part of the page limit. However, some schools (NYU maybe? Can't remember for sure) had upload limits on their online applications, and in these cases, I took the images off my figures list, leaving the caption info, and included a note about how I removed the images for space limitations.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

[fullofpink]

Some schools require it, others don't care, and some say don't do it unless the image you are referring to are really obscure.

[cliopatra]

I am applying to art history programs this fall. Should I include the images I discuss in the paper I'm sending as a writing sample? My inclination is that they should definitely be part of the paper because they are so fundamental to it. I think of them as part of the works cited list but was taught to attach them to the paper as an appendix. Any advice?

IMHO: Although my home discipline is history, I cross over to art history from time to time, and am semi-familiar with visual culture and photographic theory. I too use a lot of photographs and images in my papers, and I say definitely include them if you're writing about them. But where to place them in your work really depends how you are analyzing them in the paper.

If you're using a lot of images (and not photographs) I would place them as appendixes. That way the committee has the option of glancing through them, but they don't clutter your work. If you're analyzing 2-3 I would place them within the paper. Although personally I find it annoying when images are all grouped together in one section of a paper instead of placed thoughtfully within the text. Good luck!

[ZeeMore21]

I am not in art history but I do study visual art as part of my research. For my writing sample, I did include images within the paper and it came out to be 25 pages...I think the maximum number of pages for most of the schools I applied to was 25 pages. To be safe, you could ask departments whether put your images inside your paper or include them in an appendix. I actually didn't ask around...it made much more sense to include the images in the paper so that readers wouldn't have to hassle with going back and forth from the paper to the appendix.

Edited July 21, 2011 by ZeeMore21