formal analysis (2024)

FAQs

Formal analysis? ›

What is a formal analysis? A formal analysis is more than just a description of a work of art. It is an argument based on your own visual evidence that takes a stance and creates an interesting discussion from the formal elements of the work.

There are four aspects of a formal analysis: description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation.

Formal analysis is an important technique for organizing visual information. In other words, it is a strategy used to translate what you see into written words. This strategy can be applied to any work of art, from any period in history, whether a photograph, sculpture, painting or cultural artifact.

Begin with a general description of the work, and then move on to the more specific elements. Things to consider when writing a formal analysis (in no particular order): Record your first impression(s) of the artwork. What stands out?

A mode of analysis focusing primarily on the identification and description of the formal features (see also form) of a text or artwork and on their relations—rather than on its explicit content, or without reference to its specific cultural or historical context (see also decontextualization).

What is a formal analysis? A formal analysis is more than just a description of a work of art. It is an argument based on your own visual evidence that takes a stance and creates an interesting discussion from the formal elements of the work.

Step 1: Plan and prepare. Step 2: Write your introduction. Step 3: Write the body. Step 4: Write your conclusion.

The central components of a formal analysis are medium (materials), technique (how the object was made), “aesthetics” (style), and “iconography” (symbols & subject matter).

Researchers conduct formal research, a type of research conducted in a particular way to answer a question and to learn and understand new information. An example of formal research would be to see if a particular medication worked.

A formalist critic examines the form of the work as a whole, the form of each individual part of the text (the individual scenes and chapters), the characters, the settings, the tone, the point of view, the diction, and all other elements of the text which join to make it a single text.

How to conclude a formal analysis? ›

Conclusion: The conclusion may summarize your findings and relate back to the theme presented in your introduction; however, you should avoid simply repeating what you offered in the introduction. You may also include any new ideas, insights, or understandings you gained about the work through the analysis process.

Formal analysis is the examination and interpretation of the formal qualities (such as line, shape, color, texture) present in an artwork without considering its subject matter or context. It focuses on how these elements are used by the artist to convey meaning.

Formal Analysis Application of statistical, mathematical, computational, or other formal techniques to analyze or synthesize study data. Investigation Conducting a research and investigation process, specifically performing the experiments, or data/evidence collection.

Strictly speaking, subject is not considered and neither is historical or cultural context. The purest formal analysis is limited to what the viewer sees.

Analysis consists of four main components: assertions (our points of view), examples (evidence that supports these points of view), explanations (justifications of these points of view), and significance (discussions of why these points of view matter).

Key steps to improving critical thinking include analyze, interpret, present, and evaluate.

There are four basic steps: describing, analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating.

The four parts of critique in art are describing, analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating. The four parts rely on each other, and a useful critique integrates the four parts together.