Artbull Writing Style And Citation

---
name: artbull-writing-style-and-citation
description: Use when polishing prose and formatting citations for an Art Bulletin article to The Chicago Manual of Style — endnotes (not author-date), full credit-line captions, and consistent CAA-style formatting. Art-historical writing must be precise about objects and rigorous in its notes. Handles style and citation; it does not do the analysis.
---

# Writing Style & Citation (artbull-writing-style-and-citation)

The Art Bulletin follows **The Chicago Manual of Style**, using **endnotes (not footnotes)** for the
scholarly apparatus, per the CAA Publications Style Guide. The prose must be precise about objects and
arguments, and the notes and captions must be flawlessly consistent. (Verify the current Chicago
edition — the Style Guide states the 17th; an older page referenced the 16th. See 待核实.)

## When to trigger

- Final stylistic polish before submission
- Converting citations to Chicago **notes** form (endnotes)
- Formatting captions and credit lines
- A reviewer or editor flagged inconsistent or non-Chicago citations

## Style & citation norms

1. **Chicago notes, as endnotes.** Numbered consecutively, superscript after punctuation; full
   citation at first mention, short form thereafter (CMOS **chapter 14**). Not author-date.
2. **Precise art-historical prose.** Name media, techniques, and conventions correctly; describe
   works exactly; avoid vague evaluative adjectives that stand in for analysis.
3. **Captions and credit lines.** Artist, *italicized title*, date, medium, dimensions (inches then
   centimeters), collection and location, and the **required credit/copyright line** in parentheses,
   exactly as the rights holder mandates (see `artbull-images-and-permissions`).
4. **Figure references in text.** Consistent "Figure n" references; figure numbers carry no period;
   every figure is cited in the prose.
5. **Quotations and translations.** Original language where wording matters, with accurate
   translations; consistent treatment of titles, foreign terms, and transliteration.
6. **Manuscript mechanics.** 12-point, double-spaced, Microsoft Word (not PDF); endnotes, not
   footnotes; one consistent style throughout.

## Anti-patterns

- Author-date citations (The Art Bulletin uses Chicago **notes**)
- Footnotes instead of endnotes; inconsistent short-form citations
- Captions missing dimensions, location, or the mandated credit line
- Figures never referenced in the prose, or referenced inconsistently
- Evaluative adjectives ("masterful," "stunning") substituting for description
- Submitting a PDF (breaks the office's ability to anonymize) — submit Word

## Output format

```
【Citation style】Chicago notes / endnotes, CMOS ch. 14? [Y/N]
【Chicago edition】confirmed on live page? (17th per Style Guide; 待核实)
【Captions】full credit lines + mandated wording? [Y/N]
【Figure refs】every figure cited, consistent "Figure n"? [Y/N]
【Prose】precise about objects, no filler adjectives? [Y/N]
【Format】Word, 12-pt, double-spaced, endnotes? [Y/N]
【Next】artbull-review-process
```

## Supplementary resources

- [`../../resources/external_tools.md`](../../resources/external_tools.md) — Chicago notes reference managers and manuscript tooling
- [`../../resources/official-source-map.md`](../../resources/official-source-map.md) — Chicago edition (待核实), CMOS ch. 14, caption/credit-line format