{"id":"study-formal-analysis-elements-only","audience":"college","category":"studying","technique":"constraints","track":"study","title":"Describe a painting using only formal elements","free":false,"task":"Your Art History professor wants formal analysis: what you see, not history or meaning. Get exactly 3 numbered lines starting 'Line:', 'Color:' and 'Composition:', each describing the painting in under 20 words, plain text. Use only the visual description in your notes, with no history, artist biography, meaning or symbolism.","materialLabel":"Your notes on the painting (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"ARTH 1100 - Intro to Art History - Formal analysis practice (Prof. Duval)\n\nPAINTING: \"Orchard in Wind\" by Marguerite Alban (1902), oil on canvas (fictional work for practice)\n\nWHAT I SEE (from the slide, notes in class):\n- Line: tree trunks lean diagonally from lower left to upper right; branches are short, curving strokes.\n- Color: mostly cool greens and blue-grays; one small patch of bright orange (a scarf on a figure) in the lower right.\n- Composition: horizon line sits low, about one-quarter from the bottom; the sky takes up most of the canvas; the trees cluster on the left, leaving the right side more open.\n\nThings that are NOT formal analysis (Prof. Duval): \"the artist's life, what it 'means,' symbolism, the historical period. Save that for contextual analysis next week.\"\n\nAlban's bio: she painted this after moving to the coast, and critics said the wind symbolized change. (Not for this assignment!)\n\nMidterm has a formal analysis question. Practice paragraph due Thursday.","rules":[{"type":"numberedItems","count":3},{"type":"maxWords","max":70},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Asking for an analysis","why":"The AI mixes in the artist's life and what the painting 'means', which isn't formal analysis.","fix":"Say: \"Only what I see: line, color, composition.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Not giving the labels","why":"The AI writes a paragraph that blends everything.","fix":"Give the shape: \"3 lines starting Line:, Color:, Composition:.\"","checks":["r0","numberedItems"]},{"title":"Inventing details","why":"The AI may describe things that aren't in your notes.","fix":"Add: \"Use only the visual details in my notes.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total and it often lands 20% over.","fix":"Cap each line: \"each under 18 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Forgetting where it will be read","why":"AI formats for a screen, with bold and headings that show up as stray symbols in your notes.","fix":"Say: \"Plain text, no bold, no headings.\"","checks":["plainText"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Gives the labels","patterns":["line:","color:","composition:"]},{"label":"Rules out meaning and history","patterns":["no (history|meaning|symbol|biograph)","formal","only what (I|you) see"]},{"label":"Says how many lines","patterns":["\\b(3|three)\\b.{0,25}line"]},{"label":"Sets a length limit","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","word (limit|count)","under \\d+"]},{"label":"Says to use only the material","patterns":["only.{0,30}(notes|material|source|excerpt|text|reading|passage|draft|facts|article|handout|sheet|guide|chapter|data|list)","no outside","don't add","do not add","don't invent","visual"]}],"hint":"Formal analysis is about what's on the canvas, and the AI loves to add meaning. Give it the three labels and rule out history, biography and symbolism.","rubricLabels":["Has 3 lines in order starting 'Line:', 'Color:' and 'Composition:'","Each line describes visual details from the notes (diagonal trunks and curving strokes; cool greens and blue-grays with one orange patch; low horizon, large sky, trees clustered left)","Contains no history, biography, meaning, mood interpretation or symbolism (such as the wind symbolizing change or the move to the coast)"]}