Please submit your rough draft here by Sunday, Februay 6. The full assignment prompt for Project 1 is below. Although I do not expect a complete and polished essay at this point, your rough draft should be as complete as you can make it and should contain the following elements:

  • minimum 3 full pages of writing
  • an introduction
  • a thesis statement
  • at least three well-developed, analytical body paragraphs (three paragraphs in addition to the intro, so four paragraphs total) that use evidence in some way (describe a feature of the image and explain its significance to your argument)
  • bullet points or outline indicating the points/paragraphs you still need to write 
  • a works cited page if applicable 
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Project One: Visual Analysis

min. 1,000 words, Final Draft Due Sunday, February 13, by 11:59pm on Canvas

20% of final grade

Thousands of images flash before our eyes every dayadvertisements, product labels, movie posters, funny memes, directional signs. Often we absorb these images and the messages they contain without a second thought. But a mindful approach to rhetoric lets us consider why were being shown that image and by whom. It gives us space to determine how an image is intended to act upon its audience, which features of the image accomplish these rhetorical goals, and whether we want to be acted on by the image or not.

This assignment asks you to take one image from popular media (from the options provided on Canvas) and describe its rhetorical situation (audience, purpose, context, genre). You should also describe any rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos, kairos) at play in the image. The goal is to write a detailed, analytical essay that makes some argument about the image under consideration.

Here are some questions you might want to address in your visual analysis:

What is the message or purpose being communicated through the image?

Who is the intended audience?

What effects does the image have on that intended audience?

What rhetorical appeals are consciously being used through the image?

What elements are being used to further develop purpose or reach the audience?

How is the image commenting on historical/social/political situations?

How is the image playing into or subverting the preset roles or assumptions of their particular genres? 

Getting Started: You will be able to choose the album cover, movie poster, advertisement, or magazine cover to analyze (see Unit I folder on Canvas for list of options). Its important to note that whatever image you select, you will need to think critically and deeply examine it. So even if you are familiar with the image, you will need to investigate it closely and research its context in order to better determine the purpose and audience. Context provides a foundation that helps us interpret images. You will need to provide a brief summary of the context toward the beginning of your analysis to help situate the reader.

Remember the purpose of an analysis is to go over something in-detail. I want you to think more about depth and specificity, and less about coverage. The key to an in-depth visual analysis is providing thorough explanations of how your image connects to the rhetorical situation and draws on rhetorical appeals. The reader should be able to tell what the image looks like through your writing without having to look at the image itself.

After you have selected your album cover, movie poster, advertisement, or magazine cover, you should start researching the context, genre, and historical/social/political situations that surround it. This explanation of context will help you write a brief summary that will situate your reader into your analysis. After that, you will need to think about the purpose and audience. You will need to draw on specific elements depicted through the image in order to communicate how and why those graphics and design elements reach the intended audience and convey the overall purpose of the image.

Evaluation:

  • Identification of major rhetorical points (introduction, thesis, analysis)
  • Specificity
  • Minimal summary
  • Analysis of the purpose and intended audience
  • Organizational structure (strong introduction, fluid transitions and topic sentences, coherent paragraph form)
  • Evidence for rhetorical situation and appeals supported by details/aspects from the image
  • Relevance to the assigned topic
  • Audience engagement
  • Grammar and spelling efficiency
  • Effort (demonstrated by page count and proofreading)

Putting It Together: Your essay should be a minimum of 1,000 words, double-spaced, in Times New Roman, 12 pt. font, 1 margins, and include a creative title. Please proofread your essay thoroughly before submission. The essay is due Sunday, February 13 by 11:59pm on Canvas.