Discuss two or more visual elements from the lessons. The essay should cite at least one source. The source should be cited i

Guidelines for Essay #2 – Visual Analysis

  • Visual Analysis EssayGuidelines for Visual Analysis Essay
    Assignment Overview
    Your next major essay in this course will be a visual analysis essay.  In this essay, you will be expected to apply the concepts covered in Units 1-4 as you analyze an image to show some of its larger meanings.  This includes knowledge of the writing process, rhetorical situation, formal register, essay structure, and visual analysis. This essay also requires you to cite at least one credible source.

    Due Dates
    Refer to the assignment calendar for due dates. Remember, peer reviews are graded separately and have their own due dates in the assignment calendar.

    Purpose and Learning Objectives
    In this assignment, you should practice analyzing visual texts, using the writing process, and developing a well-constructed essay in formal register. The essay should show how an analysis of the visual components of an image leads to a better understanding of the image.

    Process for Completion 

    1. The first step in this process will be to choose an image.  Browse the images available through the Gordon Parks Foundation Archives.  The link is available near the end of Unit 3.  Choose an image that you find engaging and that you feel offers ample opportunity for analysis. Some images are interesting, but they’re difficult to talk about.  The image you choose will be the subject of your essay.
    2. After you have chosen your image, you should engage in some prewriting activities using the ideas and terms presented in Unit 4.  First, take stock of your initial reactions to the image.  What emotions did you feel as you first looked at the photograph?  What aspects about the image lead viewers to react a certain way?
    3. Before you begin writing, you will want to perform some research. This assignment requires at least one source (print or web). If you're choosing an image about the Civil Rights Movement, you might want to research the movement. If you're choosing an image about Flavio in Rio de Janeiro, you might want to research how Gordon Parks met Flavio. You're welcome to use more than one source, but be sure to keep track of the information you gain from your source so that you can cite the source appropriately.
    4. Next, analyze the image by looking closely at the content, framing, composition, focus, color, lighting and context.  What interesting or unique features do you notice about the image?  What is the cultural or historical context of the image?  You should record all of these activities. Some of them will become important pieces of your final draft.
    5. Next, it will be time to find your focus and begin generating a working thesis statement.  For this assignment, your thesis will make a claim about the meaning of the image.  In other words, what message does the image communicate?  Remember, every image tells a story and an image may tell a different story depending on who is looking.  Once you have decided what idea or story the image communicates to you, you will need to explain how content, framing, focus, color, angle and lighting come together to create that story or convey meaning. Your thesis will be more specific if you show which visual elements your essay discusses and what they do to create meaning. So, an example thesis might be something like this: “Through content, framing, and angle, the image demonstrates how segregation affected not only adults but also the children of black families in the South.”
    6. After completing the previous steps, it will be time to begin drafting your essay.  The following outline might help you to structure your initial draft.
      1. Introduction: Identify and describe the image. It is so very important that you identify the image very clearly. Use the name of the photographer and the image: for example, you might say, “In Gordon Parks’s photograph titled “American Gothic,” a woman stands in front of a flag with a broom in her hand and a mop in the background.” In the introduction, you might show why the image is important or relevant or provide some background information about it. Please embed the image into the body of your essay somewhere so that the readers can see it. One way to embed the image is to put your mouse on the image and right-click, and then select “copy.” Next, go to your document and right-click on your document, and then select “paste.”
      2. Thesis:  Tell your readers what idea or story the image communicates. Be sure the thesis shows the result of your analysis. (See the above discussion in #4 under Process for Completion.)
      3. Supporting paragraphs:   Explain how the visual elements come together to create meaning.  In multiple body paragraphs, discuss the effect of content, framing, composition, color, focus, angle, lighting and/or context.  You should not discuss every one of these elements, but you should discuss enough of them so that your reader understands how the visual elements work together to create a story and to create meaning. You may have three or more body paragraphs dedicated to this task.  It would be a good idea to discuss just one or two elements in each paragraph.
      4. Conclusion:  At a minimum, your conclusion should remind your reader how the visual elements convey meaning.
    7. Minimum Requirements
    • The final draft of your essay should be between 600 and 900 words in length (about 2 -3 pages long).
    • The essay should meet the expectation of an academic rhetorical situation. You will be expected to use formal register English.  Your audience will be a general audience of educated adults. 
    • The image you have chosen as the subject for your essay should be linked to or embedded in the body of the essay.
    • The essay should be written in MLA format, with a proper header, page numbers, title, and font. See the MLA guidelines in the unit.
    • The essay should discuss two or more visual elements from the lessons.
    • The essay should cite at least one source. The source should be cited in MLA format, so there should be an in-text citation for the source and a works cited page. Books, journals, magazines, and web sources are all acceptable for this assignment, but you should be sure to consider the reliability of your sources. You should not use Wikipedia.
    • If you do not meet the minimum requirements for the essay, you should not expect to earn more than a 60% on the assignment.

      Plagiarism
      Plagiarism is using someone else’s words or ideas without giving credit and is a serious academic offense.  It can range from:

    • Turning in a paper any part of which you did not write, 
    • Cutting and pasting a paper together from various sources without attributing the sources correctly,
    • Changing a few words but basically keeping most of the words and sentence structure of the original,
    • Using the ideas of another without giving credit to the person who originally had the idea.
    • Using the exact words of the source without using quotation marks even if you give the name of the source.
    • Refer to the syllabus for consequences of plagiarism in this class. For more information, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/

      Submission Protocol
      Your assignment must be submitted as a .doc, .docx, or .rtf attachment. Microsoft Word is available to students for free. Let me know if you need help gaining access to it.

The Gordon Parks Foundation Archive

http://www.gordonparksfoundation.org/

This link will take you to an archive of photographs by Gordon Parks.  Choose one image from the archive to be the subject of your visual analysis.

http://www.gordonparksfoundation.org

    Get 20% Discount on This Paper
    Pages (550 words)
    Approximate price: -

    Try it now!

    Get 20% Discount on This Paper

    We'll send you the first draft for approval by at
    Total price:
    $0.00

    How it works?

    Follow these simple steps to get your paper done

    Place your order

    Fill in the order form and provide all details of your assignment.

    Proceed with the payment

    Choose the payment system that suits you most.

    Receive the final file

    Once your paper is ready, we will email it to you.

    Our Services

    Ace Writing Center has stood as the world’s leading custom essay writing services providers. Once you enter all the details in the order form under the place order button, the rest is up to us.

    Essays

    Essay Writing Services

    At Ace Writing Center, Nowadays, students normally have extremely busy schedules. You will note that some of them have to take on some evening or weekend jobs in order to get some income that can help them to sustain in college or in the university. This can deny them a chance to write all the essays given. Others usually get bombarded with a lot of work by their lecturers. This can still delay such students from working on all their essays. However, some of them usually try to work on all these essays but end up delivering their work late. This can prevent them from graduating since most lecturers are strict on deadlines. If you want to write a business essay, the wise way is to hire an outstanding essay writing service like us, so that you can get the best results. If you are keen, you will note that many companies usually overcharge their customers. Some of them are there only to make money. And in reality, they really don’t care to build a long term commitment with students. You should not choose such companies. You should take your time and choose a reliable company to work with. Ace Writing Center is the ultimate solution for you. We have been offering our writing service for more than 7 years. This is a clear indication that you will get quality essay writing service. We have a wide range of writers who can work on any business essay that you might have. We believe in doing extensive research so that we can provide quality work to all our clients. .

    Admissions

    Admission and Business Papers

    Have you ever had to write an admission essay for college? The majority of students face the same issues when applying to a university or college and many in such situations decide they need professional help to cope with this matter. They get in a situation when the deadline keeps coming closer but lack motivation to start because they are just not sure if their writing skills are strong enough. We have a solution for you! Ace Writing Center is the best admission essay writing service with a large professional team and years of experience in providing high-quality papers to students of all levels and faculties. The mission of our team is to help students make their dreams of entering a good college come true and that’s what we offer!.

    Editing

    Editing and Proofreading

    Sometimes all the words for your paper just flow out of your mind and into your fingers. You type quickly at your keyboard and there they are, your beautiful words right there on the screen. But you have no idea how to polish it up. You may be wishing there was a paper writing service that offered this type of writing service. Look no more! Here at Ace Writing Center, we offer you an editing and proofreading option that you can't find anywhere else..

    Coursework

    College Essay Writing

    In case you are familiar Ace Writing Center, you know the way to distinguish a better company from a cheap one exactly. First of all, poor service website does not have a sufficient support. We think support team is an essential part of success; it has to answer all clients’ questions and be a connecting link between clients and their writers. On our web-service you will get answers about anything you need and your writer will receive all your instructions, assignments and requirements exactly and swiftly. A writing service that we run has got a flexible pricing system that will save you from senseless wastes and many bonus systems that let you sparing money for something important for you.

    See all services