For this assignment, you will be the “anti-Calvin” and actively analyze visual rhetoric as it relates to an image you select. Choosing one or more powerful pieces of visual rhetoric, write a 500-750 word essay that analyzes the rhetorical strategies and appeals used to create persuasive meaning in the image. That is, you should come to some understanding of what message the image puts forth, then figure out what in the message creates that meaning. Your end product will be an essay in which you will “read” an image just as you would read and write about a written text. In this essay, you should answer the following questions:
- What message does the image put forth(s)?
- How is this message conveyed to the viewer?
- Is this message effective?
Follow these steps to proceed with this assignment:
Select your text(s). Choose a visual text from this collection that most appeals to you. You may also use an image of your choosing. Unsure if your image will work? Send me an email.
Pre-writing/Planning. Do a five minute pre-write on your image. This pre-write should be in addition to any free-writing on the topic done in class. For your pre-write, you may do brainstorming, free-writing, clustering, or the alternate strategy of your choice. Be sure to consider the question you plan on answering in the essay and think about organization and the way you will shape your essay.
Outline Your Essay. Based on your prewriting and interpretation of the image, type up a quick outline (formal or informal) that provides an overall organizational plan for your essay. Your outline should also contain your essay’s thesis and the image you are analyzing..
Write Your Rough Draft. In the same document you typed your outline, write a persuasive interpretation of your texts, considering both the messages within them and the cultural reality they reflect/create (i.e. how does your text go about demonstrating this message?). Be sure you consider the assumptions underlying the texts, questions of materiality, layout, audience and purpose.
Checklist
Before you turn in your essay, make sure you can answer “yes” to the following questions.
▢ Does your essay have a specific title (other than Essay 1)?
▢ Does your introduction capture the reader’s attention?
▢ Do you include a well-constructed thesis statement at the end of the introduction?
▢ Does each body paragraph contain a topic sentence?
▢ Does each body paragraph contain specific evidence from the image to support your opinion?
▢ Does each body paragraph contain a reason (i.e. commentary) for your opinion?
▢ Does your conclusion reiterate your overall claim about the image?
▢ Does your concluding paragraph bring your essay to a satisfying close?
▢ Does each paragraph transition from one to the next?
▢ Is the essay written in third person?
▢ Is your essay formatted correctly? (See MLA information on eCampus)
▢ Is your essay free of grammatical errors?
▢ Is essay at least 500 words?
▢ Does your final draft contain only the essay and the image you analyzed?
PS: find an example essay attached and the rubric
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