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Rhetorical analysis of a visual argument

For your second essay assignment, you will be completing a rhetorical analysis of a visual argument – in this case, aTV commercial. First, you will need to choose one of the following five commercials on which to write your analysis:
1. Channel 4 Paralympics – Meet the Superhumans
http://youtu.be/kKTamH__xuQ
2. Chrysler – Eminem Super Bowl Commercial

3. Procter & Gamble – World’s Best Job

4. Dove – Real Beauty Sketches

5. The Rock – Got Milk? (Super Bowl 2013)

The following is an overview of the requirements for your essay:
1. After your introductory paragraph, write a brief summary of the argument. This is the “They Say” part of your essay (see Chapter 1 of TS/IS). In this section, use your skills of summarizing (Chapter 2 of TS/IS) to highlight the main points of the ad – what do you see and hear? Imagine your reader has not seen the video. However, leave the detailed analysis for the body paragraphs. This summary section should be no more than one third of your paper, and should normally fit into one concise paragraph.
2. Next, you should compose a rhetorical analysis of the essay. In your analysis, you should first identify the claim the advertisement is making and the types of evidence it is utilizing. Then you should determine the target audience and identify the evidence that shows this particular audience is the one the ad creators had in mind. You should also discuss the rhetorical situation of this ad, which is the purpose, occasion, and audience. Consider the use of ethos, pathos, and logos and offer specific examples. You do not have to discuss all three (ethos, pathos, and logos) if they do not play a significant part in the ad, but you may wish to discuss it anyway if the absence itself is noteworthy!
3. Your thesis statement (at the end of the intro paragraph) should draw an evaluative conclusion about the ad – a judgment of its message or its methods – and the choice of how to evaluate it is up to you. Be sure your thesis statement is well developed and contains the claim + reason format.
*Note: You may not be able to develop your thesis statement until you’ve done some writing about the ad,
so don’t pressure yourself to create the thesis right away. You can always go back once you’ve decided
what your evaluation will be.
4. Remember to keep your focus on the ad’s strategies toward its own audience – not whether you like the product or agree with the message. Your role here is to give a critique or review of how this ad gets its
message across to its intended audience. This claim you make about the ad’s effectiveness will become
your thesis statement, which appears at the end of your intro paragraph.

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