Project 1 | Analyzing Visual Rhetoric

Terms You Should Know:

Stakeholder, Rhetoric, Visual Rhetoric (aesthetics, color, media, typography, space), Rhetorical Appeals (Ethos, Pathos, Logos, Kairos), Rhetorical Fallacies  

Project Description:

Students will identify an issue or topic that interests them and research the multiple stakeholders connected to the issue. From these stakeholders, students will select a single organization (company, non-profit, or activist) and think critically about the visual and rhetorical strategies this particular group implements in their campaigns. Finally, students will choose two specific images created by the organization (such as advertisements, PSAs, static images used on a website, flyer, billboard, etc.), and analyze how these visual arguments reflect the organization’s goals.  

Project Outcomes and Objectives:

Students will…

• understand how images convey messages to audiences by analyzing visual strategies develop a thesis statement that makes a claim about the relationship between the two images, including how these images reflect a stakeholder’s goals (Focus)

• support their analysis using primary resources from the stakeholder, the textbook, and outside resources (Evidence)

• write an effective introduction, body, and conclusion; logically organize supporting points (Organization)

• employ a process of revision using peer and instructor feedback to produce a paper that is clearly worded and free of grammar/punctuation errors specifically as they relate to  proofreading, punctuation, run-on sentences, comma splices, and sentence fragments (Style)

• maintain a third-person point of view (Style)

• follow proper MLA structure both in formatting the paper and citing sources (Format)

Assignment:

Students will write a 1,000 – 1,200 word essay that analyzes how the two images represent the interests of the stakeholder (the stakeholder’s goal or message), taking into consideration audience, message, purpose, rhetorical appeals, and / or rhetorical fallacies. In doing so, students should point to specific details from the image to support their claims. In order to effectively analyze the images, students will need to have an accurate understanding of each stakeholder’s goals. Students are required to use a minimum of two sources: one must be the course textbook or an assigned article; the second must be a source from the stakeholder.  

This assignment will be evaluated using the Project 1: Analyzing Visual Rhetoric Rubric.

Role of Research:

Students should support the claims they make about the stakeholder’s perspective / position using outside research. Students may use primary resources from the stakeholder, the textbook, and / or outside resources. Individual instructors may require students to use a certain number of outside sources. At a minimum, students should reference

• Statements from the stakeholder (primary source material)
• The course textbook (secondary source material)

Role of Peer Review:

Using MyReviewers, you will provide feedback via peer review. The peer review process allows you to respond to your peers’ drafts as fellow writers working toward the common goal of producing  insightful visual rhetorical analyses. Both you and your peers will be using each other’s comments and recommendations to improve your work. Thus, your individual commitment to peer review has a real impact on the success of the entire class.

Writing Process:   

Early Draft   

The Early Draft should be used as a brainstorming space where students can begin thinking about the connections between the issue, the various stakeholders, and the visual arguments. Students may use this draft to outline, freewrite, map, etc. as long as the exercise leads to more formulated claims in the subsequent draft.  

Intermediate Draft   

The Intermediate Draft should be a working draft (1,000 – 1,200 words) that analyzes how these visual arguments reflect the concerns of the stakeholder and discusses visual rhetorical strategies that establish relationships between the two images. This draft should include a thesis, all major points, evidence to support these points (including in-text citations from appropriate sources), and a Works Cited page. The draft must also include the two images analyzed by the student which should be embedded into the document.  

Final Draft   

The final draft will be a polished 1,000 – 1,200 word essay that that analyzes how these visual arguments reflect the concerns of the stakeholder and discusses visual rhetorical strategies that establish relationships between the two images. This draft should include a thesis, all major points, evidence to support these points (including in-text citations from appropriate sources), and a Works Cited page. It should be free of grammar and spelling errors and should follow proper MLA structure both in formatting the paper and citing sources. The draft must also include the two images analyzed by the student which should be embedded into the document.