Assignment Sheet: Essay #2–Rhetorical Analysis]
For this essay, you will be performing rhetorical analysis of advertisements, either in the form of commercials or PSAs.
First, choose 2-3 visual or media examples that are related to one another, either in terms of message, topic (either a cultural value/aspect/issue or a product), and/or creator. These examples can be any kind of visual or media: a print/still advertisement, a commercial (video or audio), PSA, social media post, a billboard, political cartoons, etc. Feel free to mix and match media!
Some suggestions for these examples include:
Examples that are communicating a message on the same cultural issue (such as anti-smoking, drinking/texting and driving, domestic violence, politics, environmentalism, etc).
Examples that discuss the same cultural value (such as home ownership, career or financial success, the military, family values, patriotism, etc.), either reinforcing or challenging it.
Examples that are promoting a similar product (such as luxury or sport cars, trucks, make-up and other beauty products, food, clothing and accessories, etc.)
Examples that share the same creator and demonstrate a larger campaign for the brand, organization, or individual (such as Nike, Banksy, McDonald’s, or the CDC)
Examples that are similar in one of the above ways, but come from different time periods, allowing you to trace the evolution of these messages and how they’re communicated (such as looking at how cigarettes, families, men or women’s roles, or a brand itself like Nike are represented differently over time).
You can use any of the examples we’ve discussed so far in class or select ones of your choosing.
More topic ideas and tips for choosing them can be found here: Topic Suggestions for Essay #2
Main Guidelines:
Using these examples, you will analyze not only what these media are communicating, but:
Who is the audience that this example intends to reach,
Who is the creator and what kind of reputation/connotations do they have?
Why is this media example created? What’s its purpose?
How does the creator use rhetorical appeals in order to express his/her message, and
How the creator reinforces the message through other rhetorical elements such as design and composition?
After analyzing each example, conclude your essay by discussing how these media compare to one another:
How are these examples, in terms of both message, composition, and other rhetorical aspects similar or different?
How effective are these media at achieving their purposes and communicating their messages?
How do these examples relate back to American culture? What kind of cultural values, issues, or behaviors are being reinforced or addressed in these examples?
As a viewer, what was your response to these examples? Are you a member of this intended audience?
Your argument for this essay will answer the following questions: What rhetorical and visual aspects or techniques do these examples use to convey their messages? How effective are these creators at communicating their ideas on this topic? Are some more effective than others and how? What larger cultural messages or values are being communicated (either challenged or reinforced) here?
When choosing your examples, you can pull from a variety of media types (i.e. examine a PSA and a political cartoon) or from the same kind of media type. You can use examples that are from different time periods as well to show how this topic, creator, or product has changed (or stayed the same) over the years.
To help ensure that your analysis is evidenced by a close reading of the selected media examples, you will only be allowed to use 2 outside secondary sources. You should have enough details from the examples themselves to pull from and analyze here, but outside sources may help with context or learning about the creator. As always with analysis, providing plenty of evidence from the argument itself is necessary in order to support your claims.
The final essay will be 3-4 pages long and in proper MLA format (12 point font, Times New Roman, double spaced, 1” margins on each side, page numbers and last name on each page). Your final page will count as your Works Cited page, and the examples you’re analyzing as well as any secondary sources used will need to be cited
Topic Suggestions for Essay 2
If you’re running into a mental block with a topic for this essay, below are some suggestions to begin exploring. However, you’re welcome to use a topic of your own as well, so long as it meets the guidelines of the essay.
Tips for Choosing Your Topic/Media Examples
To help you compose this essay, below are a few tips to help you with structuring and going about your analysis in this essay. Be sure to also take a look at some of the example student essays provided in this module to help you get an idea of how you can go about this essay.
Because your essay will be a close reading/examination of 2-3 media examples, there are a few things we want to keep in mind to help ensure that we’ll have enough to discuss in this essay.
Picking media examples that relate back to a larger topic that you’re interested in is helpful for this essay, as it’ll make the process and overall analysis much more interesting and engaging. I may not be that interested in men’s deodorant advertisements, since I’m not a part of that intended audience, so I might go for examples and topics that are more relevant or interesting to me.
Choose media examples that are complex enough to not only warrant analyzing, but have enough components to actually discuss. If the example you choose is too simple, you’ll find it harder to talk about it in detail. But don’t be fooled: there are images that may appear simple and minimal, but carry a lot in terms of implicit message, design choices, the role of the creator and audience, etc. (like that VW “I’m in…” auto-complete print ad we looked at). Before you commit to an example, try to run through those different analysis steps to see if you’ll have things to talk about with it.
Choose media examples are in someway related to one another, but not too similar. For example, if I choose 2 advertisements, one for Mercedes and one for BMW, that are extremely similar in terms of design, message, etc., I’ll likely find myself repeating a lot of information (“Both ads feature grey cars; both ads put the car in an urban setting; both ads have short, to-the-point text that emphasizes the car’s speed and performance; both are luxury and performance brands”, etc.). Differences are just as interesting to analyze as similarities, so make sure that you’ve chosen examples that allow you to discuss multiple aspects of each.
Topic Ideas (and some places to find images)
Collection #1: click here (Links to an external site.)
Collection #2: click here (Links to an external site.)
Objects:
Cars (luxury, eco-friendly, sport)
Fast Food (or other kinds of foods & food items)
Beverages (soda, alcohol, bottled water, sports drinks)
Clothing
Make-up and Grooming products (soap, shaving cream, shampoo, perfume, face wash, toothpaste)
Cleaning products
Electronics (computers, phones, televisions, video games)
Prescription Drugs/Medication
Cultural Values:
Patriotism
Career
Equality
Wealth
Family (including marriage and parenting)
Health
Education
Home Ownership
Retirement
The American Dream
2nd Amendment
Beauty
Privacy & Security
Social Issues:
Gay Rights
Feminism
Police Brutality
Domestic Violence (and other forms of abuse)
Mental Health
Class issues
Race issues
War
Economy
Presidential/Political Campaigns
The Environment
Poverty
Behaviors:
Diets
Driving
Relaxation
Consumption
Exercise
Dating
Drug Use, Smoking, Drinking, Gambling (or other addictive behavior)
Brands
Automobiles: Ford, Dodge, Chevy, Honda, Volkswagen, Mazda, BMW, Lexus, Mercedes, Cadillac, Porsche, Tesla, Harley Davidson
Beauty and Grooming: Dove, Old Spice, Neutrogena, Cover Girl, Revlon, Dior, Chanel, Dr. Bronner’s, Tampax
Food: McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC, Domino’s, Carl’s Jr, Got Milk?, Snickers, Skittles, Doritos, Lean Cuisine, Nutrisystem, Gatorade, Coca Cola
Organizations and Major Brands: NFL, ASPCA, Nike, Apple, Windows, Susan G. Komen, PETA, US Military (Navy, Air Force, Marines, Army, National Guard)
I will need a thesis statement for this essay
Name Megan tolliver
Mrs Geoffrey
English 1020
July 8,2024
