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Overview: As the basis for
this two-page essay, you should select a media image combining language and graphics in a
way that interests you. Your task will be to write a two-page guided tour of the chosen
document, analyzing its message and the means by which it is expressed.
I suggest you look for print
advertisements in magazines, but you may also choose to work with a photograph
accompanying a newspaper story or even a television or radio "text," if you are
willing and able to provide a copy in some form. Hints: Avoid bland or overly
simple examples. Consider searching archived magazines in the library, or even volumes of
advertising agency awards, etc.
Process:
- Prewriting
- Identify the object of your analysis, obtain a copy and prepare it for inclusion in your
paper (scan, mount, etc.); be sure to copy publication information.
- "Preview" the object, considering author/sponsor, place of publication,
implied audience, etc. How do these provide a "context" for it?
- Write a detailed, thorough description of the object, leaving nothing out.
- Write a summary of your description, emphasizing key elements only.
- Discover as much as you can about the document, using the checklist (p. 97) as a guide,
by freewriting two pages.
- Formulate the explicit/implicit argument it makes. Consider whether the object relies
primarily on logos or pathos. Write a paragraph explaining your choice.
- Identify, list, and then evaluate assumptions (review pp. 14-15).
Planning
Review the raw material you have generated above and identify the most promising ideas
and observations. (Use your high-lighter or copy selected ideas onto post-it notes).
Give yourself a working title.
Create a planning document. (This could be a formal outline, a cluster chart, or a
simple list).
Drafting
With your materials all accessible, begin drafting.
If you prefer to write by hand, type up your rough draft and bring it to class for peer
critique.
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