visual rhetoric and analysis (workshop for utd writing center)

Through the Looking Glass

Reading Image Rhetorically

Language: What can be read...

Linguistic Imagistic

How does that make you feeeeeel ?

Reflect upon

Reflection (Projection?)

I think, therefore I am.

Image-based text operates largely on a figurative (metaphorical) level.

To get inside a message, you have to get inside the mind of its maker...

see what he sees...

Workshop Goal

Formulate a strong, insightful thesis statement

Main Claim & Exigence

Think critically about a visual text

Breakdown the part to whole relationship

Assess it success/failure

Select supporting evidence to back up a working thesis

Examples in context

The Process1) Observe

What is the image?

What is the rhetorical situation?

2) Analyze & InferWhat are the main parts?What is the message & goal?

3) ID the Rhetorical AppealsEthos, Pathos, Logos

4) Combine 1-3 & EvaluateIs the image rhetorically effective?

The Writing CenterStudent Success Center

Step 1: Observation

Get a general sense of the

situation and the image

First things first: Seeing

Before you can formulate a working thesis, you have to familiarize yourself with the text first.

Visual Media

T.V. commercials

Movies

Product placement

Music videos

Photography

Art work

Web pages

Charts & graphs

Headlines & logos

Rhetorical Situation

Author

Audience Argument

Context:

exigence

Step 1: Observe

Step 1: Observe

Step 1: Observe

The Writing CenterStudent Success Center

Step 2: Analyze & Infer

Break the image down and

formulate an interpretation

Break It Down

What is the subject?

What is the background?

What are the main parts of the image?

What does each part represent & how do you know that?

What is the main argument?

Break It Down

What is the subject?

What is the background?

What are the main parts of the image?

What does each part represent & how do you know that?

What is the main argument?

Break It Down

Subject?

Background?

Parts?

What does each part represent?

How do you know that?

What is the argument?

The Writing CenterStudent Success Center

Step 3: Rhetorical Appeals

Modes of Persuasion

Ethos

Pathos

Logos

Rhetorical Situation & Appeals

Author

Audience Argument

Context:

exigence

Ethos

Pathos Logos

The Writing CenterStudent Success Center

Ethos is the appeal to the

readers’ trust in the author’s

reliability. Ethos is most often

reflected in the author’s choice

of supporting sources, but it is

also implicit in the author’s

tone and the quality of his or

her reasoning.

The Writing CenterStudent Success Center

Pathos appeals to the

emotions and the

sympathetic imagination of

the audience, as well as to its

beliefs and values.

Pathos usually takes the form

of an appeal to sympathy but

can also take the form of

humor or aesthetic content.

The Writing CenterStudent Success Center

Logos is an appeal to reason.

It is the element of the

argument that is driven by

logic and evidence. It is the

most effective element in the

text, but often the least

effective in purely visual

rhetoric.

Identify the

Rhetorical

Appeals

Ethos

Credibility

Pathos

Emotion

Logos

Reason

Identify the

Rhetorical

Appeals Ethos

Credibility

Pathos

Emotion

Values

Logos

Reason

Identify the

Rhetorical

Appeals

Ethos

Credibility

Pathos

Emotion

Values

Logos

Reason

Identify the

Rhetorical

Appeals Ethos

Credibility

Pathos

Emotion

Values

Logos

Reason

Identify the Rhetorical Appeals

Ethos

Credibility

Pathos

Emotion

Values

Logos

Reason

The Writing CenterStudent Success Center

Step 4: Combine & Evaluate

Considering steps 1 – 3, how

effect is the image?

Evaluate the Rhetoric

How effective is this image?

Does it get its point across?

Are you convinced?

How does it get your attention?

Explain both how & why.

Evaluate

How effective is the image at getting its point across?

What is the goal here, and does the image fulfill its intended purpose?

Does it get your attention? How?

Evaluate

How effective is the image at getting its point across?

What is the goal here, and does the image fulfill its intended purpose?

Does it get your attention? How?

The Writing CenterStudent Success Center

Putting it All Together

Composing a thesis statement for

visual analysis

Exegesis: Making a Claim

THESIS:

By using popular business brands as tattoos on the baby’s body, this image relies heavily on pathos and ethos to suggest that corporate Capitalism is a tyrannical and seductive force that leaves U.S. citizens vulnerable and impressionable from birth.

Exegesis: Making a Claim.

Step 1: Observe

Step 2: Analyze & Infer

Step 3: Find the rhetorical appeals

Step 4: Evaluate

The longer you live on the street, the harder it is to get off it » ad campaign for Samusocial by Publicis.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

If you need additional help, you can always visit the Writing Center, located on the first floor of McDermott Library. Consultants can help you with all stages of the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing.

Our Hours of Operation

McDermott Library, MC 1.206

Monday - Thursday 10am - 8pmFriday & Saturday 10am - 4pm

Sunday Drop-In SessionsMcDermott Library, MC 2.5242pm - 5pm

Make an appointmentCall: 972.883.6736Stop-by: MC 1.206writingcenter@utdallas.edu

The University of Texas at Dallas

This presentation was created for the Writing Center at the University ofTexas at Dallas. It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of thislicense, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0.

CREDITS

Presenter: Your Name

Content Author: Amanda Preston & Minnie Tao

Revisions: Your Name

Graphics: Amanda Preston & Minnie Tao

Design: Amanda Preston & Minnie Tao

Writing Center Coordinator: Thomasina Hickmann