Workshop style presentation for teaching visual analysis and how to breakdown visual rhetoric.

1. Through the Looking Glass
Reading Image Rhetorically

2. Language: What can be read...
Linguistic Imagistic

3. How does that make you feeeeeel ?

5. 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...

6. 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

7. The Process
1) Observe
What is the image?
What is the rhetorical situation?
2) Analyze & Infer
What are the main parts?
What is the message & goal?
3) ID the Rhetorical Appeals
Ethos, Pathos, Logos
4) Combine 1-3 & Evaluate
Is the image rhetorically effective?

8. The Writing Center
Student Success Center
Step 1: Observation
Get a general sense of the
situation and the image

9. First things first: Seeing
 Before you can formulate a working thesis, you
have to familiarize yourself with the text first.

10. Visual Media
 T.V. commercials
 Movies
 Product placement
 Music videos
 Photography
 Art work
 Web pages
 Charts & graphs
 Headlines & logos

11. Rhetorical Situation
Author
Audience Argument
Context:
exigence

12. Step 1: Observe

13. Step 1: Observe

14. Step 1: Observe

15. The Writing Center
Student Success Center
Step 2: Analyze & Infer
Break the image down and
formulate an interpretation

16. 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?

17. 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?

18. Break It Down
 Subject?
 Background?
 Parts?
 What does
each part
represent?
 How do you
know that?
 What is the
argument?

19. The Writing Center
Student Success Center
Step 3: Rhetorical Appeals
Modes of Persuasion
Ethos
Pathos
Logos

20. Rhetorical Situation & Appeals
Author
Audience Argument
Context:
exigence
Ethos
Pathos Logos

21. The Writing Center
Student 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.

22. The Writing Center
Student 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.

23. The Writing Center
Student 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.

24. Identify the
Rhetorical
Appeals
 Ethos
 Credibility
 Pathos
 Emotion
 Logos
 Reason

25. Identify the
Rhetorical
Appeals
 Ethos
 Credibility
 Pathos
 Emotion
 Values
 Logos
 Reason

26. Identify the
Rhetorical
Appeals
 Ethos
Credibility
 Pathos
Emotion
Values
 Logos
Reason

27. Identify the
Rhetorical
Appeals
 Ethos
Credibility
 Pathos
Emotion
Values
 Logos
Reason

29. Identify the Rhetorical Appeals
 Ethos
 Credibility
 Pathos
 Emotion
 Values
 Logos
 Reason

30. The Writing Center
Student Success Center
Step 4: Combine & Evaluate
Considering steps 1 – 3, how
effect is the image?

31. 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.

32. 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?

33. 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?

34. The Writing Center
Student Success Center
Putting it All Together
Composing a thesis statement for
visual analysis

35. 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.

36. Exegesis: Making a Claim.
Step 1: Observe
Step 2: Analyze &
Infer
Step 3: Find the
rhetorical appeals
Step 4: Evaluate
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ad campaign for Samusocial by Publicis.

37. 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 - 8pm
Friday & Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday Drop-In Sessions
McDermott Library, MC 2.524
2pm - 5pm
Make an appointment
Call: 972.883.6736
Stop-by: MC 1.206
writingcenter@utdallas.edu

38. The University of Texas at Dallas
This presentation was created for the Writing Center at the University of
Texas at Dallas. It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this
license, 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