Professor Speiser English 28 ITV/Weekend College Summer 2017 Essay #1: Rhetorical Analysis of a Visual Advertisement Important details: First draft and peer review: 30 points Final Draft: 50 points First Draft due: June 24 Second Draft due: July 1 Word count: 250-500 words (1-2 pages) We will complete this first essay of English 28 in three to four steps, with you having to bring in the first draft to class during Week 2. Then, after bringing in a copy of your first draft to class, we will look at each other’s papers in a Week 2 peer review session. After peer review, you reflect on our own writing and, after that, hand in a final draft during Week 3. Here is the assignment: + Find a compelling and persuasive visual advertisement and analyze HOW it could influence and capture an audience rhetorically. Here, you will begin to use, what we call, your “rhetorical analysis” skills. More on what that means… Visual advertisement? • Find either a television (or online) commercial advertisement, or a print ad in a magazine or newspaper that particularly interests you. After reading the “Introduction,” the first 2-3 chapters of Everyone’s an Author, as well as the other readings and videos on rhetoric from Module 2, you will utilize the terminology and ideas from the readings to analyze what the advertisers were thinking when they aimed to persuade a specific audience about their project. • How is the message working in terms of its utilization of specific visuals, colors, sound, words, music, composition and placement of product and people? What is it about these elements that makes the advertisement particularly intriguing? • Rhetorically, how did the creators of the advertisement think of the text’s purpose, audience, context, and subject as well as the relationship between all these elements? Background on Rhetorical Analysis: Every piece of writing, every painting, every movie, every article written, and every advertisement created is produced with a specific context (or contexts) in mind, and with the creator thinking of how he/she can reach and connect with a certain audience. An essential part of your higher education is to increase your awareness of the creator-audience relationship that exists in any form of writing, art, or “communication.” And with this increased awareness, you will then broaden your understanding of what the most effective forms of communication – writing, reading, and speaking – are, as well as know how and where you can most effectively insert yourself within our society’s various forms of interaction. This is sometimes considered ‘critical’ reading and writing. That being said, critical reading and viewing are essential skills for not only being an informed and astute citizen, but also for all kinds of writing. Analysis is a more specific aim where those critical reading and viewing skills are applied to particular subjects. Rhetorical.

1. Professor Speiser
English 28
ITV/Weekend College
Summer 2017
Essay #1:
Rhetorical Analysis of a Visual Advertisement
Important details:
First draft and peer review: 30 points
Final Draft: 50 points
First Draft due: June 24
Second Draft due: July 1
Word count: 250-500 words (1-2 pages)
We will complete this first essay of English 28 in three to four
steps, with you having to bring in the first
draft to class during Week 2. Then, after bringing in a copy of
your first draft to class, we will look at
each other’s papers in a Week 2 peer review session. After peer
review, you reflect on our own writing
and, after that, hand in a final draft during Week 3. Here is the
assignment:
+ Find a compelling and persuasive visual advertisement and
analyze HOW it could influence and
capture an audience rhetorically. Here, you will begin to use,
what we call, your “rhetorical analysis”
skills. More on what that means…

2. Visual advertisement?
• Find either a television (or online) commercial advertisement,
or a print ad in a magazine or
newspaper that particularly interests you. After reading the
“Introduction,” the first 2-3
chapters of Everyone’s an Author, as well as the other readings
and videos on rhetoric from
Module 2, you will utilize the terminology and ideas from the
readings to analyze what the
advertisers were thinking when they aimed to persuade a
specific audience about their project.
• How is the message working in terms of its utilization of
specific visuals, colors, sound, words,
music, composition and placement of product and people? What
is it about these elements
that makes the advertisement particularly intriguing?
• Rhetorically, how did the creators of the advertisement think
of the text’s purpose, audience,
context, and subject as well as the relationship between all these
elements?
Background on Rhetorical Analysis:
Every piece of writing, every painting, every movie, every
article written, and every
advertisement created is produced with a specific context (or
contexts) in mind, and with the creator
thinking of how he/she can reach and connect with a certain
audience. An essential part of your higher
education is to increase your awareness of the creator-audience

3. relationship that exists in any form of
writing, art, or “communication.” And with this increased
awareness, you will then broaden your
understanding of what the most effective forms of
communication – writing, reading, and speaking –
are, as well as know how and where you can most effectively
insert yourself within our society’s various
forms of interaction. This is sometimes considered ‘critical’
reading and writing.
That being said, critical reading and viewing are essential
skills for not only being an informed
and astute citizen, but also for all kinds of writing. Analysis is
a more specific aim where those critical
reading and viewing skills are applied to particular subjects.
Rhetorical analysis is a kind of analysis that
divides a whole (in this case, an advertisement) into parts to
understand how an act of speaking or
writing conveys meaning. And, essentially, the tools of
rhetorical analysis are applied to understanding
how other human creations make meaning.
Rhetoric:
Rhetoric does not technically mean “speech with no real ideas,”
as the term is commonly used
nowadays. Actually, as described in our textbook, and in
Carroll’s “Backpacks vs. Briefcases,” rhetoric –
according to Aristotle – is “the art of finding in any given case
the available means of persuasion.”
Sometimes, rhetoric is simply defined as “the art of persuasion”
and it is concerned with producing
effective pieces of communication. And, in identifying – and
producing – effective pieces of
communication we need to take into account the following

4. elements:
• Purpose – what is the goal of the creator (rhetor) of the
speech, written text, etc.?
• Audience – to whom is this piece of writing or speech aimed;
what can you determine about
the actual audience’s assumed values, attitudes, and beliefs?
(How is the rhetoric trying to
influence and shape those beliefs?)
• Author/ Rhetor – Is the author an expert or an outsider on the
topic? Where is the creator
culturally situated?
• Larger Context – What else has been said or written on the
subject? Does the advertisement
look like a similar one, or like something related to a
competitor’s product?
• Rhetorical Appeals – How is the creator/ writer appealing to
the audience? Is the
advertisement, the message, persuasive based on the
trustworthiness of the speaker (ethos),
on logical reasoning and facts (logos), and/or the emotions and
deepest held values of the
audience (pathos)?
o Keep in mind that nearly all advertisements are heavily based
on pathos, or appealing
to consumers’ emotions.
- Re-read pgs. 33- 36 in chapter 3 of the textbook, Everyone’s

5. An Author, as a further guide. Also, look
at the comments online of the Chrysler/ Eminem advertisement
for more guidance and ideas, and I will
try to attach some rhetorical analysis examples as soon as
possible.
▲ The more you craftily and accurately incorporate the
terminology above of rhetorical analysis, the
higher the grade you will receive in this assignment.
Email me or message me (Etudes) with ANY questions
you may have: [email protected]
Image credit:
http://m.inmagine.com/
mailto:[email protected]
http://m.inmagine.com/
2
SCAFFOLD STEP #1: TOPIC PROPOSAL WORKSHEET
Marcell Tywa'n Scott
June 27, 2017
1. What are your Degree Depths? - BS Liberal Arts Focus Area:
Admin/Mgmt Studies
2. What is your area of interest? Explain how your area of
interest relates to one or both of your Degree Depths. - Liberal
Arts with a depth in Management Studies wasthe prime factor of
me selecting this degree. This degree gives me the opportunity
to discover a diverse scheme of academic disciplines rather than
following a specific rubric of courses that help me in my career

6. field. This field to me is tailored to a career field in public
service. With this degree, there is a broad spectrum of subjects
which allows me the ability to select multiple career paths.
3. What is the contemporary global issue or problem you intend
to research? - The contemporary global issue I intend to
research racism.
4. How does this problem relate to one or both of your Degree
Depths? - Racism can relate to my degree depths due to specific
races and ethinic groups being treated differently.
5. Why is this global issue or problem significant to researchers
in your field of study? - Racism tears our community apart and
seperates different groups. This causes tention and separation
within our country and doesnt help us grow and develop.
6. Journal Articles -
References
Cite a Website - Cite This For Me. (2017).
Digitalcommons.calpoly.edu. Retrieved 28 June 2017, from
http://digitalcommons.calpoly....
O’Brien, K., Forrest, W., Lynott, D., & Daly, M. (2017).
Racism, Gun Ownership and Gun Control: Biased Attitudes in
US Whites May Influence Policy Decisions. Retrieved 28 June
2017, from
Perceived Racism May Impact Black Americans' Mental Health.
(2017). http://www.apa.org. Retrieved 28 June 2017, from
http://www.apa.org/news/press/...
Students protest racism at liberal arts college in Minnesota.
(2017). Fox News. Retrieved 28 June 2017, from
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017...
Understanding Race and Racism. (2017).
People.southwestern.edu. Retrieved 28 June 2017, from
http://people.southwestern.edu...
7. How do global researchers view this global problem? In your
own words, explain the predominant idea from each of the five
journal articles. - Racism is a global problem. Not every

7. country in the world practices racism; but in America racism is
real. Racism in America toward the people from African
descendants are still in affect in many different way. Hundreds
of students boycotted classes at St. Olaf College in southern
Minnesota ("Students protest racism at liberal arts college in
Minnesota", 2017). Studies that show there are racism in aspects
like gun ownership. Most prominently, symbolic racism (racial
resentment), an explicit but subtle form and measure of racism,
has been found to be consistently related to peoples decisions
regarding policies that may affect non-white US
citizens(O’Brien, Forrest, Lynott & Daly, 2017). The criminal
justice system is racist and discriminates against African
American males to ensure they are locked up in prison ("Cite a
Website - Cite This For Me", 2017). The authors recommended
that therapists assess racism experiences as part of standard
procedure when treating black Americans, and that future
studies focus on how discrimination is perceived in specific
settings, such as work, online or in school("Perceived Racism
May Impact Black Americans' Mental Health", 2017).
8. What's common among these studies? - Common among each
of these studies conducted in America clearly shows that there
is racism in our country. Each study cited showed and proved in
their own ways that something dealing with racism still affects
our country.
9. What are the major points of disagreement among
researchers? - As each cite address racism differently. Some
areas in the United States believe that racism is not a factor in
their region.
10. What challenges do you anticipate while completing this
research? - Racism is not hard to prove, but it is hard to
understand. Parties from both sides of the racism fence are
affected and their lives can change in a instant moment.

8. 1. What are your Degree Depths? Environmental Studies, Arabic
2. Area of interest within one of your Depths? Pollution, which
relates clearly to environmental
studies
3. Identify a global issue/problem that's related to this field:
Access to safe water is a basic human
need that is not being met in much of the world today.
4. How does this relate to your Degree Depths? I learned how to
test water quality in my Ecology
class and studied attitudes toward environmentalism in different
world cultures in my
Globalization class. I have also worked on water rights in the
desert setting of Kuwait.
5. Why is the problem significant? Depletion of fresh water is a
dire consequence of population
growth, climate change, and modern industrial and agricultural
practices. A huge percentage of
the human population already has little to no access to clean
fresh water, so it is already a

9. quality of life issue that could easily factor into global unrest.
6. Five academic journal articles that examine this global
problem:
Aron, J. L., Hall, R. K., Philbin, M. J., & Schafer, R. J. (2013).
Using watershed function as the
leading indicator for water quality. Water Policy, 15(5), 850-
858.
Dai, L. (2014). Something old, something new, something
borrowed and something blue:
Tackling diffuse water pollution from agriculture in China:
Drawing inspiration from the
European Union. Utrecht Law Review, 10(2), 136-154.
Foster, S., Chilton, J., Nijsten, G., & Richts, A. (2013).
Groundwater—a global focus on the ‘local
resource’. Current Opinion In Environmental Sustainability, 5
(Aquatic and marine systems
themed issue), 685-695.
Trigueros, A. (2012). The human right to water: Will its
fulfillment contribute to environmental
degradation? Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, 19 (2),
599-625.

10. Wyman, R. J. (2013). The effects of population on the depletion
of fresh water. Population &
Development Review, 39(4), 687-704.
7. How do these scholars view this global problem? Depletion
of fresh water is a major concern
worldwide, and not much is being done about it that has proven
effective. It’s primarily up to
policymakers to come up with solutions, and these scholars
provide a snapshot of some different
solutions, but not much more. Aron (2013) focuses on US
ecology. I won’t be using this one, I
guess! Dai (2014) advocates more awareness of the impact of
industrial-model pollution controls
on human-scale agriculture in both the EU and China. Foster et
al. (2013) address concerns
about the sustainability of depending on groundwater for the
maintenance of human society.
However, they don’t deal with pollution. Another article I won’t
be able to use, probably!
Trigueros (2012) treats water access as a basic human right and
carefully examines the impact of

11. honoring this right on fragile environments. Wyman (2013) tries
to demonstrate that people’s
indulgence in food and agriculture is more responsible for water
depletion than is global
warming, with some attention to equity and to pollution.
8. What’s common among these studies? My initial selection of
articles turned out to be more
about types of water sources and how they are being depleted
than about pollution or human
impacts. That’s a negative commonality! With the discovery of
the Trigueros article, I
encountered the concept of “clean water as a human right,” and
that led to a more productive
search. I’m confident I’ll find more relevant articles using this
concept.
9. What are the major points of disagreement? As might be
expected from the journals in which
they appeared, some of them are very policy oriented (Aron,
Dai) while others focus on the
science (Foster, Wyman). Only the Dai and Trigueros articles
really address impact on
disenfranchised groups, which I know I’ll have to cover in my
research. The Aron article is limited

12. to the US, so it is probably not valid for global issues research.
10. What inferences can you draw from analyzing the
differences? Differential importance of water
pollution based on socioeconomic status is something that many
scholars don’t even touch on.
Climate change politics can be blind to the impact of decisions
on individuals. Increased water
use definitely ties in with population dynamics, and the
consequences are differential depending
on climate. For example, Wyman points out that the Green
Revolution in India led to the
expansion of agriculture into essentially arid zones where it
could only exist with extensive
irrigation (using water that is by definition scarce in these
zones).
11. How does each article add to the scholarly literature related
to water quality and pollution?
Most of them don’t really deal with pollution very much, and
though they do address water
quality, they are more concerned with scarcity/depletion, except
for the Dai article that explicitly
compares policies in the EU and China and of course the
Trigueros article that focuses on clean
water for human use. The Dai and Trigueros articles will

13. definitely be on my final list.
12. What challenges do you anticipate while completing this
research? Although I do have
coursework in environmental science, I have not had a lot of
exposure to scientific journal
articles. The reading is incredibly dense! Also, I don’t know
much about the cultures I’m being
introduced to – agriculture in the Netherlands, for example –
and felt sort of defeated as I
discovered so many of my neat-sounding articles weren’t going
to be useful.