should be  between four and six double-spaced, typewritten pages…but if you want to write more, you can and should. Please include a cover page with your name and the title of your paper (or the name of the image) at the front, and include a good quality copy of the image you select as the last page of your paper. 3 .   CONTENTS This paper is a visual analysis of a  single  image…it is a summation of everything you have learned in this course, as applied to the study of one single image. Use what you have learned in this course to probe into the full meaning of the image. Select a  single  image from any source (photo, painting, billboard, ad, etc.).  The image you pick may have multiple parts (images, words, etc.) but do not assemble a collection of images.  Pick  one  that you find absolutely fascinating, riveting, intriguing, or otherwise compelling enough to write about.  You can re-use an image you picked for one of the weekly assignments if you want, or select a new one. 4.   REQUIREMENTS This is n ot a research paper but a reaction paper…it is about your response to the image and what you think is important about it, what you notice in it, what you feel gives it its impact or its meaning in all the ways we have discussed.   No need for footnotes. If you want to use any quotes from the articles, chapters, or other texts just put the words within quote marks and state where they come from.  Like this:  As Ada Louise Huxtable says in the article  Living with the Fake and Learning to Love It,  “Distinctions are no longer made or deemed necessary between the real and the false.” Other than a sentence or two as a cited quote from someone else, this paper MUST BE IN YOUR OWN WORDS or it will not be accepted. 5 .   THE STRUCTURE After the cover page, the paper itself should be in six parts: Introduction Write a paragraph or two introducing the image and explaining what attracted you  to it in the first place, why you thought it was interesting enough to write about. Analysis The bulk of the paper is going through the four approaches to meaning one by one  (Content, Appearance, Use, Context) and relating these to the image just as you  have done separately for various weekly image assignments. Content: what are the important things you see in the image and how and  why do they contribute to the impact? Appearance: what visual elements (colors, shapes, lines, etc.) and visual  principles (balance, hierarchy, etc.) seem to matter in this image  and why do they matter? Use:  what aspects of how the image is being used matter here?  Who do  you think is using the image and in what ways and for what  purposes? Context:  what else that you know or find out about the image seems to  affect it’s meaning or impact? Summary The last paragraph or two should summarize what you have said in the paper and  relate the points you have made to the reason the image has an impact on you.   Did the process of analyzing change your mind at all o.

1. should be
between four and six double-spaced, typewritten pages…but if
you want to write more, you can and should.
Please include a cover page with your name and the title of your
paper (or the name of the image) at the front, and include a
good quality copy of the image you select as the last page of
your paper.
3
.
CONTENTS
This paper is a visual analysis of a
single
image…it is a summation of everything you have learned in
this course, as applied to the study of one single image.
Use what you have learned in this course to probe into the full
meaning of the image.
Select a
single
image from any source (photo, painting, billboard, ad, etc.).
The image you pick may have multiple parts (images, words,
etc.) but do not assemble a collection of images. Pick
one
that you find absolutely fascinating, riveting, intriguing, or
otherwise compelling enough to write about. You can re-use an
image you picked for one of the weekly assignments if you
want, or select a new one.
4.

2. REQUIREMENTS
This is n
ot a research paper but a reaction paper…it is about your
response to the image and what you think is important about it,
what you notice in it, what you feel gives it its impact or its
meaning in all the ways we have discussed.
No need for footnotes. If you want to use any quotes from the
articles, chapters, or other texts just put the words within quote
marks and state where they come from. Like this:
As Ada Louise Huxtable says in the article
Living with the Fake and Learning to Love It,
“Distinctions are no longer made or deemed necessary between
the real and the false.”
Other than a sentence or two as a cited quote from someone
else, this paper MUST BE IN YOUR OWN WORDS or it will
not be accepted.
5
.
THE STRUCTURE
After the cover page, the paper itself should be in six parts:
Introduction
Write a paragraph or two introducing the image and explaining
what attracted you
to it in the first place, why you thought it was interesting
enough to write about.
Analysis
The bulk of the paper is going through the four approaches to
meaning one by one
(Content, Appearance, Use, Context) and relating these to the

3. image just as you
have done separately for various weekly image assignments.
Content: what are the important things you see in the image and
how and
why do they contribute to the impact?
Appearance: what visual elements (colors, shapes, lines, etc.)
and visual
principles (balance, hierarchy, etc.) seem to matter in this
image
and why do they matter?
Use: what aspects of how the image is being used matter here?
Who do
you think is using the image and in what ways and for what
purposes?
Context: what else that you know or find out about the image
seems to
affect it’s meaning or impact?
Summary
The last paragraph or two should summarize what you have said
in the paper and
relate the points you have made to the reason the image has an
impact on you.
Did the process of analyzing change your mind at all or give
you new insights?
6.
STEPS
IN WRITING THE PAPER
1. Pick an image that works

4. Pick an image that is interesting, fascinating, troubling…an
image that you
respond to in some way, one that you find compelling enough to
look carefully at
and write about for an extended period.
Pick a good quality image…don’t use a tiny thumbnail off the
Web, get one that
is clear and sharp.
Avoid abstract images (no Content to write about), cliché
images (too obvious to
be interesting), classic images (too much already written about
them), and simple
cartoons or logos (not enough to think about).
2. Explain your choice
Write a paragraph or two about why you picked this image,
what appealed to you
about it, why it seemed more compelling to you than the
trillions of other images
out there.
A polished version of this will become the opening paragraph or
two of your final
paper.
3. Write about the Content
Start with a description of what you see in the frame, what you
notice that seems
important.

5. Content is
not
about listing everything you see. Content is about
why
you notice
certain things,
why
the order you notice them in might matter,
why
certain details
have an impact on you and others do not,
why
how real an image might seem is
important…or not.
Content includes what you notice (denotation) and also what
you infer
(connotation).
Refer back to your class notes, the chapters, and the readings to
get ideas about
what to look for.
4. Write about the Appearance
Go through your class notes, the chapters, and the readings
about Appearance to
remind yourself about what this covers and what to look for.
Appearance is about how the image makes you feel, what your
response is to the
colors, the shapes, the lines, the balances, the visual rhythms,
etc.

6. Look at it upside down to avoid the Content and focus on the
visual impact.
Look at the list of visual elements and principles and see which
ones matter in
terms of the impact of the image you picked.
5. Write about the Use
Who created the image and why? How and what is the image
being used to communicate? What kinds of information does it
convey? Do the people who published the image want
something from you? Are the questions of value and worth part
of the significance of this image? Is the image used to convince
or persuade you of anything and, if so, is this successful?
Refer back to the chapter, readings, lectures about Use to get
ideas about what to think about as you work on this.
6. Write about the Context
Is there any outside information (stories, ideas, facts, even other
images) that you had in mind when you picked that image that
made you think about in a certain way?
Is there any information that came with the image, or even that
you found on your own after you picked the image, that might
contribute to or affect its meaning?
Again look at the chapter, readings, and notes that relate to
Context to remind you about what it covers and to give you
ideas about what to look for and think about.
7. Write a summary

7. One or two paragraphs that summarize what you have said in
the paper and
relate the points you have made to the reason the image has an
impact on you.
Did the process of analyzing change your mind at all or give
you new insights?
7
.
YOUR GOAL
The most important question throughout this paper is not “what”
but “why.”
This is college, not high school…you are being asked to think
here.
In terms of Content, not
only
what you notice inside the frame but why those things matter in
the meaning of the image.
In terms of Appearance, not
only
what colors
or shapes or lines are in it,
but what impact you think they have on you.
In terms of Use, not only what you think the creator of the
image had in mind
or what the message is,
b
ut
why that is important to mention in analyzing the image.

8. And in terms of Context, not what facts you can dig up about
the image but why knowing or learning them seems important in
experiencing the image.
Remember, this is the final paper in a college course…a visual
analysis of an image. It is not about listing things you notice, it
is about thinking about what significance they have.
Your paper should flow from the reason you picked the image,
through an analysis of the various aspects of impact and
meaning that it has on you (with three quotes to support your
ideas), to a conclusion that summarizes this experience.
8.
A WARNING
This is a formal document, a final paper for a course. So make
sure your ideas and sentences are clear. Remember that clear,
simple writing is better than fancy, confusing writing.
Use Spellcheck!
IMPORTANT…read your paper slowly OUT LOUD (preferably
to someone else) before you hand it in.
This will help you catch errors that Spellcheck misses like the
right word in the wrong place.
Papers with more than ten mistakes in spelling, grammar, word
use, etc. are not at a college level and will not be accepted.
If you need help writing clearly, take the paper to The Writing
Center in CAS -111 and have one of the student mentors there
go over it with you.

9. 9.
ANOTHER WARNING
Plagiarism is taking someone else’s words and passing them off
as your own.
The paper you write for this course (like all papers) must be
your own words
, your own work. If the writing in the paper does not conform
to the writings you have done all semester long, your paper will
be googled to see if you have plagiarized.
Never take the risk of trying to get around this…really bad idea
with terrible consequences since plagiarism is an automatic
failure
in the course
!