Album Cover Outline Template Introduction: 1. Attention Getter: Background on the artist, type of music, the album, the time and place of its creation, or even the designer. You can also tell us information about how the album was received or how it sold. 2. Thesis: What techniques are used on the album cover to create meaning, and how does it influence the audience? Body (This is just one possible organizational pattern. Choose an organizational structure based on the elements of your album cover): 1. Paragraph One: a. Describe the album cover and what it looks like. b. Discuss the artist who designed the cover. What was the inspiration? 2. Paragraph Two: a. Analyze Audience and Message i. How do the images, colors, text and layout help create the message? ii. What evidence proves who the audience is? iii. What is the context of the album? (Culture, time and place) 3. Paragraph Three: a. Relate the album cover to the subject matter of the album, using a specific song and its lyrics as proof. b. Does the cover art create an argument? 4. Paragraph Four: a. Anything else you want to analyze (Ethos, Logos, Pathos, Overall Effects, Negative or Positive Consequences, stereotypes, etc.) Conclusion: 1. Rephrase thesis 2. Summarize main points 3. Challenge, Recommendation or other final statements about the album and why it was worth analyzing. Essay #2: Analysis of an Album Cover Rough Draft Due: Final Draft Due: Description: Album covers are a chance for artists to set the stage for their music, to convey a key to understanding the tone and meaning of their thesis and songs. As Michael Renaud, the creative director for Pitchfork, said, “The album cover remains a powerful factor in how we make sense of a record—whether it's presented via gatefold vinyl or shrunk all the way down to fit on your smartphone screen.” The ability to critically read and interpret visual images, both their overt ​and​ subtle messages, enables us to draw meaning from them in ways not necessarily obvious to the passive observer. In this essay, you will ​analyze​ an album cover to gain a better understanding of the artist’s musical intentions and the ways it might carry cultural meaning under its surface. You’ll be analyzing​ your album cover by breaking it down into components, looking for relationships between those components (color, text, pictures, etc.) understanding how each component contributes to the obvious​ and​ subtle messages of the album and drawing conclusions about their significance. Guidelines: Pick an album cover that has a complexity that would work for an indepth analysis. Some covers may be too simplistic or straight forward to require much interpretation. The album cover may include a visual image combined with written text. When you have selected your album cover, make sure to have it available in our all of our classes. Writing Issues: .

1. Album Cover Outline Template
Introduction:
1. Attention Getter: Background on the artist, type of music, the
album,
the time and place of its creation, or even the designer. You can
also
tell us information about how the album was received or how it
sold.
2. Thesis: What techniques are used on the album cover to
create
meaning, and how does it influence the audience?
Body (This is just one possible organizational pattern. Choose
an
organizational structure based on the elements of your album
cover):
1. Paragraph One:
a. Describe the album cover and what it looks like.
b. Discuss the artist who designed the cover. What was the

2. inspiration?
2. Paragraph Two:
a. Analyze Audience and Message
i. How do the images, colors, text and layout help create the
message?
ii. What evidence proves who the audience is?
iii. What is the context of the album? (Culture, time and
place)
3. Paragraph Three:
a. Relate the album cover to the subject matter of the album,
using
a specific song and its lyrics as proof.
b. Does the cover art create an argument?
4. Paragraph Four:
a. Anything else you want to analyze (Ethos, Logos, Pathos,
Overall Effects, Negative or Positive Consequences,
stereotypes,
etc.)

3. Conclusion:
1. Rephrase thesis
2. Summarize main points
3. Challenge, Recommendation or other final statements about
the
album and why it was worth analyzing.
Essay #2: Analysis of an Album Cover
Rough Draft Due:
Final Draft Due:
Description:
Album covers are a chance for artists to set the stage for their
music, to convey a key to
understanding the tone and meaning of their thesis and songs.
As Michael Renaud, the creative
director for Pitchfork, said, “The album cover remains a
powerful factor in how we make sense of a
record—whether it's presented via gatefold vinyl or shrunk all
the way down to fit on your
smartphone screen.”
The ability to critically read and interpret visual images, both
their overt and subtle
messages, enables us to draw meaning from them in ways not
necessarily obvious to the passive

4. observer. In this essay, you will analyze an album cover to gain
a better understanding of the artist’s
musical intentions and the ways it might carry cultural meaning
under its surface. You’ll be
analyzing your album cover by breaking it down into
components, looking for relationships
between those components (color, text, pictures, etc.)
understanding how each component
contributes to the obvious and subtle messages of the album and
drawing conclusions about their
significance.
Guidelines:
Pick an album cover that has a complexity that would work for
an indepth analysis. Some covers
may be too simplistic or straight forward to require much
interpretation. The album cover may
include a visual image combined with written text. When you
have selected your album cover, make
sure to have it available in our all of our classes.
Writing Issues:
● Analyzing visual images and written text. Relate the album
cover to the songs on the album.
● Considering both the explicit and implied meanings and
messages of the album cover and
how they are communicated.
● Include any information from the artist, or other credible
sources, about the album cover.
● Analyze how the cover prepares the audience for the music.
Think about who its target
audience is and what it’s saying about the of the musical genre.
● Describing the album so that your readers can see what you

5. see.
● Figuring out a structure for your paper that will enable you to
talk about all of these
component parts.
Writer's Voice:
It is an academic paper, so use a formal voice as you would for
most of the other papers you write in
school. Avoid using “you”. Write in the third person whenever
possible.
Length:
Approximately 2-3 pages, or 700-1,000 words, double spaced.
12pt font, Times New Roman.