Project 1

Project 1

Ad Analysis

Length: 4-5 pages, typed and double-spaced, 1″ margins on all sides

Font: Times New Roman, size 12 pt

Format: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx)

Rough Draft due Tuesday, 10/4 (hardcopy)

Revision Reflection due Tuesday, 10/11 (hardcopy)

Final Draft due Thursday, 10/13 by 3:30pm (Canvas)

From YouTube (or a similar online video-hosting site), choose an advertisement that you find rhetorically interesting. You will write an analysis of this ad, one that will help your reader—i.e., your instructor and classmates—see how the ad works to persuade its audience through its images, text, and sounds.

Pre-Writing

Consider the rhetorical situation of the ad. What is being advertised? Who is the target audience? Where and when does the ad appear?

Think of the ad as an argument. What claim is it making? Consider the reasons which support that claim: reasons about the nature of the ad’s product or service, reasons about those responsible for that product or service, and reasons which appeal to the audience’s values, beliefs, or desires.

How do you think the ad affects its audience and why? What effects do you think it has been designed to produce? How does the ad use ethos, pathos, and logos? As you brainstorm about your ad, consider every visual, textual, and sonic detail, even the little ones.

Composition

Begin by introducing the ad and your analysis, making a claim about the ad and its overall strategy for persuading its target audience. Arrange the body of your analysis so that your reader moves through the parts of the ad with you in an orderly way. Help the reader see the ad and its rhetoric as you saw it. Be sure to describe specific moments from the ad to support your argument.

Rubric

  • The paper provides a solid introduction and a clear, identifiable thesis statement. The thesis statement should make an interpretive, analytical claim about the ad’s overall rhetorical strategy: Maximum 10 points
  • The paper includes a description of the advertisement so that readers who have not seen the ad understand what happens in it: Maximum 20 points
  • The paper analyzes the visual, textual, and sonic and/or musical features of the ad: Maximum 15 points
  • The paper explains the effect the ad has on its audience, focusing on the rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, and/or logos) it uses: Maximum 20 points
  • The paper explains the ad’s rhetorical situation, uncovering the ad’s target audience(s), exigence, and constraints: Maximum 20 points
  • Each body paragraph has a clear topic sentence that announces the specific focus of that paragraph: Maximum 5 points
  • Each body paragraph transitions from the previous paragraph in a smooth and logical manner using a clear transitional device: Maximum 5 points
  • The paper is clearly written, has been proofread, and is free of grammatical errors: Maximum 5 points
  • 5 percentage points will be deducted from your total grade if you fail to complete the Revision Reflection