Rhetorical analysis helps us understand how the language (and symbols) of a text create meaning. For this essay you will select a visual argument to analyze. You may choose a restaurant advertisement, another type of advertisement, a provocative piece of art, a political cartoon, or a YouTube argument. The piece you select to analyze must be available online and you must provide a link directly to the piece to your professor when submitting the final essay.
Topic: Using Aristotle’s appeals (ethos, logos, and pathos) write a rhetorical analysis of a visual argument piece.
Purpose: The purpose of your analysis is to apply critical thinking skills to visual argument piece to understand how the piece achieves its effect on the public.
Audience: Gear your analysis for you, your classmates, your instructor, and the original audience for the visual argument. You will need to carefully review the intended audience for the piece.
Length and Source Requirements: Essay should be 700-800 words in length, plus Works Cited. The piece under review will be the only source required for this essay, but additional sources may be used to help your reader understand how the piece works.
Format: Follow MLA or APA style for format and documentation as directed by your instructor.
Due Dates: You will submit a typed rough draft and a revised, polished final draft. You will complete a peer review for a classmate. See the due dates posted in the calendar.
Focus: Your analysis should show the intended audience for the piece as well as the purpose and implied purpose for the piece. Carefully analyze how the piece has presented its ideas and what “tools” have been used to persuade the intended audience. When choosing a piece, choose a piece that captures your attention. What argument is being made in that one piece? Who or what is the piece about? Use TRACE to help you analyze the piece. See the chart on page 452 to help you break down TRACE elements. REMEMBER: You must find the piece online and you must provide a direct link to your professor to the piece being evaluated. Do not use an article about an advertisement or piece of art as the focus piece you are analyzing.
Organization and Development: After choosing the visual argument you will analyze, do some background reading. What is the scope of the piece?
Consider the following as you apply Aristotle’s appeals to your rhetorical analysis:
• Style: What is the basic language or word choice used in the piece? Ideas may be implied or written. Does the piece use any figurative language or symbols to make its point?
• Arrangement: How is the piece organized? How does the organization of the piece create and/or constrain the message in the piece? What meanings are possible based on the arrangement of the text in the piece?
• Invention (Argument): Is the ad using induction or deduction to makes its point? How do Aristotle’s appeals help or detract from the argument?
• Ideology: What are the assumptions or interpretations that can be applied to this piece? Does the piece contain any dominant beliefs?
The following chart may be used as a worksheet for your analysis. Not all of the strategies will be found in every piece.
Strategy Effect (intended, real, or both)
Figurative language (simile, metaphor, analogy, symbolism)
Ethical appeals
Appeal to emotions
Appeal to reason or logic
Logical fallacy
Color scheme (if significant)
Page layout (spacious, cramped, busy, simple)
Fonts/typefaces (size, bold, italics, etc.)
Images (who is in the ad --distance, cropping, angles, etc.)
Style: Use sensory details to describe the piece and make the piece “vivid” to your audience. Do not assume the audience has seen this particular piece before reading the evaluation.
Grading: See the grade rubric to understand how you will be evaluated.