OINTS, FORMAT, + LENGTH: This essay is worth 100 points. The minimum length is 2 FULL pages (maximum 4), which does NOT include the visual image that you paste into the essay or the works cited page entry at the end of the essay. In other words, you need 2 full pages of written text. The essay must be submitted in MLA format. Any essay that is not in MLA will receive a large point deduction.
SOURCES: You are required to follow 8th edition MLA source documentation guidelines to document the visual image you choose to write about. NO other sources can be included. The essay should be written based on your own thoughts and ideas about how the visual elements work to create meaning.
To document the visual image, you will need to write an in-text citation parenthetical directly below the image AND a full MLA-style Works Cited page entry on the last page of the essay. See the document posted in the course Essays section titled How to Cite Visuals for more details. If MLA source documentation is new to you, you can read more about how it works in documents posted in the course Research section and/or your textbooks MLA section. If you use any information that comes from a source that is not documented, your paper will receive a zero for plagiarism. Please remember that simply writing a web address where a source can be found does NOT count as documenting your source.
ASSIGNMENT DETAILS:
Write a visual analysis of a PSA (Public Service Announcement), political cartoon, or meaningful photograph. The essay should explain how the visual elements in the image work together to create an overall message / argument.
The primary components of the essay are:
1. Analytical language that shows how the visual elements in the image work together to convey the meaning of the image;
2. MLA source documentation for the visual image.
Follow these basic steps, then read the rest of this document to put your work into its essay form:
1. Find a good visual image to use (a PSA or political cartoon or photograph).
2. Analyze the rhetorical situation (details below).
3. Analyze the visual elements: Use the Elements of Composition document to formulate visual analyses points to discuss throughout the essay.
4. Think about (and make notes) how the visual elements work to create meaning.
5. Write a source entry for the image; use the How to Cite Visuals document for help.
TO BEGIN:
Choose a PSA, political cartoon, or a photograph that is complex enough to analyze. Photographs can be harder since you cannot use information written near the photo (only the photo itself), but there are some that work. A PSA or political cartoon is often rich enough to analyze on its own. The image you choose can include text (written words on the image itself), but note that the focus of your analysis should be on the visual elements of the image. No source other than the image itself is allowed in the essay, so you cannot discuss any kind of article or information that is outside of the image in your paper. See document posted in the course for suggestions / examples of good visuals to use in this type of essay.
Paste a copy of the image into your document directly below the heading and the original title you give to your essay. Include an in-text citation parenthetical directly below the image. See information in How to Cite Visuals document and/or in the Nortons MLA Guidebook Updated PDF posted in the Research section of our course.
The INTRODUCTION of the essay should give a brief description of the image and include information about its rhetorical situation. What is the images title and who is its creator (if known)? How did you come to that conclusion? What is the visuals major claim/argument/purpose? The rhetorical situation is basically the context of the image, which is determined by the purpose or message of the image, the sender/creator of the image, and the audience. Think about how these elements work together to create the meaning we process automatically when we see the image but dont usually stop to analyze and interpret.
The last sentence (or two) of the first paragraph must be a specific THESIS. Your thesis should give readers an overview of what to expect in the essay. It should assert the main visual elements you will analyze and discuss AND the conclusion you make about how those elements create a message or argument that influences those who see it. The visual elements you mention broadly in the thesis then become the major points in your body paragraphs as you delve into explaining them more specifically.
THE VISUAL ANALYSIS PARAGRAPHS:
Examine the image you chose with a critical eye. Look closely at the various elements of composition within it and how they work to create the meaning of the visual. You may wish to start with the focal point of the image. The paragraphs that analyze the visual elements in the image should walk your reader through the image by describing how the eye moves across the picture. Be sure to explain how these elements support the ads purpose.
To provide a full and in-depth analysis of the visual image, you should review the resources posted in our courses Essay section, which includes a list of questions that will help you brainstorm about visual analysis; and the video assigned, which explains how to analyze images. Use the informational materials related to visuals as a starting point to help generate ideas and to help you incorporate visual analysis language in your essay. Consider elements such as angles, composition, framing, lighting, color, etc. You should also think about the context and sub-context found in the image and how all the elements work together to affect people who view the images. This is where the Elements of Composition chart will be the most helpful to you. CTRL + click the image below, or find it in the Essays section of our course.
After looking at the visual composition of the image, consider the text included with it any words and how the image might be using rhetorical techniques, figures of speech, diction, or other such textual strategies to contribute to the meaning.
The CONCLUSION of the essay should restate/rephrase the thesis the conclusion should never use the exact same wording as the introduction, of course and major elements/techniques that you examined, and conclude your discussion of the meaning / argument presented by the visual image.
THE LAST PAGE = WORKS CITED
After your concluding paragraph, title the last page of your essay Works Cited (that should be centered at the top of the last page). Write a full MLA-style citation entry for the visual image. See the How to Cite Visuals document and/or the Nortons MLA Guidebook Updated PDF to write the source entry.
Essays that do not include full MLA works cited page entries will be given a maximum grade of 50. Source documentation will also be an important part of the upcoming research paper, so now is a good time to learn or review it. Also, it is important to write titles correctly in your essays. Titles of PSA ads and cartoon titles are written in quotation marks.
Are you looking for a similar paper or any other quality academic essay? Then look no further. Our research paper writing service is what you require. Our team of experienced writers is on standby to deliver to you an original paper as per your specified instructions with zero plagiarism guaranteed. This is the perfect way you can prepare your own unique academic paper and score the grades you deserve.
Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.
[order_calculator]