Invention Worksheet - Rhetorical Analysis

Invention Worksheet— Rhetorical Analysis Answer each question, referencing verbal and visual evidence from the print advertisement to support your conclusions about how the ad uses rhetoric to achieve a purpose and send a message. Your work on this invention worksheet will provide you with claims and evidence that you can use to write your Rhetorical Analysis. See the syllabus schedule for the due date of this worksheet. I. Rhetorical Situation Information About Your Advertisement Ads typically try to sell a product or try to deliver a specific message (like, Join Our Organization!). Determine which is most relevant for your ad, and answer the corresponding questions below. A. Products a. Product Being Advertised: _______________________________________________________ b. Company that produces the product and is thus the sponsor (author) of the ad? c. What is the purpose of the product? d. Approximately how much does the product cost? e. Who would be most likely to use the product? B. Messages a. What message is the ad trying to send? b. Who is sponsoring (and thus author of) this ad? c. What is the purpose of the message? d. Are there costs associated with answering the message? e. Who would be most interested in this message? B. Publication Source (List Title and Date): ___________________________________________ 1. Who are the primary readers of this magazine? Consider some of the relevant details of the readers’ social identity—such as class, race, gender, sexuality, age, religion, special interest, etc. For evidence of readership, consider the magazine’s feature articles, editorials, and advertisements. 2. Is the magazine readership the same as the target consumers for your ad? Explain why you believe the target consumers are part of the magazine’s general readership. Consider ways in which the target audience for the ad might be more narrow than the target audience for the magazine as a whole. II. Rhetorically Analyzing Your Advertisement’s Claims and Evidence 1. ETHOS: What kind of ethos does your advertisement try to assign to the product or to the company selling the product? Does the ad try to establish a particular image for the product or company—that is, an ethos or character for the product or company? Describe that image the ad projects about the product or company. VERBAL EVIDENCE: VISUAL EVIDENCE: 2. PATHOS (EMOTIONS): What appeals to emotion does your ad employ? (Remember to list specific emotions.) Once you have stated the ad’s (implied or explicit) primary emotional claim, use the space below to list the most important verbal and imagistic evidence that the ad uses to support that claim. EMOTIONAL CLAIM(S): VERBAL EVIDENCE: VISUAL EVIDENCE: 3. PATHOS (VALUES) What appeals to specific values or identities does your ad employ? Once you have stated the ad’s (implied or explicit) primary value or identity claim, use the space below to list the most important verbal and imagistic evidence that the ad uses to support that claim. VALUE/IDENTITY CLAIM: VERBAL EVIDENCE: VISUAL EVIDENCE: 4. LOGOS: What appeals to reason does your ad employ? (In other words, what factual claims does the ad make about the quality and the characteristics of the product?) Once you have stated the ad’s primary appeal to reason, use the space below to list the most important verbal and imagistic evidence that the ad uses to support that claim. APPEAL TO REASON: VERBAL EVIDENCE: VISUAL EVIDENCE: III. Your Advertisement’s Use of Rhetoric to Send a Message 1. Which elements of visual rhetoric and what rhetorical appeals are used most in the ad to convey its purpose? 2. Why does the ad would use specific visual rhetoric and rhetorical appeals based on its target audience? 3. What message does the ad seem to be sending? The message is different from the purpose— for example, an ad may try to sell you a car while also sending the message that the company that makes the car is environmentally responsible. 4. Why is this message appropriate for the target audience?