ENG 1021:  Visual Analysis

Before explaining the parameters of this particular assignment lets first review some examples and definitions.

Definitions

Stephen Toulmin, a modern English philospher, developed a model of argument in his book The Uses of Argument; it has come to be known as the Toulmin Model of Argument.  Although this model has six parts, in this assignment we will only concern ourselves with four of them:  claim, evidence/support, warrants/assumptions, and backing.

Whether it be writtine or visual, the three essential parts of every argument are claim, support, and warrants.  These will always be present.  Keep in mind, however, that backing will not always be a part of every argument but could be present.

Although by this point you are very familiar with the terms claim and support, you may not be as familiar with the terms warrants and backing.

Warrants are defined as the assumptions, general principles, conventions of specific diciplines, widely held values, comment accepted beliefs, and appeals to human motives that are an important part of any argument.  Even though they can be spelled out as a part of a written argument, they usually are not, and they would often be boring and/or redundant if they were.  More clearly stated, warrants are the assumptions that an author of a text (written or visual) makes about his/his audience.

Backing is an important part of an argument when an audience does not happen to share the set of assumptions that the author had hoped they would.

It is defined as additional evidence or support used to "back up" a warrant, whenever the audience is in danger of rejecting it.

Here is an example:

Claim:  All immigrants should be allowed to come into the United States ...

Support:  because immigration has benefited the U.S. economy in the past.

Warrant/Assumption:  Current economic conidtions are similar to past conditions.

Backing:  Now, as in the past, immigrants are willing to perform necessary low-paying jobs that American citizens do not want, particarly in the service areas.  (Statisitics could be supplied to show how many jobs of this type are available).

With this particular claim along with its support, the author assumes that current economic conditions are similar to the past.  The author's audience, however, may not believe this and would then not hold the same warrant as the author.  To convince his audience that this is true, the author would need to "back up" his warrant with additional evidence.  In this case, statistics to show that low-paying jobs in the service area are available today, much like many of the low-paying jobs that immigrants had held in the past as well.

Instructions

For this assignment you should first locate an advertisemnet in a popular magazine that is attempting to sell a product or service.  You should  first examine this ad using the Strategies for Understanding Visual Representations.  Then write a 600-900 word paper in which you identify the component parts of your visual text.

1.  What is the claim? Complete the sentence, "The author wants me to believe that ..."  Is this claim directly stated or is it implied?

2.  What is the support?  Complete the sentence, "The author wants me to beleieve that [claim] because ... [support]."  Explain how the specific evidence from the strategies for understanding visuals is used to support this idea.

3.  What are the warrants/assumptions? Ask, "What does this author value or believe regarding the claim? What assumptions does the author make about the audience's values, beliefs, attitudes toward the claim?  Ask, "Can I accept this evidence as support for this claim? Why or why not?"  If you do not see how the evidence supports the claim, the argument will not be convincing to you.

4.  If you feel there is backing present (and in some cases there may not be any), ask, "Does the author supply additional information that would make it easier for me to accept the warrants/assumptions?  What is this evidence?

5.  How does the author of this ad appeal to logos (logic/reason), pathos (emotion), and ethos (credibility)?

6. Explain who you believe this ad targeted; in other words who are the readers of the magazine that you took this ad from (think about possible age, gender, socioeconomic background/income level, and possible education).  In your opinion, did this author successfully analyze his or her possible audience? Why or why not?

Format

Your essay should have a title. It should also be typed, double spaced, with one-inch margins all around, Times New Roman Font, & 12 pt.   The length of the paper must be a minimum of two and no more than three, typed, double-spaced, pages.

You will be graded on the following:

•  How clearly and thoroughly you explain each of the six questions above.

• That you have written with clarity and with few mechanical errors.

This assignment is worth 10 points.

Questions 2, 3, and 6 are worth 2 points each, and questions 1, 4, and 5 are worth 1 point each.  Grammar/mechanics is also worth 1 point.

Grading scale:

9-10 A

     8 B

     7 C

     6 D

  0-5 F