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\nVisual Analysis Essay
\nGuidelines for Visual Analysis Essay
\nAssignment Overview
\nYour next major essay in this course will be a visual analysis essay.\u00a0 In this essay, you will be expected to apply the concepts covered in Units 1-4 as you analyze an image to show some of its larger meanings.\u00a0 This includes knowledge of the writing process, rhetorical situation, formal register, essay structure, and visual analysis. This essay also requires you to cite at least one credible source.
\nDue Dates
\nRefer to the assignment calendar for due dates. Remember, peer reviews are graded separately and have their own due dates in the assignment calendar.
\nPurpose and Learning Objectives
\nIn this assignment, you should practice analyzing visual texts, using the writing process, and developing a well-constructed essay in formal register. The essay should show how an analysis of the visual components of an image leads to a better understanding of the image.
\nProcess for Completion\u00a0
\nThe first step in this process will be to choose an image.\u00a0 Browse the images available through the Gordon Parks Foundation Archives.\u00a0 The link is available near the end of Unit 3.\u00a0 Choose an image that you find engaging and that you feel offers ample opportunity for analysis. Some images are interesting, but they\u2019re difficult to talk about.\u00a0 The image you choose will be the subject of your essay.
\nAfter you have chosen your image, you should engage in some\u00a0prewriting\u00a0activities using the ideas and terms presented in Unit 4. \u00a0First, take stock of your initial reactions to the image.\u00a0 What emotions did you feel as you first looked at the photograph?\u00a0\u00a0What aspects about the image lead viewers to react a certain way?
\nBefore you begin writing, you will want to perform some research. This assignment requires at least one source (print or web). If you\u2019re choosing an image about the Civil Rights Movement, you might want to research the movement. If you\u2019re choosing an image about Flavio in Rio de\u00a0Janeiro, you might want to research how Gordon Parks met Flavio. You\u2019re welcome to use more than one source, but be sure to keep track of the information you gain from your source so that you can cite the source appropriately.
\nNext, analyze the image by looking closely at the content, framing, composition, focus, color, lighting and context.\u00a0 What interesting or unique features do you notice about the image?\u00a0 What is the cultural or historical context of the image?\u00a0 You should record all of these activities. Some of them will become important pieces of your final draft.
\nNext, it will be time to find your focus and begin generating a working thesis statement.\u00a0 For this assignment, your thesis will make a claim about the\u00a0meaning\u00a0of the image.\u00a0 In other words, what message does the image communicate?\u00a0 Remember, every image tells a story and an image may tell a different story depending on who is looking.\u00a0 Once you have decided what idea or story the image communicates to you, you will need to explain how content, framing, focus, color, angle and lighting come together to create that story or convey meaning. Your thesis will be more specific if you show which visual elements your essay discusses and what they do to create meaning. So, an example thesis might be something \u201cThrough content, framing, and angle, the image demonstrates how segregation affected not only adults but also the children of black families in the South.\u201d
\nAfter completing the previous steps, it will be time to begin drafting your essay. \u00a0The following outline might help you to structure your initial draft.
\nIntroduction:\u00a0Identify and describe the image. It is so very important that you identify the image very clearly. Use the name of the photographer and the image: for example, you might say, \u201cIn Gordon Parks\u2019s photograph titled \u201cAmerican Gothic,\u201d a woman stands in front of a flag with a broom in her hand and a mop in the background.\u201d In the introduction, you might show why the image is important or relevant or provide some background information about it.\u00a0Please embed the image into the body of your essay somewhere so that the readers can see it. One way to embed the image is to put your mouse on the image and right-click, and then select \u201ccopy.\u201d Next, go to your document and right-click on your document, and then select \u201cpaste.\u201d
\nThesis:\u00a0 Tell your readers what idea or story the image communicates. Be sure the thesis shows the result of your analysis. (See the above discussion in #4 under Process for Completion.)
\nSupporting paragraphs: \u00a0 Explain how the visual elements come together to create meaning.\u00a0 In multiple body paragraphs, discuss the effect of content, framing, composition, color, focus, angle, lighting and\/or context.\u00a0 You should not discuss\u00a0every one\u00a0of these elements, but you should discuss enough of them so that your reader understands how the visual elements work together to create a story and to create meaning. You may have three or more body paragraphs dedicated to this task.\u00a0 It would be a good idea to discuss just one or two elements in each paragraph.
\nConclusion:\u00a0 At a minimum, your conclusion should remind your reader how the visual elements convey meaning.
\nMinimum Requirements
\nThe final draft of your essay should be between 600 and 900 words in length (about 2 -3 pages long).
\nThe essay should meet the expectation of an academic rhetorical situation. You will be expected to use formal register English.\u00a0 Your audience will be a general audience of educated adults.\u00a0
\nThe image you have chosen as the subject for your essay should be linked to or\u00a0embedded in the body of the essay.
\nThe essay should be written in MLA format, with a proper header, page numbers, title, and font. See the MLA guidelines in the unit.
\nThe essay should discuss two or more visual elements from the lessons.
\nThe essay should cite at least one source. The source should be cited in MLA format, so there should be an in-text citation for the source and a works cited page. Books, journals, magazines, and web sources are all acceptable for this assignment, but you should be sure to consider the reliability of your sources. You should not use Wikipedia.
\nIf you do not meet the minimum requirements for the essay, you should not expect to earn more than a 60% on the assignment.
\nPlagiarism
\nPlagiarism is using someone else\u2019s words or ideas without giving credit and is a serious academic offense.\u00a0 It can range from:
\nTurning in a paper any part of which you did not write,\u00a0
\nCutting and pasting a paper together from various sources without attributing the sources correctly,
\nChanging a few words but basically keeping most of the words and sentence structure of the original,
\nUsing the ideas of another without giving credit to the person who originally had the idea.
\nUsing the exact words of the source without using quotation marks even if you give the name of the source.
\nRefer to the syllabus for consequences of plagiarism in this class. For more information, see\u00a0http:\/\/owl.english.purdue.edu\/owl\/resource\/589\/01\/
\nSubmission Protocol
\nYour assignment must be submitted as a .doc, .docx, or .rtf attachment. Microsoft Word is available to students for free. Let me know if you need help gaining access to it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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