Writing Homework Help

ASSIGNMENT:

First, select an advertising or news image. You must be able to submit your image with your assignment: First, go to your “account” on your Canvas home page and add the image to your “Files”—then follow these directions: https://www.google.com/search?q=add+images+to+canvas+submission&rlz=1C1GGRV_enUS759US759&oq=add+images+to+canvas+submi&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j33l4.18934j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 (Links to an external site.)

It may take a while to figure out exactly how to do this, but additional research on the internet will solve the problem (that’s what I did)—make sure you give yourself plenty of time before the deadline for this part of the assignment.

[NOTE: Public service announcements, like warnings about cigarette smoking or spousal abuse, are neither ads nor news items; hence they are constructed differently and have different messaging goals in mind. Make sure you stick to the assignment requirements. Images included below are ONLY for example here, NOT to be used in this assignment.]

ALSO: anyone who selects the image of the woman about to eat the giant subway sandwich, or any similar version thereof, will automatically FAIL this assignment].

Next, use the elements below to fully analyze your image in a 500 word ESSAY, in terms of HOW it is sending its message—it is NOT enough to tell what the message is… the emphasis must be on HOW the message is being conveyed, VISUALLY! This means that any words, news caption, ad slogan, etc. should be ignored in your analysis—you are focusing on HOW the image communicates, based ONLY on it visual ingredients. Also be sure you are not just describing your image (it will be submitted with your essay); your job is to analyze HOW the image is communicating. Finally, while you may know a lot of background about a celebrity spokesperson or someone/some event appearing in a news image, your assignment is to analyze the visual details that are evident in the image itself–DO NOT bring in a bunch of outside information to your analysis that other viewers might not be aware of. Think about it: an image that needs a lot of contextual framing will never garner as great an audience as an image that succeeds in presenting its message, by itself, speaking through its visual details.

Here are the visual elements that must be discussed in your analysis, explictly.

Expression—read the expressions on faces in your image; what is the emotion being conveyed? Get specific, observe mouth, eyes, nose, position of head, etc.

Gaze—the gaze is different from analyzing the expression conveyed by the eyes, it is about where the subject is looking, for example: looking into the camera is very different from avoiding it, looking into the distance implies something else than looking vacantly nearby; there are different kinds of eye contact and orientations of looking.

Body Language— analyze arms and legs and their positions (arms and hands, in particular, are very expressive); also bodies moving closer versus going away, or heading out of the frame, all have different effects.

Placement(Positionality)/Space-ratio—Can you differentiate the image into sections or geometrical areas? Does the image flow, or move the viewer’s eyes in certain direction (up, down, left, right)? What elements of the image take up the most space, and why? How does positioning certain parts of the image towards the top or bottom affect the overall composition of the image?

Color—What colors attract the viewer’s attention, and what is their function by doing so? Do certain colors evoke certain emotions, feelings, moods? Are light and dark at work in your image?

Background—What is the function of the background, what does it contribute to the message? Think about the ratio between foreground and background (some images are dominated by their background and are equally, if not more important than the main subject).

IMPORTANT NOTE: Just like above, you are required to type these elements (Expression, Gaze, etc.) in BOLD, within your essay—this way you know that you have hit them all, and I can more easily locate them and the relationships between them that you have established. Remember, however, this is an Essay, NOT just a list of observations.

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Themes: You should think of and identify at least 2 major THEMES (also indicated in BOLD–you may underline as well) at work in your image as the context for the message. This is very helpful in analyzing HOW your image is communicating—whatever you have to say about these Themes must be tied to the visual details as reflected in the elements above. Think of your Themes as the key ingredients that build your THESIS–moreover, the Thesis should arrange/organize and be consistently connected to the details of your Visual Analysis. 

Example Topics: Gender Roles, Sex/Love, Power, Cultural Norms/Mores

Note: We all know that “sex sells”—but it can do so in a great many different ways. You explaining this gets into HOW the image is communicating.

These are, of course, just a few Themes that can help you think about HOW the image is communicating; you might also consider the intended Target Audience.

Included here are two images—take a close, meditative look at each, and an even deeper contemplation of the questions provided to help you think about how to engage the above elements in analyzing HOW the image is communicating. Of course, if I was doing an essay I would have to use ALL of the elements (and put them in bold in my essay). Needless to say, you may NOT use either of these images for your own assignment.

Trump and World Leaders:

What are the gazes (there are many) contributing? Is there a Theme/Topic you could use to help talk about them? Body languages?

What about the body languages? Don’t just focus on Trump and Merkel (German Premier, light blue suitcoat), ALL the people were included in this photo for a reason (it could have easily been cropped differently).

How is the background contributing? What can you say about color?

Is there a geometry or space-relationship at work in this image? Is it divided in a way that contributes to theme or message?

GUCCI

Compare and contrast gaze, can this been connected to gender roles? HOW?

What does this body language say about sexuality?

How is color, and light and dark, contributing to the communication of this image?

Why the jewelry, the tattoo?

How is hair working?

GOOD LUCK!