Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Essay #2 Description
Condrey
RHE 309s
Spring 2006
Paper 2--Rhetorical Analysis
Length: 5-7 pages
Source Requirement: 3+ secondary sources (including Luntz or Lakoff)
This assignment requires you to analyze and evaluate one or more political advertisements. Your argument will focus on how the creator of the ad or ad campaign uses language and images to rhetorical effect. In addition to addressing how the ad or ad campaign "works," you will also need to judge whether or not it is a "good" one. This judgment will be based on a set of independent criteria, which you will develop and support with the evidence of experts. These experts will include Frank Luntz and/or George Lakoff, whose ideas about language and values can be extended--with some work on your part--to the analysis of political advertising. Your use of Luntz and/or Lakoff in your essay must be more than superficial; in order to employ the expert ideas of a political language consultant in your analysis you will need to demonstrate a thorough understanding of his ideas. It is not enough for the purposes of this assignment to simply quote a phrase by Luntz or Lakoff. You must thoughtfully engage a specific idea or recommendation put forth by your chose expert source(s) in a way that shows me and your reader that you know what you're talking about.
It is also important that you generate a context for your argument by providing the reader with a sufficient amount of background information on the issue, candidate, or race and by addressing why an understanding of the creator's techniques can shed light on broader issues related to political discourse, the use of technology in politics, and/or the quest of political strategists to develop strategies for appealing to the values of the electorate. In order to accomplish this, you will need to consult and employ secondary sources. Although you may quote information from the website of group or candidate sponsoring the ad(s), such sources will not count toward the source requirement. Similarly, you may use Good Reasons as a source for this paper, but it will not count toward the requirement. You should instead look for reliable internet and print sources, including books, news accounts, and online publications of well-establish groups or organizations.
In order to produce a successful analysis, you will need to find out everything you can about the ad or ad campaign. Some questions you should consider:
Who is the audience?
What is the purpose?
What is the message?
What is the tone?
What is the look or style?
What is the story?
How does it employ visual imagery? Music or sound?
Does it use metaphor?
How does it use production techniques to effect?
How does it define or contrast the opposition?
How does it frame the issue(s) or candidate(s)?
How does it personalize the issue?
What "frame" or "narrative" does it evoke? (e.g. "Kerry is a flip-flopper," "Bush is decisive," "D.C. Outsider," "Compassionate Conservatism," "Taxes As Patriotic Duty")
How does it communicate values?
Which values does it communicate or project?
How does it establish or project credibility?
How does it speak to the needs, beliefs, or desires of the audience?
What are the interests or concerns of this audience?
Has it elicited challenges or otherwise generated controversy?
What have people said about it?
Who produced it?
Who financed it?
Where did it appear? On-line only? On television? Nationally? In a specific market?
If it's a web-based campaign, how easy is it for a visitor to navigate the website and find the content?
Is it truthful?
Does it employ fallacies of argument?
Why is it important to understand how and why this ad (or ad campaign) works?
Obviously, some of the answers to these questions can be arrived at by simply viewing the ad. Others will require research on your part. You don't have to address every single question in your essay, but I expect you to know the answer to every question.
Possible Paper Ideas:
An evaluative comparison of the ad campaigns of competing candidates (2-3 ads each)
Compare an old ad or ad campaign with a newer one
Advertising and women voters
Advertising and men voters
The effective or ineffective use of patriotic imagery in political ads
Competing advocacy campaigns (e.g. Supreme Court Nominations)
The use of humor in political advertising
Sex appeal and political advertising
Online and viral advertising
Political ads and the under-25 voter
Effective or ineffective negative advertising
Political advertising and Lakoff’s Parenting Model
Advertising and regionalism
The work of specific advertising agency
Online, non-commissioned citizen-created ads
The long-form ad (60+ seconds)
The use of celebrities in political advertising
Animated political ads
This list is by no means exhaustive, and I'd encourage you to come up with your own ideas or variations. No matter the theme you chose, your essay must be claim-driven. If you're interested in writing about Campaign Advertising in the South, you need to go beyond asserting that politicians do it. Your claim should address how they do it or how it is done effectively.
Additional resources--follow the $:
http://www.opensecrets.org/
http://www.publicintegrity.org/default.aspx
This post has a list of sources for finding ads
See course policy statement for additional requirements ¶ 9:29 AM
RHE 309s
Spring 2006
Paper 2--Rhetorical Analysis
Length: 5-7 pages
Source Requirement: 3+ secondary sources (including Luntz or Lakoff)
This assignment requires you to analyze and evaluate one or more political advertisements. Your argument will focus on how the creator of the ad or ad campaign uses language and images to rhetorical effect. In addition to addressing how the ad or ad campaign "works," you will also need to judge whether or not it is a "good" one. This judgment will be based on a set of independent criteria, which you will develop and support with the evidence of experts. These experts will include Frank Luntz and/or George Lakoff, whose ideas about language and values can be extended--with some work on your part--to the analysis of political advertising. Your use of Luntz and/or Lakoff in your essay must be more than superficial; in order to employ the expert ideas of a political language consultant in your analysis you will need to demonstrate a thorough understanding of his ideas. It is not enough for the purposes of this assignment to simply quote a phrase by Luntz or Lakoff. You must thoughtfully engage a specific idea or recommendation put forth by your chose expert source(s) in a way that shows me and your reader that you know what you're talking about.
It is also important that you generate a context for your argument by providing the reader with a sufficient amount of background information on the issue, candidate, or race and by addressing why an understanding of the creator's techniques can shed light on broader issues related to political discourse, the use of technology in politics, and/or the quest of political strategists to develop strategies for appealing to the values of the electorate. In order to accomplish this, you will need to consult and employ secondary sources. Although you may quote information from the website of group or candidate sponsoring the ad(s), such sources will not count toward the source requirement. Similarly, you may use Good Reasons as a source for this paper, but it will not count toward the requirement. You should instead look for reliable internet and print sources, including books, news accounts, and online publications of well-establish groups or organizations.
In order to produce a successful analysis, you will need to find out everything you can about the ad or ad campaign. Some questions you should consider:
Who is the audience?
What is the purpose?
What is the message?
What is the tone?
What is the look or style?
What is the story?
How does it employ visual imagery? Music or sound?
Does it use metaphor?
How does it use production techniques to effect?
How does it define or contrast the opposition?
How does it frame the issue(s) or candidate(s)?
How does it personalize the issue?
What "frame" or "narrative" does it evoke? (e.g. "Kerry is a flip-flopper," "Bush is decisive," "D.C. Outsider," "Compassionate Conservatism," "Taxes As Patriotic Duty")
How does it communicate values?
Which values does it communicate or project?
How does it establish or project credibility?
How does it speak to the needs, beliefs, or desires of the audience?
What are the interests or concerns of this audience?
Has it elicited challenges or otherwise generated controversy?
What have people said about it?
Who produced it?
Who financed it?
Where did it appear? On-line only? On television? Nationally? In a specific market?
If it's a web-based campaign, how easy is it for a visitor to navigate the website and find the content?
Is it truthful?
Does it employ fallacies of argument?
Why is it important to understand how and why this ad (or ad campaign) works?
Obviously, some of the answers to these questions can be arrived at by simply viewing the ad. Others will require research on your part. You don't have to address every single question in your essay, but I expect you to know the answer to every question.
Possible Paper Ideas:
An evaluative comparison of the ad campaigns of competing candidates (2-3 ads each)
Compare an old ad or ad campaign with a newer one
Advertising and women voters
Advertising and men voters
The effective or ineffective use of patriotic imagery in political ads
Competing advocacy campaigns (e.g. Supreme Court Nominations)
The use of humor in political advertising
Sex appeal and political advertising
Online and viral advertising
Political ads and the under-25 voter
Effective or ineffective negative advertising
Political advertising and Lakoff’s Parenting Model
Advertising and regionalism
The work of specific advertising agency
Online, non-commissioned citizen-created ads
The long-form ad (60+ seconds)
The use of celebrities in political advertising
Animated political ads
This list is by no means exhaustive, and I'd encourage you to come up with your own ideas or variations. No matter the theme you chose, your essay must be claim-driven. If you're interested in writing about Campaign Advertising in the South, you need to go beyond asserting that politicians do it. Your claim should address how they do it or how it is done effectively.
Additional resources--follow the $:
http://www.opensecrets.org/
http://www.publicintegrity.org/default.aspx
This post has a list of sources for finding ads
See course policy statement for additional requirements ¶ 9:29 AM
