AD ANALYSIS ESSAY – WEEK 2
BUILDING A STRONG THESIS
Grammar:
Commas, Apostrophes, and Parallelism
Get Out the Stuff You Need Today:
• Your Textbook/Pen/Paper for Grammar Work
• Your Ad(s) and your Topic ideas
• I asked you to bring an ad or two that you were thinking about
writing about, as well as your ideas for a topic/thesis.
Review the Prompt from Last Week
• What questions do you have about the prompt for
our last essay?
Review Today’s Homework Reading
• Responses to “Beautiful Words + Beautiful
Images = One Beautiful Advertisement” on p. 332.
• Responses to “You Can’t Be Thin Enough: Body
Images and Mass Media” p. 464-466
GRAMMAR
Using Apostrophes
Parallelism in Sentence Structure
Apostrophes
Apostrophes indicate a missing letter in a
contraction.
The apostrophe goes where the missing letter would
go.
Incorrect: I cant' do this assignment without help.
(WRONG. What letters is the apostrophe
replacing? Where should it go?)
Correct: I can't do this assignment without help.
(RIGHT. The apostrophe goes between the n and
the t.)
Won’t isn’t
Wasn’t you’re
Couldn’t
Needn’t I’ve we’re
Weren’t
Apostrophes
Watch out for "cant" and "wont" on spell check.
These are words all on their own, but they don't
mean the same thing as “can’t” and “won’t.”
Also, remember the contraction it's means IT IS.
Example: I can't open the door because it's locked.
A table lost one of its legs.
Apostrophes Show Possession
• With most singular nouns, simply place an
apostrophe and an "s" on the end to show
possession.
• Examples:
• I rubbed the dog's stomach.
• I went to Maria's house.
• If the noun ends in s already, add an
additional "s" anyway.
• Example: This is my boss's car.
Showing Possession with Plural Nouns
• If a plural noun already ends in "s," place an
apostrophe at the end. (DO NOT add another "s.")
Examples:
• I collected the students' textbooks.
• The textbooks belonged to ALL of the students.
• I filled the cats' water bowl.
• The bowl belonged to MORE THAN ONE cat.
• If a plural noun is irregular and doesn't end in "s,"
place the apostrophe after the noun and add an
"s."
Examples:
• The teacher collected the children's permission slips.
• "children" is already plural
• She went to a women's conference.
• "women" is already plural
Apostrophes DO NOT Make Nouns Plural
• NEVER use an apostrophe to make a noun
plural.
• I have three sister's.
• (This INCORRECT. The apostrophe is not being
used to show that the sisters own anything. It's
being used to make a plural.)
• I have three sisters.
• (This is CORRECT.)
• Example of correct apostrophe use:
• My three sisters' children came to visit this
weekend.
• (The apostrophe is correct because something
belongs to the sisters as a group – the children.)
Parallelism - p. 247
• Parallelism is a method of balancing similar
elements in a sentence. (Balancing, in this
case, means making sure similar parts of a
sentence follow the same grammatical
pattern.)
• Let’s try exercise 9-15 on p. 247 as a class.
This is very much like playing “One of These
Things is Not Like the Other.”
• Notice that phrases (groups of words) can be
parallel as well as single words.
How can we make the following sentences
parallel?
Notice that I have made the non-parallel portions of the
sentence red.
1. After I broke the plate, I found glass pieces under the table,
behind the chair, and also some were next to the
refrigerator.
2. My sister is good at fixing cars, making hamburgers, and also
she can bake cookies.
Practice Sentences Revised
Original:
After I broke the plate, I found glass pieces under the table,
behind the chair, and also some were next to the refrigerator.
Revised:
After I broke the plate, I found glass pieces under the table,
behind the chair, and next to the refrigerator.
Original:
My sister is good at fixing cars, making hamburgers, and also
she can bake cookies.
Revised:
My sister is good at fixing cars, making hamburgers, baking
cookies.
Parallel Structure (cont)
• With the -ing form (gerund) of verbs:
• Parallel: Mary likes hiking, swimming, and bicycling.
NOT parallel: Mary likes hiking, to swim, and
ride her bike.
• With infinitive verb phrases:
• Parallel: Mary likes to hike, to swim, and to ride a
bicycle.
OR
• Mary likes to hike, swim, and ride a bicycle.
Note: Use "to" before all the verbs in a sentence or only before the
first one—don’t mix.
Parallel Structure (cont)
Which sentences show parallel structure?
• Dino does not like to sing, dance, or acting.
• Dino does not like singing, dancing, or acting.
• The production manager was asked to write his report
quickly, accurately, and thoroughly.
• The production manager was asked to write his report
quickly, accurately, and in a detailed manner.
• Aldus was a poor student because he waited until the last
minute to study, completed his lab problems carelessly, and
lacked motivation.
• Aldus was a poor student because he waited until the last
minute to study, was always completing his lab problems
carelessly, and his motivation was low.
What needs to be parallel? (p. 248-249)
• Nouns in a series (list)
• Adjectives in a series
• Verbs in a series (Are you sensing a pattern?)
• Clauses within sentences that are related to each other.
• Items being compared or contrasted
Benefits of Parallelism
• Makes your writing smoother
• Helps your reader to follow your ideas more easily
• Can eliminates wordiness
• Practice:
• Fix the sentences 1 – 6 on page 249-250
• (There are no correct sentences.)
Break Time!
• Please return in 15minutes---20 minutes MAX
What are “design elements”?
• Images
• Colors
• Art style
• Allusions to culture/pop culture
• Text (note size, color, and placement as well as what it
says)
• You should also consider the ideas, stereotypes and
assumptions the ad is interacting with.
Review:
Two types of messages that ads use:
• The obvious surface message is usually pretty
straightforward, and involves the audience doing what
the writers of the ad want them to do.
• Buy this product.
• Support this cause.
• Vote for this candidate.
• The underlying message is much more tricky, and
much more interesting.
• It appeals to the needs and desires of the audience.
• It connects the product or cause to events, ideas, lifestyles,
and people with which the audience already has positive
associations.
• For example: Beer commercials not-so-subtle underlying
message is often: “Drink our beer, and you will be the kind of
fun person that beautiful girls in skimpy bathing suits will
love!”
Review Your Ads In Groups
Get in groups of 3.
One at a time, look at the ads in your group critically and
try and answer the following questions:
1. Who is the intended audience?
2. What does the advertisement intend for us to think
about the product being advertised?
3. What needs or wants is the advertisement appealing
to?
4. How does the design of the advertisement get the
message across to the audience?
Ad Analysis Thesis Statements
• The thesis statement of your ad should:
• Identify the specific product or cause your ad is for.
• What is the underlying message of the ad?
• Identify the main design elements or strategies used to
get the message across.
• Identify the audience needs and desires that the ad
appeals to.
A Thesis Statement Example:
• A recent ad for (product) uses (design elements/ideas)
to appeal to (needs and/or desires) and convince the
ad's target audience that (underlying message).
• For example:
• A recent ad for Levi’s Jeans uses a stormy urban landscape
and a provocatively dressed male model looking down at the
city to appeal to the audience’s need for freedom and
individualism; this is meant to convince the audience that
wearing Levi’s will make the wearer both a rugged
individualist who stands out from the crowd and a sexually
attractive partner.
Look at Some Example Intro Paragraphs
• Let’s see if we can identify the thesis together!
Goals for the Rest of Class
• Take 5-10 minutes to write down a tentative
thesis statement for your ad.
• Make sure that your thesis does not sound like a
sales pitch.
• Make sure that your essay is centered around
analysis of the ad (breaking down the ad into its
different parts, explaining how the ad works, and
how it connects to its target audience).
• A recent ad for (product) uses (design
elements/ideas) to appeal to (needs and/or
desires) and convince the ad's target audience
that (underlying message).