Early Start Major Assignment Cover Sheet
Cover Sheet: Major Assignment or Assignment Sequence
To help Southeastern review your course plan efficiently, and to facilitate the potential use of parts of your plan by
other Early Start teachers, please complete a “Cover Sheet” for each of the three to four major assignments or
assignment sequences you submit in your plan. Include a completed cover sheet with each major assignment or
assignment sequence before submitting your plan for review.
Teacher Sharon Necaise
Assignment or Assignment Sequence Title #2 Advertising Analysis Essay
Brief Description of the Assignment or Assignment Sequence Students will write a 950-1000 word or 3-5 page analysis
essay which include the following:
a.
selecting topic, audience, purpose, and form
b.
prewriting, drafting, revising, proofreading, and publishing
c.
completing documentation consistent with a specified style guide
d.
applying standard rules of sentence formation, usage, mechanics, and punctuation
English 101 Course Goals, Assumptions, and Performances Satisfied 1a, 2a, 3a-c, 5a-c, 6a-b, 7a-b, 8a-b
Louisiana GLEs Satisfied ELA-2-H1, H2, H3, H4, and H5
Additional Assigned Reading(s) (if applicable) Print and Video Advertisements
The Persuaders (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/)
The Power of Images: Creating the Myths of our Time by Elizabeth Thoman (http://www.medialit.org/readingroom/power-images-creating-myths-our-time)
How to Analyze an Advertisement: Finding Ads’ Hidden Messages by Arthur Asa Berger (http://www.medialit.org/readingroom/how-analyze-advertisement)
Sellouts by Susan E. Linn (http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=sellouts)
Assigned Reading(s) from English 101 Text(s) (if applicable)
Word and Image, Chapter 1 p.11, pp. 18-21, p. 695, and p. 706
The Little, Brown Handbook, Research Writing, Parts 1and 9
Department of English  SLU 10861 Hammond, LA 70402  985-549-2100  Fax: 985-549-5021
http://www.selu.edu/acad_research/depts/engl/index.html
Early Start Major Assignment Cover Sheet
Required
Optional (Note: At least one
assignment requires this kind of
full documentation)
Attachments
Student assignment sheet
Assignment schedule
Readings
Alternate grading rubric (not 101 rubric)
Other (Please list as models, guide questions, handouts, etc.)
Advertising Analysis Worksheet
Please check
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Department of English  SLU 10861 Hammond, LA 70402  985-549-2100  Fax: 985-549-5021
http://www.selu.edu/acad_research/depts/engl/index.html
x
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Early Start Major Assignment Cover Sheet
English IV-101 DE Assignment #2
The Advertising Analysis
Assignment:
Every day we are bombarded with advertisements—whether it be TV commercials or billboards on the
interstate, it is estimated that we encounter somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000 ads a day.
Being an educated, responsible, and informed citizen requires that you learn—among other things—to
look at advertising critically, developing an awareness of how advertisers appeal to us.
Remember our discussion of Aristotle’s description of persuasive tactics (pathos, logos, ethos) and how
advertisers use those appeals to sell us their product. Particularly important in advertising are visual
images, message, and audience. The skillful analysis of these components will help you understand the
persuasive power of advertising and ultimately write about it in an informed way.
You may want to consider the following questions as you develop your essay:
1.) What product (or idea) is being sold? Who is the audience (demographic)?
2.) Provide a thorough description of the ad: what colors are used, imagery, text and font size, music,
dialog, etc.?
3.) How might the ad appeal to ethos (ethics), pathos (emotions), and/or logos (logic)?
4.) Is the ad successful, i.e. would you buy the product?
It is ultimately up to you how you organize this essay, but I will provide a suggested outline in class.
Specifications:
Sources:
-one primary source (the ad itself)
-(include a hard copy of the ad or a hyperlink to the ad if you found it online)
-one secondary source (you may use the PBS documentary The Persuaders)
-link to watch The Persuaders online:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/view/#rest
Other:
-Must be in MLA format
-Paper Length – approximately 950-1000 words
-Avoid addressing the reader (don’t use “you”)
-Avoid anecdote, e.g. “I was running late for school and was flying down the interstate the other
day when I saw a billboard for Capital One Bank.”
-Your paper must have a clear thesis and move beyond simple summary and description. -Your
goal is to critically analyze and interpret the ad. (Keep in mind that we will be further developing
this skill with our literary analysis papers at the end of the term, so it is imperative that you have a
good grasp on it early.)
Department of English  SLU 10861 Hammond, LA 70402  985-549-2100  Fax: 985-549-5021
http://www.selu.edu/acad_research/depts/engl/index.html
Early Start Major Assignment Cover Sheet
English IV-101 DE Assignment #2
The Advertising Analysis
Worksheet
Name:_________________________________
First, are you analyzing a political ad or a product advertisement?
Next, what type of ad(s) are you using (please circle one)? Print Video If the latter, please provide
the link here. (For print ads, you will include a copy of the ad with your final draft.)
Are you writing about one ad or doing a comparison between several? If the latter, what type of
comparison/contrast strategy are you planning to employ, e.g. past/present, two different ads advertising
the same product, etc.?
Write a rough draft of your intro paragraph (at least 3-5 sentences). You may want to begin with a very
general statement about advertising, perhaps using information from The Persuaders and its
corresponding site (this could take care of the secondary source requirement). Narrow down your ideas
until you get to your thesis statement. Remember the “inverted pyramid” model that journalists use.
Somewhere in this paragraph you should also mention the name and type of ad you’ll be analyzing.
Write your thesis statement here. You may make an argument about the ad you’ve chosen (is it
successful/unsuccessful, does it appeal to ethos, pathos, logos?) or about advertising and its effects in
general: are they positive/negative? Are there any implications or further discussions that may arise from
your ad, e.g. are you using a tobacco ad, an alcohol ad, a beauty ad that might portray its models in an
unrealistic way?
Begin describing your ad here. You should list colors, music (if applicable), text/font, models, etc. Your
job in this paragraph is to help your reader “see” the ad you’re writing about without actually looking at it.
You may also want to refer to the list of questions I gave you last week regarding ad analysis. (This will
be one of your body paragraphs, and it should be just an objective description of the ad with little-to-no
analysis—that will come later.) You may write this on the back of the worksheet.
Department of English  SLU 10861 Hammond, LA 70402  985-549-2100  Fax: 985-549-5021
http://www.selu.edu/acad_research/depts/engl/index.html