AP Language & Composition
Visual Analysis Introduction
Source:
http://www.apstrategies.org/Portals/0/docs/Leads_PS/E_La_Visual%20
Rhetoric%2009_T_Rh.pdf
DAY 1
Visual Rhetoric
•A form of persuasion that uses images to
create meaning or prepare an argument
•Attempts to persuade audience to reach a
desired conclusion
•Relies on language and graphic imagery to
convey meaning
Analyze This
This is a picture of a second century BCE,
Roman, bronze statue of the Etruscan
statesman, Aule Metele. “The Orator”
became the archetype of the noble rhetor,
or public speaker, in Classical Roman times.
Augustus Caesar, around 20 BCE, imitated
the pose in his own official portrait,
Augustus of Primaporta, and subsequent
Roman statesmen and Caesars followed suit.
Examine the picture closely, and note the
physical features of the statue that suggest
“trustworthiness.”
DAY 1
• Head: clean cut; mature; concerned
expression; gaze looking up to audience,
not down upon them; attentive;
solicitous
• Toga: formal dress for the time; suggests
wealth, importance, maturity, success
• Torso: athletic; not fat, which would
suggest waste or excess; not skinny,
which would suggest sickliness,
miserliness
• Feet: evenly placed; sure-footed; stable
• Stance: open; natural; nonaggressive;
non-threatening
DAY 1
DAY 1
Ethos
• Trustworthiness, credibility, legitimacy
• Print is limited to word choices, sentence structure,
examples, and anecdotes
• Images can also rely
on visual representation
DAY 1
Logos
• Appeal to sense of logic
• Arrangement, logical proofs, deductive and inductive
reasoning, citation of recognized sources, recitation of facts
• Power of visual rhetoric = combination of printed text and
visual image
“I cannot
identify
that
object.”
Pathos
DAY 1
Stirring audience’s passions and emotions
 Knows audience and
recognizes what trumps
logic
Uses sympathy or empathy to
move a neutral audience to do
things they should do 
DAY 2
Archetype vs. Stereotype
• Images are immediate and to the point
• Rely on certain conventional images that the majority will
instantly recognize
• Archetypes: original type or model copied by others; recognized
by everyone, regardless of culture or teaching; not
automatically “good”
• Stereotypes: standardized, oversimplified, prejudiced,
negatively biased mental image; openly skewed opinions held
by a particular set of people; not automatically “bad”
DAY 2
Police Officer
Evil Scientist
ARCHETYPAL
STEREOTYPICAL
ARCHETYPAL
STEREOTYPICAL
Blue Uniform
Doughnut
“Mwuh-ha-ha!”
Thick Glasses
Badge
Gun
White lab coat
Old
To Protect and
Serve
Overweight
Exploring Unknown
Playing God
Maintains peace
Irish
Evil Laboratory
Dungeon Lab
Courageous
Mustache
Genius
Wild Hair/ Balding
DAY 2
Review: Shaping Commentary
• Functions of Analysis
• Name – easy; “finger pointing”
• Explain – draw conclusions based on text
• Simplistic commentary only proves you can define and identify:
“The author uses a simile to get his point across.”
• Complex commentary is more specific and answers important
questions:
• Which simile is used?
• What is the author’s purpose?
• How does the simile sustain the author’s purpose?
DAY 2
Review: Complex Example
“The author compares the young man’s utter lack of reaction to
stone when he says, ‘he stood there like a statue.’ The
expectation is that an ordinary person would react emotionally
to death of a parent, but the young man hides his reaction; the
author later refers to his face as “enigmatic,” “wooden,” and
“chiseled,” further sustaining the idea that the young man’s
emotions were as unreadable as carved stone.”
DAY 2
Practice: Analyze “The Orator”
• Choose trustworthiness feature from your “Orator” notes
• Identify feature in a complete sentence
• Suggest how feature accomplishes its purpose.
• Be as exact as possible in describing the detail.
• Rule of thumb: When you feel like you have said too much, you will
have finally fully explained your point.
“The Orator” wears a toga, a formal robe worn by important civil
authorities, to suggest that the man is trustworthy. Because the toga is a
badge of authority, and because those in authority are charged with
taking care of their people, the toga therefore symbolizes the relationship
between the caretaker and his charge. Simply put, he wears the physical
emblem of trust, so we must trust him.
DAY 3
Visual Analysis Activity: View & Annotate
•View LBJ campaign ad
•Annotate stills and text for ethos, logos, and
pathos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDTBnsqxZ3k
• Underline rhetorical devices.
• Circle objects or draw arrows to point out
important elements in stills.
• In margins, write down specific effects on
audience.
DAY 3
Visual Analysis Activity: Respond
1. Why is the girl counting as she is picking petals?
What does this game potentially symbolize?
Possible Answer: It’s a child’s game. It suggests
the child is innocent, possibly even oblivious to
what is going on around her. Her miscount
further intensifies the idea that she is very young.
The child may be a metaphor for the United
States. (Figurative Language)
DAY 3
Visual Analysis Activity: Respond
•Answer Questions 2-9 alone or with a partner
or small group – everyone write own copy of
answers.
• TWO parts: identify and explain
• Refer specifically to the image.
• Address how and why strategies are used
(effects on audience).
DAY 4
Visual Analysis Activity: Respond
•View the Willy Horton ad
•Annotate stills and text for ethos, logos, and
pathos.
•Answer Questions 1-9 alone or with a partner
or small group – everyone write own copy of
answers.
http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1988/filter/ind
DAY 5
Write Essay
Carefully read and review the “Peace, Little
Girl” and “Weekend Passes” advertisements.
Then write an essay in which you analyze how
the distinctive images of each advertisement
reveal the purpose of its sponsor. You have 40
minutes to complete your essay.