type of grade: _________________________ due: _________________________________
Write in standard essay form using complete sentences and paragraphs.
Choose one ad from your magazine to analyze. Please choose an ad that targets at least two of
the three rhetorical appeals and that has both text (not just the brand name) and visuals.
 Presentation:
 If you handwrite, neatly write on the FRONT SIDE only of REGULAR, LOOSE LEAF PAPER using BLACK
or NORMAL BLUE (not turquoise/aqua) ink. DO NOT WRITE IN PENCIL!! (You should NEVER write
essays/analyses in pencil!) I will not accept and will not grade work written in pencil. Neatness does
count; because you revised your rough draft and concentrated on neatness while writing, your
paper should not have “scratch-outs.”
 Work that is typed must be printed in black using an easy-to-read font no larger than 12 point in size
and printed on only one side of the paper. DO NOT ITALICIZE ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE TITLE OF
YOUR MAGAZINE. Following ALL of these instructions for typed work will enable you to earn 10 points of
extra credit.
 Use construction paper (two sheets of small or one sheet of large), a file folder, a folder with pockets, or a
small piece of poster board to arrange your ad and your analysis. Regardless of the presentation method
you choose, your ad needs to be mounted on the left and your analysis on the right. Expect points to
be deducted from your grade if you do not use one of these methods and follow the directions
exactly.
o Using tape or glue, mount your ad on the left side of the construction paper and your analysis on the
right. If you’re using two sheets of 8 ½ x 11 in. construction paper, tape them together so that your
ad and analysis fit on one side.
o Using tape or glue, mount your ad to the left inside of the file folder and your analysis to the right
inside of the file folder.
o Place your ad in the left pocket of the folder and your analysis in the right pocket of the folder.
o Use tape or glue to mount your ad and analysis on the same side of a SMALL (small enough so that
little of the poster board is visible but large enough so that the ad and analysis fit on the same side)
piece of poster board with your ad on the left and your analysis on the right.
o Please DO NOT place your ad inside any type of page protector. Although I appreciate the effort
you make to present your assignment neatly, I have to remove it from the page protector to grade it,
which I do not wish to spend time doing.
 IF YOU NEED TO USE MY GLUE OR TAPE TO ARRANGE YOUR ANALYSIS AND
AD, YOU MUST FINISH DOING SO BY THE TIME THE TARDY BELL RINGS ON
THE DUE DATE IN ORDER FOR YOUR ASSIGNMENT NOT TO BE COUNTED LATE.
Plan accordingly!
 INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH: Analysis of your magazine (remember, use COMPLETE SENTENCES
AND PARAGRAPHS!!)
 title of publication (correctly punctuated, of course; underline if handwriting and italicize if typing)
 date of publication (month and year)
 target audience of MAGAZINE, not the ad; at a minimum discuss the age and sex of the target audience;
note that an answer such as, “the target audience is everyone” is not accurate and will not earn credit
 values, interests, and concerns of target audience of the MAGAZINE (not the ad); examine subjects of
articles & advertisements other than the one you selected
 TWO OR THREE BODY PARAGRAPHS DEPENDING ON ORGANIZATIONAL METHOD in which you
address how text and visual use at least two of the three rhetorical appeals
 Discuss how the diction in the copy targets the consumer’s sense of values (ethos), reason (logos), and/or
emotions/desires/fears (pathos). Provide QUOTED WORDS from the ad in your written analysis. Of course,
enclose the words in DOUBLE quotation marks, and place end punctuation (period or comma) INSIDE the
quotation marks. Doing this correctly is part of the grade.
 Discuss how the visuals in the ad target the consumer’s sense of values, reason, and/or emotions. Do not
simply describe the picture. You must connect the visuals to one or more of the rhetorical appeals.
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Organize your body paragraphs in one of the following ways:
o option one: first body paragraph—how diction targets the two or three appeals you choose to
discuss; second body paragraph—how the visuals target the two or three appeals
o option two: first body paragraph—how pathos/logos/ethos is targeted, organized around a
discussion of both diction and visuals; second body paragraph—how your second type of appeal
is targeted, organized around a discussion of both diction and visuals; third body paragraph (if
analyzing how all three appeals are used)-- how your final type of appeal is targeted, organized
around a discussion of both diction and visuals
 AGAIN, your analysis must be in paragraph form. Conventions—grammar, punctuation, spelling, and
sentence structure and variety (try your hand at including various types of phrases)—are important! Please
proofread carefully.
CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH: discussion of how well the ad works, including any rhetorical fallacies it contains
TITLE your paper. It can be something as simple as “Rhetorical Strategies Used in Advertisement For
__________________________.” A title such as “Ad Analysis” or the generic like will not earn credit.
Please examine the sample analysis that I wrote carefully. Feel free to model your paper, including your
thesis statement and topic sentences, after mine, but do not copy any text that doesn’t apply to your magazine
and/or ad. For example, if your ad appears in Sports Illustrated, it would not be appropriate or accurate to write
that the readers’ concerns include “…health, coping with stress, personal and spiritual growth, and balancing
work and family.”
Papers that earn grades above an 89 will do all of the following:
• Examine how the ad targets at least two of the three rhetorical appeals.
• Identify and explain at least one rhetorical fallacy used in the ad.
• Be well-organized. These papers will have an introduction, at least two body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
• Include a clearly written thesis statement as the last sentence of the introduction.
• Arrange the body paragraphs in the order in which they are listed in the thesis statement.
• Have transitions between paragraphs. (The test: if you rearranged your body paragraphs but left ALL the
text intact, would your paper seem “out of order”? If not, you DO NOT HAVE TRANSITIONS.)
• Avoid the use of second person. Second-person should NEVER be used in formal writing.
Sophisticated writers NEVER use second-person unless they are writing something such as a letter or
e-mail—writing that is directed to a particular person! Study my example for how to avoid using the word
you. Words to substitute include audience, consumer, viewer, and reader.
• Vary sentence structure by using introductory subordinate clauses and a variety of phrase types.
• Use action verbs instead of being verbs wherever it is possible.
• Avoid needless, purposeless repetition; for example, use the words images, imagery, visuals,
illustrations, photographs, and pictures when discussing what the reader sees in the ad. Try to use a
different word meaning use when explaining how the ad uses diction or visuals; for example, you could
try words such as employs and utilizes. When quoting text, avoid using only the word says. When
appropriate for the context, try states, declares, asserts, and maintains.
• Use a print or computerized thesaurus to choose your diction carefully—for example, I carefully selected
the words pristine, stench, tracking, and trap.
• Take at least two hours to draft, revise, edit, and publish (write/type). (It took me that long; why would it
take you less time to do a comparable job?)
• Contain few or no errors in grammar or mechanics, including commas!! Please ask a parent/adult and/or a
trusted friend to proofread your paper!
• Use the pronoun who, not that, when referring to human beings.
• Use one or he or she to refer to one person instead of using the plural pronoun they. If your ad markets
a product specifically used by one sex, choose the appropriate pronoun. For example, if the product is
makeup, use the pronoun she throughout your paper since the target audience is female!
• Have clear antecedents for all pronouns. The first word of a paragraph should NOT be a pronoun.
• Contain few or no errors in spelling. Typed papers must evidence the use of spell-check.
• Have a title that is specific to the chosen ad and essay. Titles such as “Ad Analysis” are NOT specific—this
title could be used by anyone who analyzes ANY ad in the entire world.
• Follow all directions regarding format, presentation, and content.
• BE ENGAGING AND MEMORABLE!
HAVE FUN!
Impress me with your ability
to analyze advertising critically!