English
Analyzing Argument in a Visual Text
Foundation Lesson
About this Lesson
Students are inundated with visuals: on billboards, in schools, on brand-name clothing, and in the
print and electronic media that surrounds us all. Students are exposed to everything from product
and service advertisements, political ads, posters, and announcements to images on the news.
Many of the visuals students see involve a biased agenda, make a claim, or try to persuade. It is
important that students understand the techniques the creators of these visuals use to try to
manipulate their audiences.
The object of this lesson is to have students articulate how writers and artists create persuasive
appeals in visual texts. The appeals—logos, pathos, and ethos—are not devices to be identified
as separate, concrete entities within an argument (e.g., “Find an example of logos in this
advertisement”). Instead, students must look for the techniques, devices, and strategies used by
writers that create specific appeals (e.g., “What emotional effect is created by the visual’s use of
detail?”).
This lesson is included in Module 15: Issues and Assertions.
Connection to Common Core Standards for English Language Arts
LTF® Foundation Lessons are designed to be used across grade levels and therefore are aligned
to the CCSS Anchor Standards. Teachers should consult their own grade-level-specific
Standards. The activities in this lesson allow teachers to address the following Common Core
Standards:
Explicitly addressed in this lesson
Code
Standard
R.1
R.2
Read closely to determine what the text says
explicitly and to make logical inferences from it.
Cite specific textual evidence when writing or
speaking to support conclusions drawn from the
text.
Determine central ideas or themes of a text and
analyze their development; summarize the key
supporting details and ideas.
Level of
Thinking
Understand
Depth of
Knowledge
III
Analyze
III
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T E A C H E R
Objectives
Students will
 closely examine different types of visual arguments.
 determine the purpose of the visual by identifying the intended audience; the assumptions
the creators made about that audience; and the devices, strategies, and techniques that are
employed in visuals to create logical, emotional, and ethical appeals.
 evaluate the effectiveness of the visual’s argument.
Teacher Overview—Analyzing Argument in a Visual Text
R.3
R.4
R.6
R.7
R.8
R.9
L.3
L.6
SL.1
SL.2
SL.3
Implicitly addressed in this lesson
Code
Standard
R.10
L.1
Read and comprehend complex literary and
informational texts independently and proficiently.
Demonstrate command of the conventions of
standard English grammar and usage when writing
or speaking.
Analyze
III
Analyze
III
Analyze
III
Evaluate
III
Evaluate
III
Analyze
III
Understand
II
Understand
II
Understand
II
Understand
II
Evaluate
III
Evaluate
III
Level of
Thinking
Understand
Depth of
Knowledge
II
Understand
I
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T E A C H E R
L.5
Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas
develop and interact over the course of a text.
Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a
text, including determining technical, connotative,
and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific
word choices shape meaning or tone.
Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the
content and style of a text.
Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse
formats and media, including visually and
quantitatively, as well as in words.
Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific
claims in a text, including the validity of the
reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of
the evidence.
Analyze how two or more texts address similar
themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to
compare the approaches the authors take.
Apply knowledge of language to understand how
language functions in different contexts, to make
effective choices for meaning or style, and to
comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
Demonstrate understanding of word relationships
and nuances in word meanings.
Acquire and use accurately a range of general
academic and domain-specific words and phrases
sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and
listening at the college and career readiness level;
demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary
knowledge when considering a word or phrase
important to comprehension or expression.
Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of
conversations and collaborations with diverse
partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing
their own clearly and persuasively.
Integrate and evaluate information presented in
diverse media and formats, including visually,
quantitatively, and orally.
Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and
use of evidence and rhetoric.
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Teacher Overview—Analyzing Argument in a Visual Text
L.2
Demonstrate command of the conventions of
standard English capitalization, punctuation, and
spelling when writing.
Understand
I
LTF Skill Focus
The foundation for LTF English lessons is the Skill Progression Chart that identifies key skills
for each domain, beginning with grade 6 and adding more complex skills at each subsequent
grade level while reinforcing skills introduced at previous grade levels. The Skill Focus for each
individual lesson identifies the skills actually addressed in that lesson.
Remember
Understand
Close Reading
Levels of Thinking
Apply
Analyze
Grammar
Evaluate
Create
Composition
written, spoken, and visual texts
purposeful use of language for effect
written, spoken, and visual products
T E A C H E R
Reading Strategies
Determining Audience
Determining Author’s
Purpose
Determining Main Idea
Inference
Literary Elements
Detail
Diction
connotative
Imagery
Mood
Tone
Figures of Speech
Metaphor
Paradox
Pun
Literary Techniques
Allusion
Argumentation
emotional appeals
ethical appeals
logical appeals
Hyperbole
Irony
verbal
Symbolism
Connections to AP*
Students must perform rhetorical analysis on both the multiple choice and free response sections
of the AP English Language exam. Analyzing the use of appeals to create an argument is an
essential component of any rhetorical analysis activity.
*Advanced Placement and AP are registered trademarks of the College Examination Entrance Board. The College
Board was not involved in the production of this material.
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Teacher Overview—Analyzing Argument in a Visual Text
Materials and Resources
 copies of the Student Activity
 a group of visuals all dealing with the same topic*
*The visuals used in LTF training are presented in a PowerPoint® presentation and include
one-frame cartoons and photographs on the topic of cell phones. Teachers can choose any
combination of visuals for this activity, but, in order for students to be able to evaluate the
effectiveness of the visual comparatively, all of the visuals must address the same topic.
Assessments
The following kinds of formative assessments are embedded in this lesson:
 guided questions
 frame statements
Teaching Suggestions
Teachers should review the different appeals with students and stress that appeals are created by
a writer’s use of devices and techniques. The handout “Creating Appeals,” with its illustrative
Venn Diagram, is a useful resource for both teachers and students to see the different tools
writers use to create appeals and how the categories can, at times, overlap.
Answers
Answers for this lesson will vary depending upon the visuals used. To obtain the maximum
benefit of the lesson, ask students to go beyond the expected responses.
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T E A C H E R
As teachers show visuals, they should use the Student Activity’s questions and prompts to guide
students’ discussion about the audience and purpose of the visual as well as the elements that are
used to create the argument.
English
Analyzing Argument in a Visual Text: General Questions
Student Resource
1. Describe the details of the visual.
Visual 1
Visual 2
Visual 3
Visual 4
2. List any captions or labels.
Visual 1
Visual 2
Visual 3
Visual 4
3. Who seems to be the primary intended audience?
Visual 1
Visual 2
Visual 3
Visual 4
4. What assumptions have been made about the audience?
Visual 1
Visual 2
Visual 3
Visual 4
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Student Resource—Analyzing Argument in a Visual Text
Note: These steps should be done for all visuals.
5. Check any of the following techniques of logos used in the visual.
Visual 1
Visual 2
Visual 3
□ Facts
□ Reference to
□ Facts
□ Reference to
□ Facts
□ Reference to
Visual 4
□ Facts
□ Reference to
authority figures
authority figures
authority figures
authority figures
□ Statistics
□ Allusions
□ Cause/effect
□ Symbolism
□ Irony
□ Precedent
□ Common sense/
□ Statistics
□ Allusions
□ Cause/effect
□ Symbolism
□ Irony
□ Precedent
□ Common sense/
□ Statistics
□ Allusions
□ Cause/effect
□ Symbolism
□ Irony
□ Precedent
□ Common sense/
□ Statistics
□ Allusions
□ Cause/effect
□ Symbolism
□ Irony
□ Precedent
□ Common sense/
shared values
□ Tradition
□ Analogy/
comparison
shared values
□ Tradition
□ Analogy/
comparison
shared values
□ Tradition
□ Analogy/
comparison
shared values
□ Tradition
□ Analogy/
comparison
Choose one of the checked boxes above and complete the fill-in-the-blank analysis.
Visual 1:
The use of
in the visual reinforces/suggests/presents the idea
that
.
6. Check any of the following techniques of pathos used in the visual.
Visual 1
Visual 2
Visual 3
□ Connotative
diction
□ Comparisons
□ Images
□ Puns/word play
□ Humor
□ Exaggeration
□ Distortion
□ Symbolism
□ Connotative
diction
□ Comparisons
□ Images
□ Puns/word play
□ Humor
□ Exaggeration
□ Distortion
□ Symbolism
□ Connotative
diction
□ Comparisons
□ Images
□ Puns/word play
□ Humor
□ Exaggeration
□ Distortion
□ Symbolism
Visual 4
□ Connotative
diction
□ Comparisons
□ Images
□ Puns/word play
□ Humor
□ Exaggeration
□ Distortion
□ Symbolism
Choose one of the checked boxes above and complete the fill-in-the-blank analysis.
Visual 1:
The use of
in the visual reinforces/suggests/presents the idea
that
Copyright © 2012 Laying the Foundation®, Inc., Dallas, TX. All rights reserved. Visit us online at www.ltftraining.org.
.
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Student Resource—Analyzing Argument in a Visual Text
7. Check the techniques the creator of the visual uses to establish ethos.
Visual 1
Visual 2
Visual 3
□ Celebrity
endorsement
□ Celebrity
□ Celebrity
endorsement
endorsement
Visual 4
□ Celebrity
endorsement
□ Using well-known
□ Using well-known
□ Using well-known
□ Using well-known
figures that can be
trusted
□ Using a setting/
situation/context
that is familiar
□ Establishing the
artist’s knowledge
of the world
figures that can be
trusted
□ Using a setting/
situation/context
that is familiar
□ Establishing the
artist’s knowledge
of the world
figures that can be
trusted
□ Using a setting/
situation/context
that is familiar
□ Establishing the
artist’s knowledge
of the world
figures that can be
trusted
□ Using a setting/
situation/context
that is familiar
□ Establishing the
artist’s knowledge
of the world
Choose one of the checked boxes above and complete the fill-in-the-blank analysis.
Visual 1:
The use of
in the visual reinforces/suggests/presents the idea
that
8. What is the purpose of the visual?
Visual 1
Visual 2
.
Visual 3
Visual 4
9. Write an assertion made directly or indirectly by the visual.
Visual 1
Visual 2
Visual 3
Visual 4
10. Which visual is the most persuasive? Why?
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