English 1301—Keliher
Midterm Exam—Analyzing Images
Materials: Bluebook and copy of image*
Task: In a well-organized, thesis-driven essay, describe, analyze, and present an argument over an image, which can include
magazine, newspaper, and/or web advertisements.
Your aim is to analyze the rhetorical strategies of the image by examining the following:
 settings, furnishings, and props
 characters, roles, and action
 text (includes auditory text, if analyzing a commercial or trailer)
 colors, angles, and perspectives
 rhetorical context (audience, purpose, social / cultural messages – what it’s selling beyond just the product)
Important Notes:
 Your essay must go beyond description to make a clear argument about the image. What is its purpose and how
effectively does it achieve it?
 Your essay must present solid analysis. Consider that the creator(s) of the image made purposeful decisions about
every aspect of the image. Why did the creator(s) make those decisions? What effects do those choices create? How
do they influence the viewer of the image?
 You will not have time to analyze every compositional feature of the image. Choose the strongest, most relevant, and
most interesting (to you) rhetorical strategies listed above to make a strong argument about the text.
 Remember that I will not view the image before reading your essay, which means that you need to be very detailed in
your descriptions. Describe the image so specifically that I do not need to have it in front of me to understand your
essay. That being said, do not spend long paragraphs only describing the image. Make certain that the descriptions
exist in service of your argument and analysis. Try to begin each of your body paragraphs with an argument.
 Explain the evidence and its relevance—a reader may not be able to follow your thinking, so explain it to them.
 Though an in-class exam, the essay needs to include effective organization (introduction, smoothly-transitioned body
paragraphs, conclusion), effective wording and syntax, and be free of grammatical and spelling errors. Allow yourself
enough time to reread the essay and make necessary changes.
Grading Criteria:
Criteria Area:
Content, Insights, Grappling
with Topic
(40 points)
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Specific Expectations:
Thesis statement takes a definite and reasoned position on the image
Student writes a detailed analysis of the image
Student makes an argument about its effectiveness
Support (20 points)

Organization, Guiding the
Reader (20 points)
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Student adequately supports his/her argument with specific details from
the image
Paragraphs follow an effective pattern
Student remains focused on argument
Student explains relevance and meaning of details, and the connections
between those details and the argument
Style: Language, Sentences,
Wording, (10 points)
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Student utilizes specific, descriptive language
Student writes clearly and concisely
Essay is free of grammatical and spelling errors
Mechanics: Spelling,
Grammar, Punctuation (10
points)
*Materials: You will not be allowed to take the exam without the bluebook and image. Present original images.