Moving from Observation to Analysis: The Practice Analysis Essay
ENG 1001
CONTEXT:
As Americans we are required to make multiple decisions daily, some of them small, such as which
soap to buy, and some of them large, such as where to go to college, what career to pursue, or what
car to buy. Social media and print advertisements and commercials encourage us to think certain
ways: desire this product, think this way, do this. Those not willing to think through the
complexities and examine something closely are more likely to be manipulated.
Applying an analytical lens on a subject is an important step before making a decision about
something or determining a course of action. As Rosenwasser suggests, analysis should come
before judgment. When we analyze something without rushing to judge it, we can learn more
about a text, a place, or an issue. By first analyzing, we educate ourselves so that when we do offer
an opinion, we have a more thorough understanding of the complexity of the topic. This way, when
we do add our voice to an existing conversation about a topic or issue, it will be more meaningful.
Later in the two essays of the Research Project, you will be required to learn about an existing
public controversy and analyze how it is structure; after that, you will create your own persuasive
text. These skills, like anything else, take practice, and this assignment is meant to give you just that;
it is the first step in learning to examine the way a piece of rhetoric is put together, how the creator
of it attempts to manipulate the audience a specific way. The creator of the rhetoric is rightly called
the stakeholder, meaning they (the company who has hired an advertiser) has an interest in
successfully persuading an audience; they have something to gain--in the case of the makers of a
product, it is your support of their product, which usually means a financial gain.
You will see the words rhetoric and rhetorical situation a lot in college. So what do they mean?
Simply put, rhetoric means persuasion, which means strategies are used to achieve that end. As the
Student Guide for ENG 1001 explains “The rhetorical situation describes the factors that shape the
effectiveness of a communication, including the audience, purpose, and writer’s stance.”
ASSIGNMENT:
For this first analysis, we will try to keep it simple in terms of topic choice; your focus will be on one
genre, advertising, specifically print (originally published in print though available online). We can
think of advertisements as texts. For additional information on this idea of texts, read “What Counts
As Text” in your Student Guide.
1. Choose one print advertisement or one television ad (commercial) that is complex enough
for an analysis. Your ad or commercial must be easily shareable; if I cannot access it then I
cannot understand or evaluate your essay.
Note: You must know when and where the ad was published or first aired; otherwise, you will
not know for whom the text (ad or commercial) was intended and therefore cannot do a thorough
or effective analysis.
2. Carefully examine/watch and re-watch your text to see how it works: who is the
stakeholder, what is their goal, and how do they go about achieving it? You will be thinking
about and examining your chosen text much the way we will do in our Process Work of the
military ad.
3. Write a 4 page essay, typed in MLA format, in which you analyze the ad’s rhetorical
strategy, including original intended audience. Yes, your essay can be longer than 4 pages if
necessary; the point is to do a thorough analysis. The last page of your essay will be the
Works Cited page; the only source for this essay will the print ad or commercial that you
analyze. You will include information about your chosen text, including a link to it online.
This will give you practice doing citation which we will build on in the Research Project.
NOTE: The Works Cited page DOES count in the total page count.
Full draft, in MLA format with Works Cited page, due Wednesday, Sept. 14 by 11:59 p.m. EST.
Revision, in MLA format with Works Cited page, due Wednesday, Sept. 28 by 11:59 p.m. EST.
EVALUATION RUBRIC:
A Passing (C- level) English 1001 Practice Analysis Essay must show the writer
● understands the difference between summarizing and analyzing;
● understands the basic features of rhetoric and rhetorical situations;
● knows how to organize ideas and develop an analytic claim;
● understands basic MLA format; and
● can write clear and grammatically sound sentences.
TIPS & INFO:
● To choose an advertisement (print or television), you might think about an interesting time
in American history and find an ad published or aired during that time.
● If you need help with MLA format or your Works Cited page, take advantage of UC’s
wonderful librarians who are ready to help you.
● Ask when you have questions.
● Get started--putting it off only increases the chances for problems.
● To see a sample student paper written in MLA format that includes a Works Cited page, go to
your Student Guide and look in the folder Student Writing with Formatting (student names
are Drummond and Woodall).
● You will complete various Process Assignments to help as you plan, draft, and revise your
analysis essay. You will receive feedback from me throughout this process. Much of our
classwork will take the form of workshops in which we review your materials and offer
revision suggestions. You are welcome to meet with me any time; just schedule an
appointment with me in my Zoom office. We have one required meeting after your draft is
due.