Introduction: Frame your essay: offer a brief preview of your topic and purpose. Include the title, author(s), date published/aired, where it appeared, and any other basic introductory information the audience may need to understand the work before reading the analysis. Consider opening with an interesting hook. Also offer a clear thesis. Since this is an expository investigation of the means of persuasion of your artifact and not a persuasive essay, your thesis should be a focused sentence that states your purpose of examining the artifact for overall rhetorical effectiveness.  Content: Frame your artifact. Describe pertinent elements of the artifact that will help the audience see/know it sufficiently as your analysis unfolds. Demonstrate your knowledge of visual literacy and descriptive language as we discussed in class (elements and principles of art/design). A good place to start is by answering the basic “5 W’s.” Include a description of main people/figures, the scene, space, words, and other composition elements that make-up the artifact. Help the audience see and experience the artifact in a concise paragraph (or two if necessary). You can emphasize details of content as you develop the essay.  Purpose: What is the subject being discussed? Is it controversial? What is the main point or thesis of the argument? What is the overarching message? What can you SEE the author might be SAYING through the elements of design in this image? What is the author attempting to do with his/her work? Motivate? Inform? Ridicule? Amuse? Anger? Sadden? Does this purpose shift or change? How do you know this? Provide evidence to support your claims and interpretations. You may want to include appeals to logos here.  Audience: Who is the artifact for? Consider the demographic information of the audience that we discussed in class (see essay slide show part 2) What is their knowledge of the topic? Are they likely to dis/agree with the author? Does the author appeal to certain values that the audience may hold? If so, what are those values? What emotional appeals are being made to influence the audience? Include a discussion of appeals to pathos here.           Context: Are any references made to social, political or historical situations or contexts outside of the artifact? What does the audience need to keep in mind about the moment in time (historically, culturally, and socially) in which the artifact emerged? Does the artifact bring up personal associations? What experiences from your own life are evoked by the image?         Situation/Occasion: What type of text/event is this? What are the circumstances of the environment where the communication takes place? Does the author or audience control the environment? Persona: Persona is a type of mask, character, or social role the speaker/producer wears. What role does the author adopt? These are exhaustive, but some common persona archetypes are: teacher, preacher, reporter, prophet, mediator, protector, martyr, parent, coach, informant, whistleblower, imposter, opponent, buffoon. Consider our discussion on social roles and archetypes as possibilities for the question of persona.  Author: In addition to the persona the author adopts, make sure to discuss more literal information regarding the author/producer/speaker. Who is the author? What do you know about the author(s)? The persona developed in the artifact may be quite different from what we regularly know of the author. Include your discussion on ethos here (credibility, trustworthiness, character as it relates to ethics not mask, competence, conviction, energy, etc.).  Tone: How does the author express his attitude about his argument? How does s/he feel about the subject? Detached, emotional, satirical? Does s/he use humor or sarcasm? Over- or understatement? How does s/he feel about the audience? Allied and supportive? Superior and condescending? Intimate? Distanced? How do you know this? Point to direct evidence from the text to support your interpretation. Include a discussion of ethos here under persona/tone.  Evidence: What evidence, facts or statistics are used to support the argument, message, and/or main ideas of the artifact? Other forms of evidence include personal experience, stories and narratives, case studies, analogies, scientific data and studies, other authors/producers, etc.  Structure: (How ideas are arranged and organized): What pattern or structure is used? Chronology? Cause and effect? Problem-solution? Spatial design? Broad? Specific? Structured? Free-form? Outlined? Is it coherent? Fragmented? Clear? Complex?  Strategies (How ideas are developed): Consider the use of language. Narration or storytelling, description, comparisons, examples, metaphors. Does the author use denotative or connotative definitions? Declarations? Questions? Exclamations? Jargon? In/Formality? Slang? Quotations? Repetition? Vivid images? Do you see a visual metaphor at work? How might the arrangement, content, and symbolism of a visual text provide a metaphor that accesses a larger meaning, a different cognitive model or concept, or a new way of looking at the world?  Appeals: The classic rhetorical appeals can be discussed in this section, or in earlier sections (See: Purpose, Audience, Persona/Tone, Evidence, Structure). Effectiveness (Conclusion): In your opinion, has the author accomplished her purpose? How do you come to this determination? In your conclusion, when making your final determination on effectiveness, make sure to summarize and review the key highlights of your analysis.