Overview:

Find an advertisement in some way related to "crime" and write a rhetorical analysis with a minimum of 1200 words (approximately 5 double-spaced pages) assessing this ad’s effectiveness. Consider advertisements that draw in some way on criminality. Maybe this is a product or service that has to do with actual crime, or maybe it’s an advertisement that merely draws on the imagery of criminals, crime, confinement, etc., to have a specific effect with its audience. In your analysis, you will assess the ad’s appeals to ethos, pathos, logos and kairos, and also conduct research about the institution or company who produced the ad to analyze who the “speaker” and audience of the piece are and how their roles shape the argument of the ad. You will also look at the arguments of the ad with a critical eye.

 

Goals:

This assignment is designed to help you

Make an argument using unfamiliar academic terms (i.e., ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos)

Demonstrate critical thinking skills: particularly clarity, precision, breadth, and logic

Write a thesis-driven argument with clear topic sentences

Become a more critical reader of images and visual crime rhetoric in the media

 

Advertisement Selection:

The advertisement you use may be a video commercial, or be found in a newspaper, magazine or on a website. If your advertisement is a static image, be sure to select one that has plenty of text as well as images; otherwise, you may have difficulty finding enough to write to fulfill the assignment.

 

Formatting and other Requirements:

Your analysis should be at least 5 full double-spaced pages.  Be sure to include

page numbers (in Word, go to the Insert menu and select Page Numbers)

a title

your name

a copy of the ad you are analyzing, or a link to where it can be found.