Analyzing Media Sources

For this essay, you will begin conducting rhetorical analysis. Your task will be to analyze one media source of your choice. There is flexibility of media source you choose to analyze:

• Targeted Advertisement (can be print or video)
• Commercial for Television (you would need to find a link to the commercial)
• Campaign Advertisement (print, video, or audio)
• News article Op-Ed
• A social media post/video/thread
• Music video
• Press release
• Public service announcement

Requirements of Media Choice

The key requirement is your source need to have a clear goal and message that you will analyze. Your media choice must have some kind of clear message and a clear audience it is trying to reach. Some types of messages discussed by media are:

• Messages surrounding a cultural issue (such as anti-smoking/texting and driving, domestic violence, politics, environmentalism, etc.)
• Messages surrounding a cultural value (home ownership, career or financial success, military, family values, patriotism, etc.) either reinforcing or challenging it
• Messages promoting a product (luxury or sports cars, make-up, and other beauty products, food, clothing, and accessories, etc.)
• Messages demonstrating a larger campaign for the brand, organization, or individual (Nike, Banksy, McDonalds, or the CDC)

Learning objective 2:

• Continued application of rhetorical situations
• Highlight knowledge of rhetorical analysis
• Show understanding or rhetorical appeals and their effectiveness
• Highlight distinction between summary and analysis
• Analyze a media source without including personal reaction or opinion

Remember you are only analyzing one media source. Once you have chosen your media source, you will need to begin to break it down and analyze it. For this essay, you will be required to breakdown the rhetorical situation of the media you are analyzing. You will need to understand who the composer is, who the target audience is, the composer’s purpose, the medium/genre being used, and any contexts that might be impacting the overall message. Begin by asking some questions abouthte source:

• What is the main point or message of the piece?
• Who is the audience that this example intends to reach?
• Who is the creator and what kind of reputation, viewpoints, or biases do they have?
• Why is the media example created? What’s its purpose or goal?
• How does the creator use the rhetorical appeals in order to express their message?
• How does the creator reinforce the message through other rhetorical moves, such as design and composition?

For your thesis statement, you will need to make an analytical claim about how the composer of the source works to achieve their goal. This means your will have to show me that you have learned about rhetorical skills and appeals. You will have to think carefully about why the composer chose to design their message the way that they have and how those choices work to fulfill the overall goal of the composer. The above questions will help you begin brainstorming the primary rhetorical moves being put to use to create a specific message and achieve a specific goal.

YouTube Video Address: https://youtu.be/zyLkUFn0-xw?si=HJI3aBAyappTcfCp