You may be thinking, “WTF, we have a paper due already?!?!” That’s understandable. However, you can do this. I used to have the first Writing Project due later in the semester, but I then found the final two projects, which are more difficult, didn’t have enough time. Plus, this is a good test: I can see your performance in a formal writing assignment, and you can complete an assignment that’s low risk. If you do get a low score, you won’t have limited your final grade by much because this Writing Project is only worth a hundred points.
I’ll be looking at your topics today and tomorrow, so watch for my comments, and if I suggest you choose a different ad, do so. Too often students choose ads that make their job harder. Usually these ads are too simple: there aren’t enough elements in the ad for an analysis of three to five pages. Your ad should have a good variety of elements (images, text, infographics, etc).
You’ll start your paper with an introduction. An introduction establishes your paper’s purpose. In other words, it prepares readers to read your text by establishing your text’s intentions. Since your purpose is to analyze the argument in a magazine ad, there are several ways you might organize your introduction. You might start by discussing advertising in general and then lead the discussion to your thesis (we’ll discuss this in the next paragraph). Or you might discuss the specific product or type of product and how they’re advertised. For example, if I were writing about the McDonald’s ad, I might discuss what fast food advertising is like now and then discuss how the ad shows fast food advertising in the past. Once you’ve established that you’re discussing advertising, introduce the specific ad you’re analyzing and name the magazine that published it. This will lead to your paper’s thesis.
Many students are intimidated by the idea of a thesis. They shouldn’t be. You shouldn’t be. A thesis is just the purpose of what you’re writing. For this assignment it might look something like, “After analyzing its elements, I find the McDonald’s ad makes a strong argument for parents to give themselves a break.” Or, “This State Farm ad seems strong at first, but it lacks evidence and seems to manipulate its audience.” Your thesis, then, is a statement about the quality of your advertisement’s argument.
The body of your paper should be multiple paragraphs performing the analysis. How do you analyze? Describe a part of the advertisement and then explain how it works for the audience. Here’s an example:
This ad has a large image of McDonald’s food in the middle of the page. There’s a carton of fries, a Coke, a shake, an apple-pie, a Filet O’Fish, and a Big Mac. While the images are illustrations and not photographs, they do look like the actual food a person would get from McDonald’s. The fry carton and the drink cups all have the golden arches logo that represent the McDonald’s brand. This reinforces that McDonald’s is a trusted brand and that readers should know what to expect. Additionally, the food appeals to the audience because it looks like the food served in the restaurants. The images provide credibility to readers and offer a logos appeal because they look like McDonald’s food.
The body of your paper should cover EVERY detail in the advertisement in an organized manner. One way to do this is by the prominence of the ad’s elements. This means you would start with the largest, most striking features of the ad and analyze each detail finishing with the minor details. Another way to organize your body paragraphs is spatially—start at the top of the ad and then move to the bottom, covering all the elements in order. Each body paragraph should start with a sentence that signals the element being discussed.
You’ll sometimes hear instructors mention “topic sentences.” A topic sentence is just the first sentence of a paragraph. Topic sentences are important because they signal a paragraph’s purpose AND they can place the paragraph in the paper. If you see the sentence, “The first thing a reader notices when viewing this ad is . . .” you’ll know that it’s probably the first body paragraph. So good topic sentences can keep the paper focused on its purpose and strengthen its organization. Focus on creating strong topic sentences.
For your paper’s conclusion, you should remind the reader of your thesis: what is the overall strength of the ad? Why do you think so? What has your analysis taught you about advertising or the arguments used in advertising?
Finally, as you’re drafting the paper, RELAX. The only thing that really matters about your initial draft is that you’ve made an attempt. In writing instruction, there’s a famous article that reminds us that it’s okay to have a “shitty first draft.” Just do the best that you’re able to, even if that’s not the best possible. You’ll spend next week revising your draft. We’ll discuss it in our conference.
As always, email me with any questions or if you’re having any difficulties.
