Visual Analysis 101 University Writing Center Jaclyn Wells

What is visual analysis? In a visual analysis, your job is to break down the different elements of a text that communicates primarily with visuals. Your goal is to understand how these different elements communicate a message and accomplish a purpose. Visual texts include things you see every day, such as:  Websites  Photos or paintings  Brochures or flyers  Advertisements

Visual vs. verbal analysis Analyzing visual texts is both similar to and different from analyzing verbal texts:  In both cases, you consider the text’s rhetorical situation, which is made up of its audience, purpose, and context (or circumstances).  In both cases, you think about how the text’s elements communicate for that audience, purpose, and context.  But, in visual text, you focus primarily on visual elements instead of verbal.

The rhetorical situation Whether visual or verbal, you might investigate a text’s rhetorical situation by asking journalistic questions (the who, what, when, where, how, and why) about its audience, purpose, and context. Let’s consider UAB’s website, as an example:UAB’s website  Who is the website’s audience ? In other words, who might come to the website?  What is its purpose ? In other words, why might someone come to the website?  What is its context or environment? In other words, where, when, and how might someone visit the website?

Visual Analysis: The Process As with all writing, there is no one process that will work for everyone when it comes to analyzing a visual text. As you develop your ideas for a visual analysis, though, you might find it useful to follow three general steps: 1. Describe 2. Respond 3. Analyze

Describe the text Many people overlook this step, but simply describing a visual text is an important part of the process. Trying to analyze a visual text without being able to first describe it would be like trying to analyze an article without being able to first summarize it. When you describe a visual text, you might look at:  Colors and shading  Objects and shapes  People and places  Arrangement of elements on page  Foreground and background

Respond to the text A good visual analysis will go beyond basic reaction, but thinking about how you react to a visual text can be useful in developing your ideas. When you look at a visual text, think about:  What’s my initial, gut reaction?  How does the text make me feel ?  What does the text make me think ?  Does the text make we want to do something?  Does the text remind me of anything I’ve seen, heard, or read about before?

Analyze the text In the next step, push beyond description and response. Consider how the text’s different elements communicate a message and accomplish a purpose. Remember the rhetorical situation: The audience, purpose, and context of the visual text.

Analyze the text, cont. To think about how the text communicates a message to its reader, ask questions about each element you described. For each element, ask: What is its purpose? What is its effect on the audience? How does it contribute to the text’s message? How does it relate to the context? As a reminder, some of these elements are:  Colors and shading  Objects and shapes  People and places  Arrangement of elements on page  Foreground and background

Creating your thesis The thesis for a visual analysis will depend upon your specific assignment, purpose, and text you’re analyzing. When in doubt, always return to your assignment description and instructor to understand your assignment’s focus, purpose, and requirements. Generally, a visual analysis thesis will make a claim about how the text communicates a message A visual analysis thesis might sound like: The Ford F150 advertisement uses dark colors, images of men working, and an outdoor setting to suggest that the truck is intended for outdoorsy, hardworking men.

Introducing your analysis Your introduction will also depend upon your assignment, purpose, and text. Below are some general ideas for writing an introduction for your visual analysis:  Name the text you’re analyzing in the introduction: “The Ford F150 advertisement,” “Auburn University’s website,” “The University Writing Center’s brochure.”  Include a brief description of the text. You will include more description in your body paragraphs, but a little here will help set up your analysis.  Characterize briefly the text’s rhetorical situation (its audience, purpose, and context). Again, you will include more of this in body paragraphs, but a little bit here will set up the rest of your paper.

Organizing your analysis You have many options for organizing your visual analysis (and, again, what you choose will depend on your specific situation). Below are some general options for organizing the body of your paper. Please keep in mind that these are only a few options.  Spatial : The structure of your paper follows the way your eyes follow a visual text, generally from left to right or from most to least prominent parts.  Elements: Each section or body paragraph focuses on an element of the text, such as color, images, etc.  Rhetorical appeals: The paper’s sections are divided into the three appeals: ethos, pathos, and logos.  Rhetorical situation: The paper’s sections are divided into the elements of the rhetorical situation: audience, purpose, and context.

Further reading Today’s workshop has only offered an introduction to writing a visual analysis. If you would like more information, the following resources might be useful:  The Purdue Online Writing Lab offers number of resources on visual and rhetorical analysis.Purdue Online Writing Lab  The Duke Thompson Writing Program website contains many resources on visual analysis (Click: “Genres of Writing” and then “Visual Analysis”).Duke Thompson Writing Program  The UWC offers one-on-one appointments or Ask-a-Tutor services for all UAB students.