Assignment

ANALYZING VISUALS

Analyzing a visual is not all that different from analyzing a written text. Think about how you read a short story, for example. First you read through the story from beginning to end, to experience the story by focusing on its plot. Then you go back to question things that seem especially interesting, unexpected, difficult, or confusing. You might look at the story in terms of the elements of fiction (plot, character, setting, imagery, and so forth). Focusing on specific details allows you to deepen your understanding, which in turn leads you to a more informed interpretation of the story as a whole.

Analyzing a visual involves much the same process. You begin with your initial responses to the image as a whole, then explore specific parts or details in more depth, and then re-assemble these details into a more complete understanding of the image as a whole.

The process you use to analyze a visual text will depend on the purpose of your analysis, the audience you want to communicate with, and the nature of the visual text you are analyzing.

Reading Visual Arguments

Visual arguments use images to engage viewers and persuade them to accept a particular idea or point of view. You are probably familiar with some of the ways advertisements use images to make a product appealing or to link a product to a particular lifestyle or identity. But advertisements are only one type of visual argument. In almost every discipline, visual arguments are used to support claims and present new research.

Any argument, visual or verbal, contains three main elements: claims, evidence, and assumptions. Reading visual arguments involves analyzing all three of these elements.

· Testing claims Claims are positive statements that require support. In written argument, the central claim is usually stated explicitly as a thesis statement or research hypothesis. In visual arguments, in contrast, the central claim or claims are often implicit.

· Weighing evidence Visual arguments use several types of evidence to support their claims. Visual arguments can use facts, examples, expert opinions, and appeals to beliefs or needs to support their claims.

You should always evaluate visual evidence critically. Analyze the visual argument carefully, and ask yourself if the evidence is both accurate and adequate. Visual information can be distorted or manipulated just as words can, and you should always analyze visual evidence to be sure it is fair, precise, and credible. Similarly, visual evidence should also be relevant and adequate. It should pertain directly to the issue or topic central to the claim, and it should avoid sensational or purely emotional effect.

· Discovering assumptions Visual arguments are based on assumptions-the ideas, often implicit or unstated, about why and how the evidence relates to the claims. In visual arguments, the key assumptions often involve beliefs about the audience for the image, including who viewers are, where they will see or encounter the visual argument, what they already know and believe about the subject, and what kinds of information or ideas they will find persuasive.

Visual arguments are powerful tools of persuasion that appear in a myriad of forms in our media culture. To become critically literate and informed, you need to learn and practice the skills of reading visual arguments critically. Just as you would not accept an opinion as true just because you found it in print, so too you should not accept visual arguments at face value. Evaluate visual arguments by testing their claims, weighing the evidence offered in support of those claims, and by exploring the assumptions they make about who audiences are and what they believe.

Use the following steps to guide you, and then adapt them to suit your own needs and writing situation. Use the questions listed with each step to generate ideas you might use in writing.

· Record your initial reactions What do you notice first? What catches your attention? Is the image familiar to you? How does it make you feel? What does it make you think about?

· Explore the visual elements and identify important details Consider the details that matter most. Look at the way the image is composed. Does it use colors in a special way? What point of view does it use? Can you identify one or more focal points? Does the image use contrast, lighting, arrangement, focus, balance, or other visual elements to produce a certain affect? What details surprise you? Does anything seem unusual or out of place?

· Consider the context and background of the image When was the image produced? By whom? For what purpose? You may have to do some research to answer these questions. Try to learn as much as you can about the situation referenced by the image. Think about what the image may be responding to. Look at its genre and medium and compare it with similar images or visual texts from the same time period.

· Consider the process used to create the image What type of image is it? Think about the medium used (photograph, collage, painting, digital illustration, or cartoon, for example) and compare the image to others in that medium. How is its style and technique similar to or different from others in that medium?

· Reconsider your initial reactions Visual texts often produce immediate, emotional reactions. In light of your detailed analysis, go back and reconsider your first impressions. Does your analysis reinforce your impressions? Challenge them? Decide which details you think are most important, and use them to develop an interpretation that you can present and support in your paper or presentation.

The above process should help you to analyze visual texts in depth. If you answer all of these questions, you should have more than enough details written down to use in developing a short analysis paper.

Three part structure outline for writing a visual analysis paper

Try using the following three-part structure if you are given an assignment that involves visual analysis.

1. First, describe what you see in the image. Focus on specific details, and imagine you are writing to someone who has never seen this visual text before.

2. Next, analyze the image. Provide specific background details concerning the context of your image. For example, if your image depicts war, explain who is fighting and why, who is affected, and why the image is relevant to the situation. What do readers need to know about the topic conveyed by your image?

3. Finally, interpret the image. Move beyond the obvious to present your own unique angle or argument about the image. This is where critical thinking / creativity come into play.