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Using Visual Rhetoric Text/Image Juxta(position)

What do we mean by Visual Rhetoric?

use of visuals to make argument, and/or to enhance an argument's persuasiveness
Why visual rhetoric? We are a visual culture, most of the attempts to persuade us do not rely upon textual appeals alone. Examples: advertisements for produicts, advertisements for politicians, ads for charitable organizations.

Visual Rhetorical Moves

"Decoration"

“If the system fails these students, it does so in many cases long before they step into a college classroom. Less than a quarter of New York’s public high school graduates are deemed college-ready” (Beha 57).
very straightforward connection to the argument
not much creativity involved in choosing the image

"Illustration"

“If the system fails these students, it does so in many cases long before they step into a college classroom. Less than a quarter of New York’s public high school graduates are deemed college-ready” (Beha 57).
uses visuals to better illustrate a given point
some creativity involved in choosing the image

"Visual Argumentation"

“If the system fails these students, it does so in many cases long before they step into a college classroom. Less than a quarter of New York’s public high school graduates are deemed college-ready” (Beha 57).
visuals that make an argument in and of themselves (sometimes through juxtaposition)
most creativity used in choosing the image (high creativity if they are original creations)

Argument via Juxtaposition

The Purge: Black Friday - Zombie Horde

Parody

The common misconception about parity is that it's lighthearted.

Considerations in Choosing Images

  • Creativity
  • Clarity
  • Image Quality
  • Tone

Creativity

To what extent is the pairing of image and text obvious or unexpected? Not every image and claim pairing needs to be surprising, and not every image needs to make its own visual argument, but at least some of your images should demonstrate your creativity.
Current design features “promote[…] a new philosophy: that the computer is evolving into a life-form that can understand people better than people can understand themselves” (15).

Clarity: is the connection between visual and claim clear?

Lack of Clarity

“But other countries, like Finland Denmark, maintain student choice. Many students opt for vocational training because they aren’t told that college is the only ticket to success. These countries feel no need to pretend that everyone can be a college student, since they have already committed to taking care of both the winners and losers in society” (Beha 57).

Clarity

“But other countries, like Finland Denmark, maintain student choice. Many students opt for vocational training because they aren’t told that college is the only ticket to success. These countries feel no need to pretend that everyone can be a college student, since they have already committed to taking care of both the winners and losers in society” (Beha 57).

Clarity: Charts & Graphs

Graph of the amount of times I screwed up my life over a 15 year period.
Notice how little "logic" is being promoted.

Tone

  • Does the tone remain consistent? If the tone shifts, are there clear reasons for the shift?
  • Is the image evoking emotion? Is the emotion evoked appropriate for my rhetorical purpose(s)?
Images are often used to evoke emotion (appeal to pathos) but they also contribute to the general "mood" or tone of a presentation.

Image Quality

  • Is the image evoking emotion?
  • Is the emotion evoked appropriate for my rhetorical purpose(s)?
When enlarged, is the resolution high enough to maintain the image quality?

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