Topic: Writing to Analyze

Order Description Doing this report on a German Family Project 2: Writing to Analyze Project Description & Grading Rubric For the second project, there are again two components. First, you will compose a visual analysis of a photograph – a carefully constructed, rhetorical photograph from the Hungry Planet Series “What the World Eats.” Second, you will compose and produce your own Hungry Planet photograph, and write a short reflective essay that both explains the choices you made in the construction of your photograph and reflects on the overall experience of creating the photograph. The Visual Analysis: Remember, analysis is an examination of the parts that make up the whole. The parts of a visual text (like a photograph) include words and phrases as well as images, colors, patterns, and spatial arrangement. Visual analysis focuses on identifying and understanding these features of a text and interpreting the meanings they represent. In addition to an analysis of what the visual image is communicating, an effective visual analysis typically also contains a copy of the image, and a written description of the image. As discussed in Chapter 8 in our textbook, analytical writing focuses on complex subjects. Writing in this genre is research-based rather than personal-based, and the analytical presentation is focused and straightforward. Your conclusion should go beyond restating your major claim or thesis. The conclusion is an opportunity to outline how the parts work together and to explain whether you think they function effectively. In this project, you will be asked to explore different cultures and traditions. To that end, you will focus on one aspect of a culture and tradition: food. You will analyze one photograph from the Hungry Planet Series: What the World Eats by answering questions that will give your reader insight into the rhetorical appeals (pathos, logos, and ethos) at work in the photograph, the meaning of the photograph beyond its individual parts, and the relevance of the photograph in both a global and a local context. To give your reader background, you should research the context of the food represented in the photograph, such as the country, the region, the economic significance, and the nutritional value. However, the majority of your essay should focus on what story the photographer is trying to share with you through the camera lens. You might consider questions such as: How is the photographer establishing credibility (ethos) with the viewer? Why should we trust what is being shown? How is the photographer appealing to the viewer's emotion (pathos)? What elements does the photographer choose to foreground, and why? You must use secondary research to support your analysis, so you must choose your photograph from the Hungry Planet series early in the project’s sequence. Composing your own Hungry Planet Photograph: Once you understand the purposeful decisions that go into the construction of the Hungry Planet photographs, it is time for you to compose and produce your own Hungry Planet photograph. Using a smartphone or a digital camera, you will compose and submit one photograph that documents what a week's worth of food looks like in your life. In addition to this photograph, you will write a short reflective essay that both explains the choices you made in the construction of your photograph and reflects on the overall experience of creating the photograph. Both the photograph and the reflective essay should engage with the rhetorical appeals (logos, ethos, and pathos). Demonstrate your mastery of and ability to use these rhetorical concepts as you analyze how all texts (including visual ones) are carefully constructed to be persuasive to a target audience. Project Steps Step 1: Review the Hungry Planet photographs To get started on this project, you will need to spend some time looking through all the photographs to acquaint yourself with the many families and countries represented. Then, you will choose one of the photographs for your visual analysis. Choose a photo from the Hungry Planet photo gallery featured on Time.com. Step 2: Brainstorm Ideas You will first summarize the photograph, sharing background information with your reader. In developing this project, you will need to examine the qualities of an effective analysis (see chapter 8 in your eBook) as well as the qualities specific to a *visual* analysis. The majority of your writing should focus on analysis, illustrating how the photographer uses the rhetorical appeals to compose ideas about family traditions, culture, economics, nutrition, and/or globalization (for example). Step 3: Conduct Secondary Research You must use secondary research to support your analysis, so it is in your best interest to research the country and region where the photograph was taken in order to help your audience understand the context for the photograph (and so they can be persuaded by your analysis. Step 4: Compose Your Visual Analysis Your project will be an academic essay, approximately four to six pages (double-spaced, 12-pt font) and include proper APA citations as well as a References page (which does not count toward the expected length). You must submit the photograph you chose as an appendix to the paper as well. Your target audience for this analytical essay are your peers in this course. Step 5: Compose and Produce Your Own Hungry Planet Photograph In completing this part of the assignment, you are welcome to use any photographing equipment available to you. If you don't have a smartphone or a digital camera, you might ask a friend or family member to let you borrow one. If you are unable to find someone with a smartphone or digital camera, you may need to scan a printed photograph so that the rest of us can view it digitally. Remember: your photograph should be carefully arranged to maximize the rhetorical effect you want it to have on viewers. Nothing is placed without purposeful intent. Step 6: Compose Your Reflective Essay Remember, this reflection should both explain the choices you made in the construction of your photograph and reflect on the overall experience of creating the photograph. You may want to consider the following questions as you work on your short reflective essay: What parallels or distinctions can you draw between the experience of analyzing the original Hungry Planet photograph and taking one of your own? Did you find yourself considering the rhetorical appeals in a different way as the composer of a photograph? How did constructing the photograph impact your perception of your own relationship to food? You must submit the photograph you created as an appendix to the essay. Your reflective essay should be approximately two to four pages (double-spaced, 12-pt font) in length. Step 7: Provide and Obtain Feedback on Your Work Use the multiple opportunities available to you in this cour