For this assignment, you will be the “anti-Calvin” and actively analyze visual rhetoric as it relates to heroes/heroics AND/OR villains/villainy. Choosing one or more powerful pieces of visual rhetoric, write an inductive style 500-750 word essay that analyzes the rhetorical strategies and appeals used to create persuasive meaning as it relates to hero/villain figures. Your end product will be an essay in which you will “read” an image just as you would read and write about a written text.  In this essay, you should answer at least ONE of the following questions:

• How is the heroic/villainous ideal defined by the image(s)? 
• What message about heroism/villainy does the image put forth(s)?
• Is this message effective?

Phrases you ABSOLUTELY CANNOT INCLUDE in your essay:

• “a picture is worth a thousand words”
• “not all heroes wear capes”

Follow these steps to proceed with this assignment:

1. Select your text(s). Choose a visual rhetoric text from eCampus (Unit Materials→ Unit 1: Heroic/Villainous Images→ Images for Use) that most appeals to you. You may also have an image of your choosing approved for use. 
2. Pre-writing/Planning. Do a five minute pre-write on your image. This pre-write should be in addition to any free-writing on the topic done in class. For your pre-write, you may do brainstorming, free-writing, clustering, or the alternate strategy of your choice.  Be sure to consider the question you plan on answering in the essay and think about organization and the way you will shape your essay.
3. The Draft. Then, write a persuasive interpretation of your texts, considering both the messages within them and the cultural reality they reflect/create (i.e. how does your text go about defining a hero/villain?  Who does it identify as a hero/villain?  What does it say about heroes/heroism/villains/villainy? What heroic/villainous qualities/attributes does it convey?). Be sure you consider the assumptions underlying the texts, questions of materiality, layout, audience and purpose.

Checklist

Before you turn in your essay, make sure you can answer “yes” to the following questions.

• Does your essay have a specific title (other than Essay 1)?
• Does your introduction capture the reader’s attention?
• Do you include a well-constructed research question or thesis statement at the end of the introduction?
• Does each body paragraph seek to answer your research question or support your thesis?
• Do you use specific visual elements from the image to develop your body paragraphs and support your points? 
• Do you answer the ‘so what’ question through the use of commentary?
• Does your conclusion reiterate your overall claim about the image?
• Does your concluding paragraph bring your essay to a satisfying close?
• Is each paragraph well developed?
• Does each paragraph transition from one to the next?
• Is the essay written in third person?
• Is your essay formatted correctly? (See MLA information on eCampus)
• Is your essay free of grammatical errors?
• Is essay at least 500 words?