Rhetorical Analysis
Required Length: 600 words
Required Sources: 1 (a YouTube video advertisement)
Style: MLA
Prompt: Locate and watch a professional video advertisement via YouTube. Then, in a short essay of 600 words or more, analyze and critique the advertisement’s use of rhetorical appeal(s).
NOTE: Do not simply praise the advertisement. I am looking for critical thought, so you must pick the video apart and comment on both its strengths and weaknesses. If the advertisement is terrible (such as the examples I listed earlier in this module), feel free to rip it to shreds.
Additional Guidelines:
- Address a single video advertisement.
- No, you may not use any of the advertisements I provided as examples. You must locate an ad on your own.
- The advertisement must be professionally created and available on YouTube. No homemade videos.
- Satirical and/or comical ads will not lend themselves well to this exercise. You have been warned.
- Cite the ad (as best you can) via a Works Cited page. Make certain to include a working link to the video.
- The Works Cited page should be the last page of your paper. It does not contribute to the 600 word minimum.
- Do not use the “I” pronoun or make other self-references