Visual/Textual Analysis

What are we doing?

For this paper, you will build on the observation and analytic skills we hinted at in our
digital narratives with the objective of exploring connections between written and visual
texts. In achieving this goal, you will focus on how elements from both visual and written
texts serve to interpret, emphasize, complicate, or mask one another. Think of your favorite
website, for instance. Now imagine if it had no visuals in it whatsoever, no pictures or
cartoons or ads. How different would the site be? The visuals included in digital and print
texts serve a distinct purpose, and for this essay you will consider what the purpose of a
visual (moving or static) is that accompanies text in a digital or print-based context.

How are we doing it?
In short, youll
1. Choose a text that incorporates visuals and text in some way.
2. Consider and analyze elements of the visual text like image, layout, color, design,
and lighting.
3. Consider qualities of the written text, such as voice, tone, audience, and style.
4. Compare the visual and alphabetic texts and how they work with and/or against
each other.
5. Find 3 outside resources to help you reinforce the arguments youre making about
the visual and text and integrate them into your ideas.
6. Make an argument about what the relationship between visual/text means and
support it by discussing the analytical elements mentioned above and others we
explore in class and explicit moments in the visual and alphabetic text.
7. Explain why/how this might matter to the person experiencing the text, and what
the creators intent might have been based on your analysis.

How should I do this?
Your first step should be to select a text with visual representations. Your choices are
basically endless. Heres a handful of possible examples:
If you are a fan of comic books/graphic novels, you might consider how the images
in Bob Kanes earlier Batman comics relate to their updated film counterparts by
Christopher Nolan. How has Batman changed visually, and how has his image
(moral and artistic) changed to reflect the times they were made in? In analyzing a
text like this you might consider elements of color, point of view, arrangement,
movement, and style. (Note: Any comic or film adaptation will work for this same
kind of analysis)
Is there an illustrated storybook from your childhood that has always intrigued you,
such as Green Eggs and Ham? If this is the case, you could discuss the narrative and
text alongside the book's images, looking again at the illustrator's use of things like
color and style.
Another possibility includes looking at CD song lyrics, liner notes and cover art. You
might consider, for instance, how the cover art on Modest Mouses The Moon &
Antarctica supplements meaning for the lyrics in various songs.
You might explore website text and graphics, observing sites such as college and
university homepages and discussing things like mission statements and messages
addressed to prospective students. You could then talk about the textual message in
relation to corresponding, graphics, layout, and design.
Or you could consider how a particular movie or play deviates from its original
screenplay (or perhaps from the book it was adapted from). Does the screenplay
for The Departed match with Scorseses final cut? Does a certain scene of Harry
Potter and the Goblet of Fire differ from the book in a meaningful way, creating a
disconnect I meaning between the two?
Gaming! You will still need a combination of visuals and text. How do the visuals and
text mesh? What is the point of view and how does it work for or against the game? I
will fall back on Zelda for my example. You could analyze how the visual style of
Hyrule matches/clashes against the content of the game why is Wind Waker done
in cartoon-like cell-shading while Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess are done
with polygons and (relatively) realistic and gritty visuals? What effects are added to
the games by these choices? What do these choices say about the games? Do they
work with the written text in the game? How and why/why not?
Why are we doing this project?
As you can see in the comic above, all media has a message tucked away somewhere
(intentional or not), and this project is designed to get to start thinking about the
relationships between images and text and to start shifting away from a consumer of these
texts and to begin criticizing them. Project one was our introduction to college writing
through experiences with digital texts; now its time to start thinking about digital texts
critically. This project will help you develop skills that will allow you to be a better
producer and consumer.
Logistics
You will complete three drafts, followed by a final draft. All (4) will be due to me on the
final due date, clipped and marked, if appropriate.
You MUST include your visual, so some form of scanning (magazine, book, or graphic
novel), screenshot (gaming or website), or hyperlink (YouTube video or song) will be
required. In the Digital Studio Williams location (down the hall from our classroom) we
have a scanner you could use for anything you are examining. Any questions, feel free to
ask me.
On top of this visual source, you must also engage at least three outside sources.
Length: 7-8 pages. Nonetheless, 7 pages is a hard minimumyou should be
shooting to go past it and develop your ideas to their fullest potential as this will
earn you the best possible assessment.
Formatting (VERY IMPORTANT): 12 point size, MLA header, Double spaced.

Assessment Model
When assessing your writing, I will provide you with responses to the following questions
in regards to the written component of your project:

1. Does the writer frequently engage in deep analysis of the relationship between
visuals and text?
2. Is this project organized in a way that helps move from one argument to the next
about different facets of visual and text?
3. Did the writer engage thoughtfully with outside resources for this project?
4. Does this project illustrate mastery over fundamental elements of writing, such as
structure/order of content, grammar, punctuation, word choice, and use of sources
when/if applicable?
5. Does this project show clear signs of the drafting process, including multiple drafts,
decision-making skills in adding or altering content, and proofreading content?

Drafts and Due Dates
(Shitty) First Draft Workshop: 10/1
Second Draft (Conferences in my Office): 10/6, 10/8, and 10/10
Third Draft Workshop: 10/15
FINAL DRAFT AND ALL PREVIOUS DRAFTS DUE: 10/24