Writing Instructions
I like Jean Kilbourne’s format in “Jesus is a Brand of Jeans” and ask you to organize your essay in a similar fashion or as follows:
Your opening paragraph should contain the following.
• After a short introduction, give a physical description of your ad; do not infer or interpret, just describe. Keep it short, no more than a few sentences.
• Identify the appeals the advertisers use, no more than a couple of sentences for this. You do not need to prove your choices; Jib Fowles has already explained each appeal; simply identify what needs the advertisers appeal to in order to induce consumers to buy. Note the language used by Fowles: advertisers use approaches to appeal to consumer’s needs for affiliation, sex, status and so forth. Note the vocabulary, the language and terminology used by authors and duplicate it.
• Next who does the ad target?
• State your thesis, argument and/or approach to the ad and then go on and write your body and concluding paragraphs.
Reading Requirements that should be utilized and reflected in your essay
• Jib Fowles “Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals”
• Jean Kilbourne “Jesus is a Brand of Jeans” or “Beauty and the Beast of Advertising” (https://thehumanist.com/magazine/november-december-2015/features/jesus-is-a-brand-of-jeans/)
• Abraham Maslow “Hierarchy of Needs” (http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/conation/maslow.html)
Make certain to use the readings for this unit; they are assigned for a reason. For example, failure to use one of Jean Kilbourne’s essays will hurt your chances for a decent grade. The idea is to use the assigned readings in your analysis in order to give your essay depth and breadth. That is why these readings are assigned; failure to use these constitutes failure to meet assignment requirements. If you don’t understand the reading, read it again. If you don’t understand some aspect of the assignment, ask me or ask a peer who is obviously doing well.
If you are having difficulty with analysis, be sure to check the analytical/critical questions provided on D2L for this unit. These will help you think critically and analytically about this topic.
Essay Content
Choose an interesting, provocative, maybe even controversial ad, because you have to be able to write about it; you have to have something to say. For example, if you resent the fashion industry for pushing unrealistic body images and beauty concepts to women and young girls, an ad addressing that prompts you to address these issues might make your task easy. Therefore, choosing the right material is part of your task and key to a successful writing experience.
Essay Format
Be sure to refer to the syllabus and D2L for information and become familiar with the conventions of MLA style. Put in all the requisite information, such as your name and the number of the essay and date at the left-hand corner of page 1, double space, one-inch margins all around. As always, you m
Sample Solution
