AD ANALYSIS ESSAY – WEEK 2BUILDING A STRONG THESISGrammar:Commas, Apostrophes, and Parallelism

Get Out the Stuff You Need Today:• Your Textbook/Pen/Paper for Grammar Work• Your Ad(s) and your Topic ideas• I asked you to bring an ad or two that you were thinking

about writing about, as well as your ideas for a topic/thesis.

Review the Prompt from Last Week

•What questions do you have about the prompt for our last essay?

Review Today’s Homework Reading• Responses to “Beautiful Words + Beautiful Images = One Beautiful Advertisement” on p. 332.

• Responses to “You Can’t Be Thin Enough: Body Images and Mass Media” p. 464-466

GRAMMAR Using ApostrophesParallelism in Sentence Structure

ApostrophesApostrophes indicate a missing letter in a contraction.  

The apostrophe goes where the missing letter would go.

Incorrect: I cant' do this assignment without help. (WRONG. What letters is the apostrophe replacing? Where should it go?)

Correct: I can't do this assignment without help. (RIGHT. The apostrophe goes between the n and the t.)

Won’t isn’tWasn’t you’reCouldn’t Needn’t I’ve we’re Weren’t

ApostrophesWatch out for "cant" and "wont" on spell check. These are words all on their own, but they don't mean the same thing as “can’t” and “won’t.”

Also, remember the contraction it's means IT IS.

Example: I can't open the door because it's locked.

A table lost one of its legs.

Apostrophes Show Possession•With most singular nouns, simply place an apostrophe and an "s" on the end to show possession. •Examples:  • I rubbed the dog's stomach. • I went to Maria's house. • If the noun ends in s already, add an additional "s" anyway. •Example: This is my boss's car.

Showing Possession with Plural Nouns• If a plural noun already ends in "s," place an apostrophe at the end. (DO NOT add another "s.")

Examples:• I collected the students' textbooks. • The textbooks belonged to ALL of the students.

• I filled the cats' water bowl. • The bowl belonged to MORE THAN ONE cat.

• If a plural noun is irregular and doesn't end in "s," place the apostrophe after the noun and add an "s."

Examples:• The teacher collected the children's permission slips.• "children" is already plural

• She went to a women's conference. • "women" is already plural

Apostrophes DO NOT Make Nouns Plural•NEVER use an apostrophe to make a noun plural. • I have three sister's. • (This INCORRECT. The apostrophe is not being used to show that the sisters own anything. It's being used to make a plural.)

•  I have three sisters. • (This is CORRECT.)

•  Example of correct apostrophe use:•My three sisters' children came to visit this weekend. • (The apostrophe is correct because something belongs to the sisters as a group – the children.)

Parallelism - p. 247•Parallelism is a method of balancing similar elements in a sentence. (Balancing, in this case, means making sure similar parts of a sentence follow the same grammatical pattern.)•Let’s try exercise 9-15 on p. 247 as a class. This is very much like playing “One of These Things is Not Like the Other.” • Notice that phrases (groups of words) can be parallel as well as single words.

How can we make the following sentences parallel?Notice that I have made the non-parallel portions of the

sentence red. 1. After I broke the plate, I found glass pieces under the table,

behind the chair, and also some were next to the refrigerator.

2. My sister is good at fixing cars, making hamburgers, and also she can bake cookies.

Practice Sentences RevisedOriginal:

After I broke the plate, I found glass pieces under the table, behind the chair, and also some were next to the refrigerator.

Revised: After I broke the plate, I found glass pieces under the table, behind the chair, and next to the refrigerator.

Original: My sister is good at fixing cars, making hamburgers, and also she can bake cookies.

Revised: My sister is good at fixing cars, making hamburgers, baking cookies.

Parallel Structure (cont)•With the -ing form (gerund) of verbs:• Parallel: Mary likes hiking, swimming, and bicycling.

NOT parallel: Mary likes hiking, to swim, and ride her bike.

•With infinitive verb phrases:• Parallel: Mary likes to hike, to swim, and to ride a bicycle.

OR• Mary likes to hike, swim, and ride a bicycle.

Note: Use "to" before all the verbs in a sentence or only before the first one—don’t mix.

Parallel Structure (cont)Which sentences show parallel structure?

• Dino does not like to sing, dance, or acting. • Dino does not like singing, dancing, or acting.

• The production manager was asked to write his report quickly, accurately, and thoroughly. • The production manager was asked to write his report quickly, accurately, and in a detailed manner.

• Aldus was a poor student because he waited until the last minute to study, completed his lab problems carelessly, and lacked motivation. • Aldus was a poor student because he waited until the last minute to study, was always completing his lab problems carelessly, and his motivation was low.

What needs to be parallel? (p. 248-249)• Nouns in a series (list)• Adjectives in a series• Verbs in a series (Are you sensing a pattern?)• Clauses within sentences that are related to each other. • Items being compared or contrasted

Benefits of Parallelism• Makes your writing smoother• Helps your reader to follow your ideas more easily• Can eliminates wordiness

• Practice: • Fix the sentences 1 – 6 on page 249-250 • (There are no correct sentences.)

Break Time!• Please return in 15minutes---20 minutes MAX

What are “design elements”? • Images• Colors• Art style• Allusions to culture/pop culture• Text (note size, color, and placement as well as what it says) • You should also consider the ideas, stereotypes and assumptions the ad is interacting with.

Review:Two types of messages that ads use:

• The obvious surface message is usually pretty straightforward, and involves the audience doing what the writers of the ad want them to do. • Buy this product.• Support this cause.• Vote for this candidate.

• The underlying message is much more tricky, and much more interesting. • It appeals to the needs and desires of the audience.• It connects the product or cause to events, ideas, lifestyles, and people with which the audience already has positive associations.• For example: Beer commercials not-so-subtle underlying

message is often: “Drink our beer, and you will be the kind of fun person that beautiful girls in skimpy bathing suits will love!”

Review Your Ads In GroupsGet in groups of 3. One at a time, look at the ads in your group critically and try and answer the following questions:

1.Who is the intended audience? 2.What does the advertisement intend for us to think about the product being advertised?

3.What needs or wants is the advertisement appealing to?

4.How does the design of the advertisement get the message across to the audience?

Ad Analysis Thesis Statements• The thesis statement of your ad should: • Identify the specific product or cause your ad is for.• What is the underlying message of the ad? • Identify the main design elements or strategies used to get the message across.• Identify the audience needs and desires that the ad appeals to.

A Thesis Statement Example:• A recent ad for (product) uses (design elements/ideas) to appeal to (needs and/or desires) and convince the ad's target audience that (underlying message). • For example:• A recent ad for Levi’s Jeans uses a stormy urban landscape and a provocatively dressed male model looking down at the city to appeal to the audience’s need for freedom and individualism; this is meant to convince the audience that wearing Levi’s will make the wearer both a rugged individualist who stands out from the crowd and a sexually attractive partner.

Look at Some Example Intro Paragraphs

• Let’s see if we can identify the thesis together!

Goals for the Rest of Class• Take 5-10 minutes to write down a tentative thesis statement for your ad. •Make sure that your thesis does not sound like a sales pitch. •Make sure that your essay is centered around analysis of the ad (breaking down the ad into its different parts, explaining how the ad works, and how it connects to its target audience). •A recent ad for (product) uses (design elements/ideas) to appeal to (needs and/or desires) and convince the ad's target audience that (underlying message).