PAGE 2 OF 2 QUESTIONS FOR ANALYSIS WHEN ANALYZING

20XX WRITTEN QUESTIONS ON APPLICATION GUIDELINES AS WE
ALCOHOL SCREENING TOOL THESE TEN QUESTIONS ARE TAKEN
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN SUPPLIED “ANSWER SHEETS”

COVID19 VACCINATIONS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE
DISORDERS OF LEUKOCYTES QUESTIONS ASPHO BOARD REVIEW
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS REGARDING SERVICE ACADEMY NOMINATIONS

VISUAL COMMUNICATION

Page 2 of 2

QUESTIONS FOR ANALYSIS

When analyzing any image, it’s important to ask many questions in your pre-writings to help you see the space as completely and clearly as possible, to consider all of the small elements of the space that add up to create a larger meaning. When you ask these questions, they help you go below the surface (the obvious/literal meaning of what the space represents) of what the space tells you to discover the underlying message (the figurative/implied message the space sends) that the space shows you.

Analyzing images

Try asking the following questions when you analyze your space. Not all the questions will apply, of course, but many will be relevant. Extend your analysis—by explaining the why and how—of those answers that seem most important.

Rhetorical purpose of images

Where is this space?
What is the space’s purpose? Is it a place to buy, sell, relax, work, etc.?
How polished or “professional” is the space?
What tone does the space project?
Who do you think are the intended users of this space? What features suggest that “audience”?
Who do you think created this space? What do you think they expect or want people to feel or do within this space?
What would you say your relationship is to the creator(s)? Do you think they understand you as a participant in this space?

Overall design

What draws your eye first?
What is the dominant object or space in the room?
What is in the center of the space?
What is shown in front and larger? What is behind and smaller?
What is shown in the upper half? The lower half?

We respond to what we think is the dominant area, in sharp focus. The center of the visual field within a room is one common area of emphasis. We may also tend to place more emphasis on what is larger (in front) and in the upper half. Would you say this is true in this space? How so?

On a sheet of paper, draw or trace the major areas of the image and label them.
Is there empty space? What does the empty space “frame”?
Are some areas or shapes very large? Are others very small?

We respond to extremes of scale. Not only do huge areas seem very close while tiny ones seem far away, but together the two extremes may suggest tension or conflict. For example, a small outline of a child placed on a large white background may suggest to us that the child is alone and vulnerable, at odds with the vast background, or just less significant than the background.

According to some who study psychology and art, “Smooth, flat, horizontal shapes give us a sense of stability and calm” (Bang 56). Vertical lines, defying gravity, suggest energy and activity, while diagonal lines create tension and interest, moving off the page or screen in a clear direction. Circles are the ultimate in symmetry and may be considered both dynamic and static, completely in balance.

Describe the major shapes and lines created. Consider what effect the shapes and lines create.
Describe the overall arrangement of objects in the space. Are they ordered symmetrically or otherwise balanced against each other?

People

Who is in this space? Describe your inferences from each feature of the person(s)—age, details of dress, gender, ethnicity, class, posture and stance, portions of the body shown, tilt of head, facial expression, gesture of hands.
What do people interact with or pay attention to most in this space?

Setting

If the image has a distinctive background, describe it. How does it relate to the dominant focus of the image—especially people, if any?
What time and place does the image suggest? What is the effect of that setting?
Is anything “out of place” in the image? What do you make of the incongruity?

Symbols and signs

Are there items or features in the image that “mean more than themselves”? Consider the connotations and associations of particular objects or features in the image. Then relate them to the rest of the image.

Objects like a flag, a cross, and a six-pointed star are obvious symbols. However, language and visuals are filled with signs, things that stand for someone or something else. We associate emotion-laden concepts with particular sensory features, and they become signs, or stand-ins for those concepts and emotions. For example, cosmetics ads draw on cultural anxieties about aging and attractiveness. In the context of moisturizing products, dryness can become “a metaphor for loss of sexual attractiveness,” with dry skin standing in for the whole woman past her youth and sexual prime (Berger 188).

Color

Describe the colors, or absence of color, in the image.
Where is color is applied?
Is the color realistic in your view? If not, describe why you think it is not.
How does color, or its absence, make you feel about the image?
What previous associations do you have with the colors used? How do those affect your understanding of the image?
What is the personality or tone of the color schemes?

In sum, analyze an image rhetorically and critically by taking it apart, looking at all the separate pieces, so you can put it back together in a new way that explains the meaning. Locate yourself in relationship to the space. Consider how the parts of the text interact, but also consider the world outside the image.

Handout excerpted from: Visual Communication: A Writer’s Guide, 2^nd ed. by Hilligoss & Howard,

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS YOU NEED TO CHOOSE
INTERVIEW SKILLS & HOW TO HANDLE DISCRIMINATORY QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS ARISING FROM THE REGULATORY RESPONSIBILITY BILL HON

Tags: analysis when, analyzing, questions, analysis