For this assignment you will write a paper of no fewer than 1200 words in which you summarize, analyze, and respond to a marketing campaign. Tis could be for a product, service, or organization. Your paper may examine a specifc company or organization (e.g. Old Spice, Budweiser, NDSU), or it may analyze marketing trends for a category of products or services (e.g. fast food, handbags, makeup, beer). In this paper you must do the following: • Summarize marketing materials: You may offer multiple summaries as you examine individual marketing texts (ads— remember that “texts” can include images and video). Your summaries should offer a general overview of the texts, while highlighting those details that will help you to build your analyses (see Hannah Berry’s “Te Fashion Industry” on p. 95 for an example of this). • Analyze the marketing materials: Your paper should contain specifc points of analysis, in which you enlighten readers on certain aspects of the marketing materials. Tese aspects should clearly relate to and help to build your overall argument as stated in your thesis statement. It should draw upon the details you provide in your summaries. • Include evidence for your claims: Your evidence for this paper will primarily come from the texts themselves. As you draw readers’ attention to certain details of image and text, you should point out patterns, assumptions, and implications that support your analyses. You may also bring in contextual evidence if appropriate, but this is not a requirement. • Contain a thesis statement and effective topic sentences: Te thesis statement is your main claim about the marketing campaign, the result of your overall analysis. It should be stated early, typically at the end of the introduction, and should clearly and succinctly express your analytic claim (what you believe to be true) concerning the marketing campaign that you are examining. In some cases, a brief list of points that your paper will cover can be helpful for readers (what I call a roadmap). Your topic sentences should almost always include your claim or purpose for the paragraph that follows. • Contain an introduction and conclusion: Your introduction should draw readers into the essay. It should contain material relevant to your essay while making readers care to read more. Your conclusion should be brief, possibly restating your main claims or closing something that your introduction began. It may also attempt to show the relevance of your analysis —why does this matter to you, the reader. (see “Beginning and Ending,” pp. 333-343 for more tips) • Use appropriate language and grammar: Te voice of your paper should be formal and academic (although “I” is not forbidden, especially considering that you are arguing your claim, not the claim of another thinker). Your grammar should adhere to commonly accepted grammatical rules. • Follow MLA format: Tis and all papers for this class should adhere to standard MLA format. Further Resources: • For help, you should frst consult your Norton Field Guide. Pages 33-44, “Summarizing and Responding” and the chapter entitled “Analyzing Texts” beginning on p. 98 should be helpful. You will fnd more examples of textual analyses in the “Readings” section of the feld guide, chapter 62. Keep in mind that many of these are not marketing analyses. All, however, in some way analyze and respond to texts.Textual Analysis Assignment Sheet Student Textual Analysis Sample Full David Dai textual analysis
