Analysis of Visual Persuasion I chose to do my rhetorical analysis on a UALR ad of a Mechanical Engineering major named Miguel Alvarez.

This ad is an explanation of why he chose UALR to attend school and pursue his career. The purpose of this ad is to persuade anyone interested in engineering, to attend UALR for the engineering program. The picture on the ad is of Miguel smiling with his thumbs up. The picture was taken outside of the Engineering building on a clear sunny day. In his brief explanation, he tells us that he chose UALR because of the diverse campus, bigger city, and the people are very nice and helpful. I believe that the audience is anyone that's considering the engineering field; whether it be teacher or student. This ad appeals to inspiring engineers through the angle at which the picture was taken, body gestures, choice of the candidate appearing on the ad, and the color contrast the designer chose. The first thing that I noticed is the person on the ad, Miguel. Miguel Alvarez is not black nor white. Instead he is hispanic. In his text, he states that he chose UALR because of its diverse campus as compared with other schools with engineering programs. Sometimes you may feel alone or misunderstood if you are the only one of your kind in a certain program. I believe that the author chose Miguel for this ad to reach out to anyone that is of a different race or anyone that feels out of place at their current program that may be interested in engineering to let them know that UALR's program is diverse and accepting of any race. The second thing that I noticed is the angle at which the picture was taken. The angle at which this picture has been taken makes the building appear taller. The photographer is able to include the entire engineering building in the picture without having to back up so far that you lose the details and words on the building. I believe that the angle the author chose for this picture was the most appropriate because In Miguel's text he states that he wanted to move to a

bigger city and the big building in the picture gives you the sense that it is in a large city. The only thing that I think that the author could have done a little differently is made Miguel appear shorter or smaller. Eventhough the angle makes the building appear to be taller, the fact that Miguel seems to be bigger than the building makes it seem smaller than it would appear if Miguel was smaller. Another aspect of the picture that appeals to the audience is the body gestures of Miguel. The audience for this ad is seems to be anyone who is interested in participating in the engineering field whether it be teacher or student. The way Miguel poses for the picture, two thumbs up and a big smile, signifies happiness, excitement, and satisfaction. I believe that this gesture appeals to the audience's pathos. If they were looking into joining UALR's engineering program and they were to see this ad, I believe that it would make them feel excited and anxious to be apart of the engineering program. On the other hand, if he would have posed with a frown on his face and body slumped over, it would send a message to the audience that he obviously does not enjoy the program and would rather be somewhere else which could potentially discourage the audience of joining UALR's Engineering program. The contrast of the ad was what caught my attention. How bright it is outside and the lighting of the ad draws your eye and makes you think of the EIT building as being a place that you'll be happy to attend. The way that the clouds and sunshine reflect off the glass of the building makes the building look beautiful and interesting causing it to stick out to the audience and intriguing them even more. However, if they would have chosen to do the picture on a rainy day, it would have sent a message of darkness, loneliness, and would have made the Engineering building to appear as a miserable place to be. I believe that they chose to do this picture on a

sunny bright day to send the message "Perfect day, perfect weather, perfect place for you" which also appeals to the audience's emotions. In Miguel's quote at the bottom of the ad, he says that he likes challenges. This sends a message to the audience to let them know that the engineering program at UALR will challenge students. According to the engineering page on the UALR website, "The educational program prepare students for entry-level positions in industry that require the knowledge of the application of current industrial practices and design procedures." In other words, they will make sure that students are at their best before they even think about taking on the world. When a person likes something and they get what they like, they are usually happy. The fact that he is happy in the picture signifies that he is being challenged to perform at his best and he is enjoying. The author did a great job of highlighting elements in the ad, such as the sunny day, Miguel, and the engineering building, to persuade the audience that they should attend the engineering program at UALR. "The primary goal of the engineering technology department at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock is to provide integrated educational opportunities to students whose technological interest and aptitudes are application-oriented. "(UALR., "Department of Engineering Technology"). I believe this ad also shows that the engineering program is successful and it adds on to what the UALR website briefly states about the engineering program. The author appealed to ethos by using Miguel Alvarez as a showcase because he is a Junior at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock who is majoring in mechanical engineering so he's very experienced on what UALR's engineering program is like. The author also used a little bit of logos by also having Miguel Alvarez on the front of the ad to inform anyone who's interest that the program is diverse. I noticed that the author also appealed

to emotions by taking the picture on a bright and sunny day, and by the gestures of Miguel who is smiling with two thumbs up. All of these signify joy and happiness. The way the ad appealed to inspiring engineers through the angle, body gestures, using Miguel Alvarez, and the contrast of colors was an effective way to persuade future engineers to attend UALR Engineering program.