visual argumentation slides

7/25/2019 Visual Argumentation Slides

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Visual Argumentation


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Visual arguments use images toengage viewers and persuade them to

accept a particular idea or point ofview.

Advertisements use images to make a

product appealing or to link a productto a particular lifestyle or identity.

However, advertisements are only onetype of visual argument.

In almost every discipline, visualarguments are used to support claimsand present new research.


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Visual arguments contain three

main elements:

Claims

Evidence

Unstated premisesassumptions

!eading visual arguments involvesanaly"ing all three of these

elements.


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Claims

Claims are declarative statements that areeither true or false #ut not #oth.

Effective argumentation re$uires evidence

%supporting material& to support each claim.

'he proposition or thesis is the central claimof the argument. It is also called the

conclusion as it is the conclusion or mainthrust you want your audience to support.

In visual arguments, the conclusion is often

implicit.


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Evidence/Supporting Material

Visual arguments use several types ofevidence to support their claims( e)perttestimony, e)amples, empirical facts, and

often, definition andor statistics.

In order to persuade, they appeals to #eliefs,needs, core values, attitudes.

'hey also use Aristotle*s strategical+availa#le means of persuasion( ethos,logos, and pathos.


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Evaluation

Analy"e the visual argument carefully, and ask yourself if theevidence is #oth accurate and ade$uate.

Visual information can #e distorted or manipulated -ust aswords can.

Analy"e visual evidence to #e sure it*s fair, precise, andcredi#le.

imilarly, visual evidence should also #e relevant andade$uate.

It should pertain directly to the issue of the topic central to thepropositionthesis.

It should avoid sensational or purely emotional effect.


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Discovering Assumptions and

Unstated Premises

Visual arguments are #ased on assumptions

and unstated premises a#out why and how

the evidence relates to the claims.

In visual arguments, the key assumptions

often involve the following(

Beliefs aout the target audience(

/ho they are

/here they will see or encounter the visual argument

/hat they already know and #elieve a#out the su#-ect

/hat kinds of information or ideas they will find

persuasive


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Don!t accept visual arguments at face

value"

Visual arguments are powerful tools of persuasion that appearin a myriad of forms in our media culture.

'o #ecome critically literate and informed, we learn andpractice the skills of reading visual arguments critically.

0ust as we would not accept an opinion as true -ust #ecausewe found it in print, so too, we should not simply accept visualarguments.

Evaluate them #y e)amining their claims, weighing theevidence offered in support of those claims, and #y e)ploringthe unstated claims %premises&, assumptions the arguer makesa#out the target audience and their particular #elief systems.


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Visual Argumentation #allacies

Visual fallacies can take the form ofmisleading images.

'he power of images can make them

especially difficult to analy"e( peopletend to #elieve what they see.

1hotos and other visuals can #e

manipulated to present a falseimpression. 'hink of photos that make a politician look

misleadingly #ad or good.


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visual argumentation slides

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