Exploratory Essay Assignment

We live in a world of signs, and it is through the interpretation of these signs that we learn to understand our place in the natural world and in our various communities and cultures. When we get right down to it, interpretation is the basis of human survival in a world that will control and direct (or destroy) us unless we discover how to redirect outside forces to our advantage. And the only tool we have in this regard is language.

As we’ve discovered in our first essay assignment, our own experiences can be presented through the narrative/exploratory form to show the reader a personal story in such a way that it becomes an exercise in interpretation that redirects the story’s personal energy to a more universal understanding, e.g.,

As we move through this assignment, you will discover that advertising is a complex system of interactive interpretive assumptions based upon the creators’ rhetorical knowledge of audience, purpose, and thesis, and that you, as the reader of these ads, must possess your own knowledge of audience, purpose, and thesis in order to interpret the goals (hidden agendas) and cultural signs within the ad. In short, to discover how the ad works to achieve its purpose.

Your ability to efficiently show your audience an ad so that they may read it with you, as if over your shoulder, will allow you the privilege of discussing with your readers what you have shown. This dialogue is the very basis of good analytical writing. In order to dialogue with your text and with your reader, it is essential to keep the subject (the ad) in the readers’ mental view. It is essential, as well, to be conscious of your selections regarding description and detail: be honest, be efficient, show what is necessary for the readers’ full understanding, but not so much that the reader becomes over-informed, confused, or bored. You control description and detail in order to efficiently direct your readers