Description
Please write a full five page essay on a rhetorically analysis on the use of the song in a commercial, and evaluate how well the song supports the lifestyle or worldview promoted by the commercial. It has to be a song that already existed and wasn’t created for the purpose of the commercial. Attached are the instructions. Please use a commercial that is appropriate for even high schooler and at least two minutes long so you have enough to write about. I appreciate all the help and if you have any questions feel free to contact me.
EVALUATION ANALYSIS ASSIGNMENT
ENGLISH 101 ONLINE, SPRING 2021
PROF. ANGELINO
Due Dates & Points:
1. Prewriting: 10 pts, due March 23rd by 11:59pm
2. Rough Draft, Peer Review Discussion Board: 15 pts, due March 24th by 11:59pm
3. Rough Draft, TLC Tutoring Session: 15 pts, complete your session by 5pm, March 30th
4. Final Draft: 150 points possible, due March 30th by 11:59pm
Assignment Overview
In Unit 1, we read essays from They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us about the impact music has on our author,
Abdurraqib, and on music fans in general. In Paper 1, we analyzed the rhetorical appeals and strategies
Abdurraqib uses to convince and move us about music and its influence. We read about how music comforts us,
bonds us together, and draws our attention to larger social trends and issues, such as being joyful in the face of
tragedy (“Chance the Rapper’s Golden Year”), controversy about the use of racist slurs in song lyrics
(“Schoolboy Q…”), and whether or not the American Dream is still attainable for everyone (“A Night in Bruce
Springsteen’s…”). In “Carley Rae Jepsen…” and “The Weeknd”, Abdurraqib shows how the way fans feel
about love, relationships, and sex are revealed by how they act at the concerts (the “romantic love/making-out”
he noticed at the Jepsen concert vs. the “hook-up” culture he described at the Weeknd’s concert). At concerts,
the lifestyles (the typical way of life for an individual, group, or culture) and worldviews (a particular
philosophy of life) of the fans come to light.
Advertisers are aware of the impact songs have on fans, and have used songs to sell their products for
decades. For our second paper (5-6 pages), we will adapt our rhetorical analysis skills from Paper 1 to a
different situation: the use of music as a rhetorical choice within a commercial. Advertisers use commercials to
not only sell their products/services, but also to promote a particular lifestyle or worldview. The right song can
help a product be especially appealing to the advertiser’s audience. Consider, though, that a song can present its
own worldview that may or may not line up with the commercial. In that case, how might advertisers alter a
famous song to be more “on brand” with the lifestyles and worldviews they are promoting? Or, more broadly,
how much is the overall message of the commercial influenced by the advertiser’s song choice? You’ll be
exploring questions like these in your paper.
Assignment Specifics
For this paper, you will select a commercial that uses a pre-existing song (not a song written specifically for the
commercial). You will rhetorically analyze the use of the song in the commercial, and evaluate how well
the song supports the lifestyle or worldview promoted by the commercial. The length requirement for this
paper is 5-6 pages. Choose a commercial that is at least 2 minutes long, and that uses more than just a few
short lyrics from the song to ensure you have enough to write about in your evaluation.
Requirements
1. Format: Write a 5-6 page paper on the assignment described above. The rough and final drafts must be
typed, double-spaced, have standard one-inch margins, and be in 12-point Times New Roman font. Paper
format (including in-text citations) should follow MLA style (various examples, instructions, and templates
are on Canvas). You are required to attach a “Works Cited” page at the end of your paper.
2. Required Sources & Research: Your analysis of the song and commercial should be supported by credible
research. Research the song itself, the song’s artist, the commercial, and the company creating the
commercial. Your required sources include your chosen commercial (usually found on YouTube or the
product’s website) and the lyrics to the original song featured in the commercial (usually found online or
on the artist’s website or social media), and information about the product (usually found in the
commercial itself or on the product’s website). You’ll notice in Unit 2 there are no assigned readings from
They Can’t Kill Us—this is because the focus of your research is on the commercial and its featured song;
you may incorporate quotes from the book if you find them useful to your evaluation and analysis, but it is
not a requirement.
3. Use your introductory paragraph to provide helpful background information on your chosen song and
commercial. Imagine that your reader has not seen the commercial or heard its featured song—you
will need to establish helpful background information to provide context for your evaluation. Usually
popular, chart-topping songs or new songs by popular artists are chosen by advertisers due to their impact
on a large audience. Explain the song’s impact on fans—what lifestyle or worldview comes across in the
song? Why do fans love it, or are predicted to love it? What is the advertiser selling, and does the
worldview or lifestyle in the commercial match that of the song? End your intro with a thesis statement
that shows your overall stance on how well the song supports the lifestyle and worldview promoted
by the commercial. (*Use the Intro Paragraph instructions from Paper 1—make sure to include a Hook,
Background Info, and Thesis)
4. Your paper should have at least 5 body paragraphs, and they should all be under one page in length. In your
body paragraphs, evaluate the use of the song in the commercial. How are advertisers establishing their
credibility, appealing to your emotions, and to your sense of logic/reason in order to sell you something?
Even deeper, how are the rhetorical appeals used in order to convey a desirable lifestyle/worldview? What
role does the song play in this? You do not need to explicitly use terms like ethos, pathos, and logos;
however, you will likely use the definitions of these terms to explain how the song lyrics are helping (or
hurting!) the goals of the commercial. Keep in mind you are arguing for your stance in this paper when
you evaluate how well the song’s worldview supports the lifestyle and worldview being promoted in
the commercial. Make sure to show how you agree, disagree, or both with the ways the company has used
the song. The templates and explanations in Chapter 4 of They Say I Say (53-66); will be especially helpful
to you in this section.
5. Use an effective structure that carefully guides the reader from one idea to the next. Keep in mind that your
reader has not seen the commercial or heard its featured song—it is your job to explain everything clearly
and concretely so they can see the significance of your evaluation. Follow the Body Paragraph structure we
went over in Unit 1—Topic Sentence, TS Development, Evidence, Commentary on the Evidence, Connect
to Thesis. Reference specific examples and use brief quotes from the song, the commercial, and any
other helpful sources. Use the transitions examples and instructions from Unit 1, as well as the templates on
incorporating quotes found in TSIS: “AS HE HIMSELF PUTS IT: The Art of Quoting” (Graff and
Birkenstein 43-52).
6. For your conclusion paragraph, I’ve assigned a prompt outside the box to help you avoid summarizing
what you have already said in the body of your paper. For your conclusion, imagine you are tasked
with selecting another song for this commercial, a song that promotes the lifestyles and worldviews the
advertisers want associated with their product—which song will you recommend? Why? Use specific
examples from the new song and/or about the artist to make your point.
7. Keep in mind your Works Cited page is not included as part of the 5-6 page paper length requirement.
Your Works Cited page should include citations for all of your sources–websites, YouTube videos of
commercials, research on the company/product, etc. Keep in mind your Works Cited page is not included
as part of the 5-6 page length requirement, and that to pass this assignment, you’ll need to write at least 5
full pages.
8. Grammar: Write in standard, grammatically correct English, and use 3rd person (he, him, they). Avoid
2nd person (you, yours, we), and 1st person (I, me, my, us). Make sure to use the proofreading strategies
covered in TSIS: “HE SAYS CONTENDS: Using the Templates to Revise” (Graff and Birkenstein 141-
161). Please note that several of the templates in They Say I Say are written in 1st person; make sure
that you revise them accordingly.
9. Peer Review & TLC Tutoring: Before the final draft of Paper 2 is due, you will submit your rough draft to
Peer Review Discussion Board, and you will complete your TLC Tutoring Session (either online or inperson).
More explanation & instruction is in our course syllabus.
10. Revise Rough Draft: As your last step, you’ll revise your draft based on your peers’ and tutor’s feedback
before you submit your final draft on Canvas.