Within the second assignment, we were asked to compose a visual essay through the use of pictures and artistic choices regarding the issue of unemployment. The piece was written with the intent of an expository genre.

When producing my visual essay there was a long thought process behind it including deciding on my genre. After browsing the possible genres I decided to go with an expository genre which can be defined as the genre that explains a topic in a format that is clear to all readers or viewers regarding the piece. In my visual essay, I decided to go with the expository genre because my intended audience was government officials and powerful politicians who have the ability to help employers hire more people and help lower unemployment rates by pushing for tax cuts for businesses. A rhetorical strategy I used to engage my audience was pathos and I utilized emotion and values to demonstrate how unemployment affects the everyday person. The main techniques I used to incorporate logos into my visual ad and Audience strategy were by utilizing visual language and sharing stories about how unemployment affects people so close to home. This can be evident in my Audience strategy when Wright states “ The people seen without any form of substance can easily be your very own neighbor” and “ The virus has implemented many ripple effects including laying millions of people off from work”. Within these two quotes, it’s clear that pathos was utilized to help sell the emotions of the devastating effect of unemployment to the intended audience. This was my first time composing a visual essay so it was definitely more exciting to compose in comparison to writing the standard written essay that I’m used to. When composing my visual essay it differed a lot from writing a standard essay because I had to be sure to find images that would not only relate to my topic but simultaneously convey emotion. Meanwhile, a traditional essay can only convey emotion through your language and choice of words. Overall this project was truly different and refreshing compared to the other assignments I’ve been asked to complete in the past. 

Since the beginning of COVID-19 an average of 7.7 million people have lost their jobs due to the pandemic. Leaving many people incapable of paying their rent, utilities, or providing food for their families. This issue must be addressed and resolved quickly in order to aid people back to a sense of normalcy. Which is why I have created my visual essay to bring awareness to this issue and attract the attention of government officials and powerful congress politicians to push more revenue back into our economy to create more job opportunities and reduce the amount of people currently on unemployment. Government officials have the power to push for more tax cuts for business. This will increase business pay rolls allowing them to keep more of the money they earn to employ as many new hires. Essentially a business tax cut can help produce job creation and put an decrease in the high unemployment rates.

While observing my visual essay the image has been selected and arranged in a way to convey a sense of desperation and distress. The people seen without any form of sustenance can easily be your very own neighborhood and you would never know but COVID has impacted a lot of people. Some may not have contracted the virus but it has implemented many ripple effects including laying millions of people off from work. I want people to understand that through looking at those images and understand how they must feel being placed in that predicament. Given that my audience is government officials and powerful politicians they would most likely acquire their news or entertainment from publications like Newsweek, CNN, or NBC news therefore I would utilize a more persuasive type of writing so that the readers get the full attention because I know that they are very busy and they need to get the full picture of the article. Fast! If they’re hooked at the beginning of the article they will most likely be included to continue reading and acknowledge the unemployment issue millions of people are currently battling. And hopeful in the end persuade them to sue their power to help reduce the rate of unemployment. 

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