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RHET 1312 Composition II

Visual Argument:

Yes! Dream Matters

Instructor: Stephanie H. Williams Date: 03/21/2014

Submitted byTavleen Kaur T00520805

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Yes! Dream Matters The image titled Reduce Teen Pregnancy is extracted from a video media project by Valerie Hengemuhle, a student of Virginia Tech. This image talks about the problem of teen pregnancy and how it affects the psychological state of a growing adolescent. The claim statement of the image is teen pregnancy should be reduced because it is a hindrance in the way of achieving dreams of the teenagers. The image illustrates how drastically the life of a teenager can change just by taking one wrong step. The graphics, symbols, and the writings in the image supports the claim against teen pregnancy. The image has lots of textual information than photos. The writings in the image make the claim strong as it describes how the teenagers sacrifice their best interest for the unborn fetus. Somewhere far below in the image, the text material talks about the contraceptives or protection to reduce teen pregnancy. The image not only highlights the negative consequences of teen pregnancy, but also provides information on the ways to prevent it. The image highlights how the adolescence period should remain away from all sort of external stress and problems, as the teens already undergo a lot of physical and mental changes during their development. The designer considers the necessary rhetorical appeals to convince audience and call for retrospection. Beginning with the logos, the image portrays the negative psychological stress in the minds of the young teenager through the lines like I have a dream where the dream is crossed out and replaced by the word baby. The logical flow is maintained by the background text in the image. The silhouette of the school going girl who looks upset, with her head down looking at her abdomen, makes a strong emotional connection with the audience. The words highlighted in red like feed baby, change diapers provides enough evidence that the teenaged pregnant girl is undergoing a tough time to convince herself to accept the responsibilities. The

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crossed out word, the red highlighted words and head down silhouette image of the girl clearly makes an emotional appeal regarding how the girl has decided to compromise her life, isolating herself from her dreams and aspirations, just to raise the baby. The image also implies that practicing protected sex to reduce teen pregnancy will ensure that dreams are not shattered. The crossed out words, the silhouette provides the ethical ground to prove that the issue exists. Regarding the design components of the image, the first thing that is noticeable is that the image looks like a flyer, making it eye catchy and easily accessible for the audience. The font used is a handwritten one which forces that audience to think as if the appeal or the claim was made by a teenage girl, who had faced the problem of teen pregnancy. The benefit of this type of design in a visual image is that it makes the image and appeal realistic. This helps audience imagine that a teenage girl is pleading for help. The color used is basically red and black, mostly used to describe disturbance in mind. The highlighted words in red reflect threat; how the life of teens becomes annoying and frustrating, away from their dreams. The writing seems as if it is scratched hard, which symbolizes that the pregnancy is affecting the teenage girls mental peace and she is stressed out. The crossed out words in the image clearly shows that the teenage pregnant girls already surrender their dreams at the hands of obligations. The silhouette depicts a woman, but the backpack makes it clear that she is a teenaged pregnant girl. The white background makes the writing and the pictures clear and readable for the audience. Teen pregnancy is a major issue among the high school children in successful in describing how todays world. The image not only describes the adverse effects of unplanned pregnancy during teen, but also highlights the importance of protected sex to reduce teen pregnancy. The issue is crystal clear that teen age girl is herself very young and dependent on

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others to take care of your own responsibilities, how would she afford to take care of another life. The image grasped my attention and I totally agree to the claim the designer has proposed.

Image Source: Hengemuhle, Valerie. Reduce Teen Pregnancy. Web.