A Rhetorical Analysis of Advertisements in Magazines
Christopher Aguilar
John Jay College of Criminal Justice

ENGLISH 101: LC 006
Professor C. McKenzie
Due Date: October 2, 2013
Word Count: 1477

Abstract
A paradigm is a set of beliefs or assumptions that set the reality of a group. These values are socially constructed. Social Construction is the way each individual grows up and views things; made by humans for humans. These socially constructed values need a language system in order for it to make sense. Rhetoric is the ability to ascertain and analyze, in any given context, the available means of persuasion. The media uses appeals such as pathos, ethos and logos to analyze the dominant paradigm of my lifetime. This analysis discovers how magazines use different types of appeals such as pathos, ethos and logos to get the message across to the reader. Keywords: paradigms, social construction, rhetoric, pathos, ethos, logos

A paradigm is a set of beliefs or assumptions that set the reality of a group. These values are socially constructed. Social Construction is the way each individual grows up and views things; made by humans for humans. These socially constructed values need a language system in order for it to make sense. Rhetoric is the ability to ascertain and analyze, in any given context, the available means of persuasion. The media uses appeals such as pathos, ethos and logos to analyze the dominant paradigm of my lifetime. This analysis discovers how magazines use different types of appeals such as pathos, ethos and logos to get the message across to the reader.
Rhetorical Analysis on Target Advertisement In my InStyle Magazine, I noticed plenty of clothing that made me realize how bad I want to go buy new things for the fall/winter season to have a new wardrobe. However, this magazine showed stars from Halle Berry to David Beckham modeling famous designers clothing labels such as Prada, Gucci, Coach and Louis Vuitton. The prices on these articles of clothing were superb to what I have ever seen. For example, a Gucci jacket cost $3300. What caught my attention was in this magazine they also had discount, retail store ads (Target, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, JC Penny). It’s a pretty smart business move if you ask me. After all, anyone would rather pay less for similar designer clothes than paying thousands of dollars for it. I based my rhetorical analysis on the appeal of logos in a Target Advertisement. Logos deals with the presentation of logic meaning the truth or what is real along with information that supports these claims. The main logos appeal in the ad is Target’s motto, “Expect more. Pay less”. Both pages of this advertisement center around this idea, of saving money and looking good. They want customers to know that a person’s income doesn’t determine how you look. By shopping at Target, they want you to know that you can look as stylish as if you wearing something from Prada, Gucci, Coach or Louis Vuitton. When a reader flips through this ad and notices the unbelievable prices, they will see the advertisement is logical. The two-page advertisement has two different female models wearing different outfits. The money saving prices beneath each outfit shows that the whole advertisement is true and that at Target a person can truly expect a lot and save big. The choice of words also plays a role in the ad. The diction used makes readers want to go out and save big on fall fashion. They wouldn’t place words like rich, expensive, or credit maxing in their ad because it would be like the rest in the magazine and not stand out as much. The diction and prices on the advertisement show Target’s logical concept to sell cheap clothing. The main purpose in this ad is to appeal to women who don’t want to max out their credit cards this fall/winter season and to women in their twenties or thirties. The models portray themselves as sophisticated. The models are beautiful, thin and young;