How Visual Rhetoric Changed My Life (Not really :P, but it makes for a great title.)

Before learning about visual rhetoric, and having to analyze ads. I knew if I liked/disliked or was persuaded/not persuaded by ads, but I didn't really know why. I would just glance at advertisements without stopping to think about what was in them or why certain things were or weren't in them. Even after learning the terms; I didn't quite understand the importance of Logos, Pathos, Ethos and Kairos.

After having to sit down and actually analyze all of these aspects of an ad, I can now gain great insight into an advertisers techniques. I had never thought that everything in an ad was there for a purpose. Things that are unnecessary, or that don't serve the purpose of the ad, are removed or left out. Now, I do. I believe I can write better papers now, by leaving out content that is not needed or negatively impacts what I am trying to get across. Also by the use of Logos, Pathos, Ethos and Kairos when appropriate; now that I know what they are, and how they have been used by professionals to achieve the desired effect.