ABSTRACT
This chapter is different in nature from the rest in Part 3 in that it does not offer a theory or search model, but rather a set of concepts about visual communication that can be used to augment any study that entails visual communication.
We take on the question of whether images themselves can make arguments which are expected in rhetorical contexts. We explain how images, apart from verbal discourse, are indeterminate in meaning which often confounds sense-making. We make the case that images themselves cannot argue but they can provide powerful resources for rhetors making arguments.
We illustrate analysis of visual communication by applying concepts to a complex message that employs, even features, images. We demonstrate how to treat visual communication as a complex, potentially powerful, and complementary argumentative resource.
As is the case with any introductory chapter, the topic is much more complex than one chapter can offer, so we encourage you to use our material as a starting point, then elaborate your analyses by drawing on some of the excellent material in the suggested readings.
