TOW #21 (VISUAL TEXT)- The Princeton Review's "Best 378 Colleges 2014 Edition" (Analyzing the rhetoric of the front cover)

For this week's TOW I decided to look to my desk for some inspiration. For most, if not all of the students in the junior class, right now is the time in which we are all contemplating different colleges. Since there are so many colleges and universities out there, it can be a hassle to sort through them all. Although this is the case, many students look to buy books that rank schools and give a bit more information about every school. Since there are so many rankings out there, it is up to the ranking company to make their book stand out on the book shelves. When I went to Barnes and Nobles to buy my book, The Princeton Review's, "Best 378 Colleges 2014 Edition" stood out. Obviously the book is looking to attract students who are looking to go to college and its is also trying to promote itself as the best ranking book. In order to do so, the book utilizes several different rhetorical strategies and devices. What first stands out is the fact that the book is a bright yellow color. Amongst the other colors on the bookshelf, the yellow clearly stands out and thus makes it noticeable for all students to see. In addition to its bright attractive colors, the book utilizes capitalized fonts to draw in the shopper. On the front cover, the book has the words "best" and "colleges" capitalized. With the word best capitalized, the shopper associates best with the book, as well as the colleges. This subtlety brings the shopper in and draws their attention to the book. Besides simply just drawing in shoppers, the book also needs to establish its ethos as the best ranking book. In order to do so, the book utilizes testimony from CNN saying, "A great book...plus its a bargain" This testimony from CNN establishes the book's ethos as one of the more credible and affordable options. Again to try and bolster the book's ethos, the cover has highlighted the words "most popular" in order to show that the book is used by the most people. By both drawing the attention of shoppers, and establishing its ethos as the best book on the shelves, The Princeton Review's, "Best 378 Colleges 2014 Edition" definitely stands out. I personally thought the book was very credible and attractive and therefore I bought it.