AT A GLANCE

Images you choose to include in your work can help establish your credibility, but they always have a point of view and tone of their own. The postcard below, for instance, shows two physical perspectives—a photograph of a highway bridge and a road map showing its location—as well as a time perspective, from 1927, when the bridge was new. Images also reveal attitudes: this one, with the caption “America’s Greatest Highway Bridge,” sees the construction of the bridge as a triumph of technology, but the image might also convey nostalgia if readers know that the bridge became structurally unsound and had to be demolished in the 1970s. So when you choose an image, think hard about how well it fits in with your topic and purpose. What is the image’s perspective and attitude—and do they serve the purpose of your writing?