In first-year writing (FYW), instructors want students to understand how reading texts in particular ways affects how and what they learn and, in turn, how and what they might communicate to their own readers. Because students tend to come to FYW predisposed to notice more visual aspects (e.g., headings, bulleted lists) than verbal aspects (e.g., verbal subordinators, cohesive ties) of texts, instructors are challenged to generate among students conscious awareness of their reading practices, including awareness of the kinds of practices called for by different reading situations. This article explores how visual rhetoric taught as a close reading strategy can help diverse groups of students become more adaptable readers of the visual continuum of texts. The performance-oriented genre of the assignment prompt is offered as an example that makes visible what students may not notice in a text. I argue that introducing students to the core principles of visual rhetoric is one productive way to help students read non-visual texts in more visual ways. Students who understand how visual and verbal cues exert rhetorical control will be more empowered readers of others' texts and designers of their own texts, in FYW and beyond.