The document discusses understanding visual texts. It defines visual texts as texts created using images, with or without words, that people encounter in everyday life. Visual texts have a target audience and purpose. The document teaches how to analyze visual texts by identifying elements like images, words, and layout. It provides examples of analyzing messages, audiences, and purposes of anti-smoking and mosquito prevention posters. Overall, the document aims to equip readers with skills to understand visual texts.

1. Understanding Visual Texts
1E3 English Lesson April 2015

2. What are we learning today?
• In this lesson, we will learn to analyse visual texts by learning
how to identify and read the different elements in visual
texts
• We will also learn to identify the purpose and intended
audience of various visual texts

4. What are visual texts?
• Texts that are created using images
• May or may not contain words
• We encounter visual texts in our everyday
lives through newspaper, magazines,
posters, brochures, websites,
advertisements.

5. What are visual texts?
• Visual texts often have a target audience.
• The target audience is a specific group of people
which the visual texts want to address
• Visual texts often have a message and
purpose.

6. For the next two images that you see
• Write down what you think is the message of the visual text?
• Write down who is the target audience?
• Write down how the image guide you to the message?

9. What is the message of both images?
Who are the target audience?
Write down how the image helps guide you to the message?

10. What is the message of both images?
Both images are trying to send out the message that smoking kills, smoking is deadly, smoking is
harmful
Who are the target audience?
The intended audience could be smokers
and also non-smokers as it could be an image used to warn others not to pick up smoking
Write down how the image guide you to the message?
The first image shows that cigarettes are like bullets in a gun which is a weapon used to kill humans
The second image shows the ashes forming a human that appears to be dying.

11. What do you think is the purpose of both images?

12. What do you think is the purpose of both images?
The purpose of the both images are to discourage people from picking up
smoking or to encourage smokers to quit smoking.

13. Now let’s learn about the different
elements of a visual text!
1. Words: Title/ Heading, Caption/Sub-heading
2. Images
3. Layout
(how are the words and images arranged to
convey the message)

14. Take time to think about
how the images and
words work together in
the visual texts

15. Title/ Heading
Why do you think it is located
here?
What do you think is the effect
of writing such a headline?
Caption/ Subheading
Why do you think it is located here?
What do you think is the purpose of
the subheading?
The main image
What do you think this
image is trying to show?
Who are ‘they’?
What are these
additional images
trying to tell us?

16. Title/ Heading
The headline is
positioned at the centre
to capture readers’
attention.
The words are also used
to capture our attention!
To ‘scare’ us and make
us take action
Caption/ Subheading
The caption helps to provide
additional information after the
poster has captured your
attention.
The main image
This is an image of a
mosquito that can
make us ‘bleed’.
Who are ‘they’?
They are the
mosquitos that
can make us
bleed.
What are these
additional images
trying to tell us?
These images are places
where mosquitos will
‘breed’.

17. Take time to think about
the font size of the
words.
Why are some texts in
larger fonts while
some are written in smaller
fonts.

18. Title/ Heading in
larger font size
Subheadings/caption in
smaller font size

19. Title/ Heading in
larger font size
Subheadings/caption in
smaller font size
The font size
of the words
will
determine
the reading
path of the
viewer!
We will tend to
read the larger
fonts in the text
first before
focusing on the
smaller fonts
(details)

20. Let’s attempt another visual text!

21. What is the image about?
What is the headline trying to say?
What do you think it means by ‘every
bit adds up’?
How does it relate to the picture?
Who do you think are the target
audience?

22. What is the image about?
The Image shows a dirty playground full of litter
What is the headline trying to say?
The headline is encouraging us to throw our little
into rubbish bins
What do you think it means by ‘every
bit adds up’?
It means that every bit of litter counts
How does it relate to the picture?
The picture show how the litter adds up to fill up
the entire playground into an unhygienic
environment .
Who do you think are the target
audience?
This poster is directed at the general public

23. What do you think is the
purpose of this image?

24. What do you think is the
purpose of this image?
The purpose is to encourage
the general public to use
rubbish bins and not to litter.

25. What does the image show?
Who do you think are the intended audience?
What is the headline trying to say to the audience?
(Purpose)
What does “to him, it’s the only way” mean?

26. What does the image show?
It shows a wheelchair bound man trying to get onto an
elevator
Who do you think are the intended audience?
The intended audience are people without disabilities
What is the headline trying to say to the audience?
(Purpose)
The headline is asking audience to be more
considerate to people with disabilities.
What does “to him, it’s the only way” mean?
The wheelchair bound man has only one way to move
around, which is to use the elevator.

27. What have we learnt thus far…
• We have learnt about the different elements of the visual texts
- Images
- Texts (Headlines/Headings, Captions/subheading)
- Layouts (How images and texts are arranged in visual texts)
• We have learnt how to identify the message and intended audience
of visual texts