MODULE 4: EXPLORING TOOLS FOR LOCAL AND GLOBAL COMMUNICATION

LESSON 1: EVALUATING TEXTS THAT USE WORDS AND IMAGES

Learning outcome:
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to evaluate multimodal texts critically to
enhance receptive (listening, reading, viewing) skills.

LET’S WARM- UP!

Think and Answer…
In evaluating texts with words and images, here are some questions you can ask:
1. What is the message?
2. What is the purpose of the message?
3. How is the message conveyed by the text and/or image?
4. Who is the target audience of the message?
5. What is the effect of the message being conveyed in this manner to the receiver?
LET’S BEGIN…
What is a multimodal text?
While the development of multimodal literacy is strongly associated with the growth of digital
communication technologies, multimodal is not synonymous with digital. The choice of media for
multimodal text creation is therefore always an important consideration.
A multimodal text can be paper – such as books, comics, posters.
A multimodal text can be digital – from slide presentations, e-books, blogs, e-posters, web pages,
and social media, through to animation, film and video games.
A multimodal text can be live – a performance or an event.
And, a multimodal text can be transmedia– where the story is told using ‘multiple delivery
channels’ through a combination of media platforms, for example, book, comic, magazine, film,
web series, and video game mediums all working as part of the same story.
Development of multimodal literacy knowledge and skills
To enable you to effectively design and communicate meaning through such rich and potentially
complex texts, you need to extend your (and along the way, your own) multimodal literacy
knowledge and skills. Skilled multimodal composition requires new literacy design skills and
knowledge to enable you to make informed choices within and across the available communication
modes to effectively construct meaning.
Creating a multimodal text, a digital animation for example, is a complex meaning design process
requiring the strategic orchestration of a combination of modes such as image, movement, sound,
spatial design, gesture, and language. The process of constructing such texts is also truly a cross-
disciplinary literacy process, drawing on digital information technologies and The Arts (media,
music, drama, visual arts, and design) to bring meaning to life.
 MULTIMODAL TEXT 1

An Infographic, according to the Oxford Dictionaries, is a “visual representation of

information or data, e.g., as chart or diagram.” In addition, an infographic uses words
and images to communicate an idea to a specific audience.
Example: Infographic A

Infographic B
  MULTIMODAL TEXT 2

An Advertisements communicate layers of messages to a target audience through the use

of words and images. Moreover, it is something (such as a short film or written notice) that
is shown or presented to the public to help sell a product or to make an announcement
(Merriam dictionary).
Possible messages of advertisements:
1. Literal- a literal message is based on what the text shows. The reader/audience elicits
the meaning based on what is conveyed obviously.
2. Subliminal-it contains an underlying meaning. A text does not express this explicitly.
It may be argued that a subliminal message may be understood only by a receiver who
is aware of certain meanings that are associated with specific images and words.
Example:
Two (2) powerful notions that are communicated literally and subliminally in advertisements:
1. Racism- discrimination of race.
2. Sexism-discrimination of sex or gender.

Other forms of discriminations include: ageism, disability, and classicism.

 MULTIMODAL TEXT 3

An Editorial Cartoons are comics with a purpose usually to make comment about current
issues. These are opinion based and not objective.
Effective Editorial Cartoon
1. It deals with a single idea.

2. It is humorous.
3. It exerts influence on the reader.

4. It is realistic.

5. It entertains the reader.