SASS EL P2 SectA Notes

ST ANDREW’S SECONDARY SCHOOL: Tackling 1184/02 Section A 1 Tackling Paper 2 Section A (EL 1184 Paper 2) Text 1: The Visual Text The visual text could be a webpage of an organisation, a campaign poster, a job advertisement or an advertisement of a product, service, etc. You could be asked questions about: • the effect of the headings (vocabulary: choice of words in context) • the effect of the pictures/illustrations/photograph • the effect of the information • the main sentence of the visual text Understanding the visual text In general, your understanding of a visual text depends on your knowledge of the overall objective of the text. The common objectives are: • to prove that the company/product/service will meet the target group’s needs • to project the right company image Target group’s needs Each visual text targets the needs of a particular group of people, in order to convince them that the company is capable of meeting their needs. People can be grouped according to their behaviour, dressing, age, occupation, gender, economic status, marital status, physical health, etc. Company’s image A visual can also be used to promote the credibility and reliability of the company to convince the reader that they can trust the company. A company can appear efficient, friendly, advanced or dedicated to its mission. Example 1 Write a full description of the target group and their needs next to each visual text. Visual Text Description of target group Are you trying hard to understand primary school mathematics? Come for a talk on primary school maths heuristics methods by Mr Yeo from Institute of Mathematics. People in their 30s with children in primary school/ Parents who are concerned about and involved in providing academic support/Parents who do not understand the new Maths methods.

ST ANDREW’S SECONDARY SCHOOL: Tackling 1184/02 Section A 2 Effect of heading, picture and information 1.What are the possible effects of a visual text? The effects of a visual text on the reader is the way it influences the reader’s thoughts, feelings and actions. Some effects are: • to persuade the reader to think that the company or product is… • to persuade the reader to buy… • to persuade the reader to register at the school/ apply for… • to attract the reader’s attention by… How to answer an ‘effect’ question? Step 1: Pick out the relevant detail from the visual text. It could be written words (e.g. heading or information) or a picture/illustration. Step 2: Explain how the detail leads to the effect. The following could be used as a guide to help you write your answer. The word ‘…’ (or detail) persuades the reader to … because… (e.g. it meets the reader’s needs or projects the company image as …). 2.The effect of the heading This question tests your understanding of the objective of headings. Headings are meant to attract attention and they normally aim to convince the reader that their mo