3 Important Tips on how to score for Visual Text Secondary School Comprehension - English Language O-Level Syllabus 1184

The Visual Text also known as Text 1 and Text 2 under the New Secondary School English Syllabus 1184 constitutes 5 marks in Paper 2 of the Secondary English Comprehension Paper. For PSLE English, Visual Text

In view of MOE’s new EL Syllabus 2020 which targets is to develop effective and affective language use in students hence promoting critical thinking amongst our youths, this section has been revamped to one with a comparative nature.

Text 1 is a visual text type such as a poster while Text 2 is a short blurb / extract that can be anything from something akin to a Straits Times forum post or a blog entry by someone.

What is Visual Text Comprehension?

In this media-saturated world, our student’s sense of reality about the world is often warped through the prism of the media we consume daily. These can be in the form of visual texts which are used to convey messages and communicate ideas in a variety of ways. These texts include print media such as posters and flyers as well as non-print ones like websites and online advertisements.

Visual text comprehension refers to the ability to understand and interpret information presented in visual formats, such as images, diagrams, charts, graphs, maps, and other non-verbal representations. Students need to try to make sense out of the visual elements such as the design of the artwork or photograph used in the poster in Text 1 and try to extract meaning and drawing conclusions from the visual information presented.

How to do well for Visual Text?

Understanding how to process and think critically about the messages that we encounter both online and offline is an important skill that students need to have in this 21st Century. The visual text precisely test the students’ ability to process and interpret both visual and written texts. Mastering Visual Comprehension skills will also help us deepen our skills needed for scoring in the entire Paper 2. This is because the question and answer techniques are similar and can be applied across the different texts.

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Here are three tips to score for your Visual Text

Know your PAC (Purpose, Audience and Context)

Understanding the context in which the visual text is presented is crucial. It may involve considering the source (who produce the poster/advertisement?), what is the objective or purpose of producing such a poster or writing the blog? Who are the audience for the poster? For Text 2, students must look closely at the accompanying textual information to fully comprehend the visual content.

2. Extracting Information in relation to the question

Students must study the images or pictures carefully and read the questions closely so that students can extract relevant information from the visual text, which may involve reading numerical values, identifying the symbols or logos in the visual text drawing conclusions based on the visual cues.

3. Be clear and precise in your answer

Very often in Visual Text, creators of the visual text may use words that are intended to have impact, also known and imparted to you by your English Teachers as “Language for impact” . This simply means the visual text uses language in a way that captures the audience’s attention, conveys the intended meaning clearly, and leaves a lasting impression. Students must be sensitive to any metaphors, similes, and other forms of figurative language can add depth and vividness to the text. They must be able to the explain the effect fully to suit the questions requirements.