Key Idea: This topic is about image-led and screen texts — infographics, political cartoons, comic strips, photographs, documentary extracts and film stills. They all share one rule: the visuals are chosen, not neutral. Colour, size, framing, light and layout are deliberate choices that carry meaning. In Paper 1 the visual is described for you in words, so your job is to analyse the design choices, not just say what's in the picture.
🖼️ The six text types
| Text type | Purpose | What to spot |
|---|---|---|
| Infographic | Inform / persuade with facts + pictures | Big numbers · colour coding (green good, red danger) · icons · visual hierarchy (biggest = main point) |
| Political cartoon | Criticise the news through satire | Caricature · symbols standing for ideas · size (power vs weakness) · an ironic caption |
| Comic strip | Tell a story or joke in a sequence | Panels in order · the gutter (gap between panels) · bubble shape/size · a twist in the last panel |
| Photograph | Capture a moment (and steer how you read it) | Framing (what's in/out) · angle · focus · light · the caption |
| Documentary extract | Present a viewpoint as ‘fact’ | Narration (voiceover) · selected footage · tone & music · ‘fact’ framing |
| Film still | A single frame from a film | Mise-en-scène: setting/props · lighting & colour · costume · position in the frame |
🔍 The one move that works for all six
Every visual text uses the same move. Name a choice (a colour, the framing, a symbol, the panel order, the narrator's words), say its effect (what it makes you see or feel), then the so what — the point, mood or criticism it builds. Never just describe what's in the picture: turn each choice into meaning. And always read the words with the visual — a caption, label or voiceover steers how you read the image.
✍️ IB-style worked examples
IB-style question — analyse an infographic
Analyse how this infographic persuades. Described: a giant red “£0” fills the top; below, a small green line reads “What your loyalty is worth to them.” A tiny wallet leaks coins.
Step by step:
Name a choice: the huge red ‘£0’ sits at the top of the visual hierarchy — the first thing you see.
Effect: size + red make it shout, signalling danger and worthlessness.
Another choice: the leaking-wallet icon turns an abstract idea into something concrete — money quietly draining away.
So what: words and visuals work as one message, so the reader feels cheated and ready to act.
The giant red ‘£0’ dominates the hierarchy, so shock hits first — red for danger, size shouting that your loyalty is worth nothing. The leaking-wallet icon makes that concrete, and words and image together push the reader to feel cheated.
IB-style question — analyse a political cartoon
Analyse the point of this cartoon. Described: a huge smiling figure labelled “PROGRESS” strides forward, not noticing the tiny people he steps over. Caption: “Mind the gap.”
Step by step:
Decode the size: the giant ‘PROGRESS’ vs tiny people = power against the powerless.
Decode the action: ‘stepping over’ them without noticing = harm done carelessly.
Read the caption's irony: ‘Mind the gap’ mocks a hollow slogan he clearly ignores.
State the criticism: progress crushes the very people it claims to help.
The huge ‘PROGRESS’ towering over tiny people uses size to show power over the powerless, and stepping over them shows careless harm. The ironic caption ‘Mind the gap’ mocks an empty slogan — so the cartoon argues that progress crushes the people it claims to help.
IB-style question — analyse a photograph
Analyse this news photo: a lone firefighter sits on rubble, helmet off, head in hands, tiny against a huge burnt building. Caption: “After the shift.”
Step by step:
Framing: the firefighter tiny against the huge ruin shows how overwhelming the job is.
Pose: helmet off, head in hands strips the hero image away to show exhaustion.
Caption: the quiet ‘After the shift’ makes it sound routine, as if this is just another day.
So what: the choices, not the plain event, make us feel the human cost — and respect it.
Framing the firefighter tiny against the burnt building shows how overwhelming the work is, and the head-in-hands pose shows exhaustion behind the hero image. The understated caption ‘After the shift’ makes it feel ordinary, quietly deepening our respect.
Important: Don't just list what's in the picture (‘there's a big number and a wallet’). Every point needs the effect (what a colour, size or angle makes you feel) and the so what (the meaning, mood or criticism). And don't ignore the words — a caption, label or voiceover is half the text and often flips the meaning.
Tap each card to check yourself.
An infographic makes ‘95%’ huge and green, ‘5%’ tiny and grey — what does the design do? Size and colour steer you to read the 95% as the big, positive result before any argument.
A cartoon shows a tiny figure crushed under a giant boot — what does size show? Power vs weakness — the tiny figure is powerless against a bigger force.
What is the ‘gutter’ in a comic strip? The gap between panels; the reader fills it in, and it controls the timing of a joke or shock.
Why isn't a photograph ‘just what happened’? The photographer chose the frame, angle, focus, light and moment — and the caption steers the reading.
Why isn't a documentary pure ‘fact’? The narration, chosen footage, tone and music all select and shape a viewpoint that feels objective.
Exam Tips
- Read the design as choices — colour, size, framing, light and layout all mean something.
- Always read the words with the visual: a caption, label or voiceover steers the meaning.
- For a cartoon, decode each symbol into meaning, then name the criticism.
- For a comic strip, analyse the panel order and the twist, not just each box.
- Never stop at description — every point needs the effect and the ‘so what’.