2.3 Visual, Digital & Multimodal Texts

Visual literacy in the ICAS English framework

ICAS English does not treat reading as words alone. Across year levels, students meet visual, digital, and multimodal texts: posters, advertisements, webpage-style screens, comics, tables, diagrams, maps with keys, charts, and mixed layouts. Multimodal means meaning is built from more than one mode—usually visual + verbal (images plus captions, labels, or body text). The framework’s emphasis on visual literacy means you should practise “reading” design the way you read paragraphs: scan structure first, then zoom into detail.

On a multiple-choice paper you will not always see high-resolution art. You may get a simplified figure, a described layout, or a table. The skill is the same: decode the system, then answer precisely.

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Types of visual and digital stimuli

Advertisements and posters

Ads and posters combine headline, image, slogan, and fine print. Ask:

• What product, event, or behaviour is being promoted?
• Who is the target audience (age, interest, need)?
• Which words are largest or boldest—and what does that prioritise?
• Is there a call to action (Book now, Recycle here)?

Persuasive craft (emotive adjectives, claims, urgency) overlaps with writer’s craft strands, but comprehension items still start with what is shown and what the viewer is meant to do or believe.

Webpages and digital layouts

A webpage mock-up may include a navigation bar, search box, main article, side panel, buttons, and footer links. Reading path often goes top → headline → lead paragraph → side features. Questions may ask where to click for a certain task, which section holds a fact, or how layout separates news from advertising.

Comics and sequential images

Comics use panels, speech bubbles, thought bubbles, and captions. Sequence is left-to-right (and top-to-bottom) unless the page signals otherwise. A change in a character’s face or a motion line can answer an inference question without any long paragraph.

Tables

A table organises information in rows and columns. Always read:

1. Title
2. Column and row headings
3. Units (kg, °C, minutes)
4. The cell where the asked row and column meet

Wrong answers often come from reading the correct row but the wrong column.

Diagrams and charts

Diagrams show parts of a system (water cycle, machine, plant). Charts (bar, line, pie) show quantities or change over time. Check axes, titles, and what each bar/segment represents before comparing values.

Maps with keys

A map key (legend) explains symbols: camping icon, shaded forest, dashed walking track. Never assume a symbol’s meaning from everyday life if the key defines it differently.

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Mini visual-text 1: poster described in prose (original)

Imagine a school hall poster:

• Top banner in large green letters: “RIVER CLEAN-UP — SATURDAY 9 A.M.”
• Centre photo: students with gloves holding rubbish bags beside a creek.
• Bullet list: Wear closed shoes · Bring a water bottle · Sign in at the bridge
• Bottom strip in smaller type: Organised by the Year 6 Environment Club · Rain cancels
• Bright arrow sticker graphic pointing to: “FREE GLOVES PROVIDED”

How questions work

• Main purpose: Encourage students to join a Saturday river clean-up (not sell gloves as a product business).
• Detail from layout: Free gloves are emphasised with an arrow sticker; rain cancellation is in the fine-print strip—easy to miss if you only read the banner.
• Audience: School community / students (Year 6 club, hall poster, student photo).
• Multimodal reading: Photo shows the activity type; text gives time, rules, and conditions.

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Mini visual-text 2: table (original)

Bird counts at Willow Pond (one morning)

Sample reading tasks

• Most ducks: North reed bed (12).
• Herons only recorded in the reed bed.
• Open water has more coots (9) than ducks (4).

A trap option might say “herons prefer picnic lawns” because people picnic near water—but the table shows zero herons there.

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Mini visual-text 3: diagram + caption (original)

Caption: Cross-section of a homemade worm farm. Lid with air holes on top; dry leaves layer; kitchen scraps; bedding; worms; tray collecting liquid fertiliser at the bottom.

Labels stacked from top to bottom match that order. A question might ask which layer is directly above the worms (bedding) or where liquid is collected (bottom tray). Success depends on spatial language in the caption aligning with vertical order—not on whether you keep worms at home.

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Core visual literacy skills

Match step to image

In illustrated procedures, each picture usually shows one action or result. Match by objects (spray bottle vs trowel), state (wet paper vs dry pot), and caption numbers. If two images look similar, read the tiny difference the question hinges on.

Find information in a table or diagram

Use a two-step fix: (1) find the correct category on the heading, (2) read along the line to the value. Restate the answer in a short phrase before looking at options to avoid “near miss” cells.

Interpret a key

Read the key before the map body. If a triangle means “lookout” in the key, it does not mean “camping” even if camping tents are triangular in real life.

Combine visual + verbal

Some answers need both: the map shows a path is short, while the note says “steep—allow 40 minutes.” Choosing “easy ten-minute stroll” would misuse the map alone.

Graphical representation of information

Ask what is being measured and how. A rising line means increase only if the vertical axis measures the quantity you think it does. Check whether a chart starts at zero—visual exaggeration can appear when scales are chopped, but ICAS usually keeps scales readable; still, read numbers, not only bar height impressions.

Layout affecting meaning

• Size and bold type → priority and emphasis
• Colour blocks → grouping related items or warnings (e.g. red for danger)
• Position → top/centre items get attention first; footnotes and margins hold conditions and disclaimers
• White space and boxes → separate ads from articles or tips from steps

Design can persuade: a huge price “50% OFF” beside a tiny “selected items only” is a classic layout trap—comprehension questions may test whether you noticed the restriction.

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Comparison table: visual text jobs

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Worked multimodal question pattern

Stimulus mix: A small timetable table for ferry departures plus a note: “Blue highlighted rows = wheelchair-accessible vessels.” Row 10:40 is highlighted; row 11:15 is not.

• Question: Which departure should a passenger who needs wheelchair access choose in the morning window shown?
• Correct reasoning: Use table time + highlight rule in the note → 10:40.
• Distractor: 11:15 looks later and convenient but fails the accessibility condition.

This pattern—rule in words + data in graphics—appears often in visual literacy items.

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Practical exam checklist

1. Name the format (table, poster, map, comic) in one second.
2. Read titles, keys, and captions before the “busy” centre of the image.
3. Trace sequence: steps, panels, or arrows.
4. Cross-check any number or symbol against headings/units.
5. Prefer answers that use both a visual detail and a verbal detail when both are provided.
6. Beware options that rely on real-world assumptions the graphic does not support.

Visual and digital texts reward calm method over quick impressions. If you slow down just long enough to read the key, the heading, and the fine print, multimodal questions become some of the most predictable marks on ICAS English.