Think of a feed post you saw today: a photo, a short caption, a sound, maybe a sticker over the image. That mix is a multi-modal text: more than one mode of communication in a single piece.
Today you will take one multi-modal feature apart mode by mode, then write how those modes work together. That analysis goes into your Communication Portfolio.
A mode is one channel of meaning. In digital texts you often meet several at once. You will see the same mix on a county council new-scheme page or a long-read on The Journal with a video embed.
| Term | What it means for you | Real example |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-modal: more than one mode in one piece | Ask what it says, and what you see and hear as well | A county council scheme page with photo, clip and numbers |
| Mode: one channel (words, image, video, sound, graphic, layout) | Name each channel before you judge the whole piece | A video embed in a The Journal long-read |
| Combined message: what the modes do together | Your portfolio line is about the whole effect, not a list of parts | A cheerful jingle over a list of prices in a phone ad can make a contract feel like fun |
Watch one detail do two jobs. In a feature about a library opening late for exam study, the pull quote sits in large white type on a dark blue band: "It's the only quiet room I can get after nine." The words give a student voice; the large type and dark colour make that voice feel serious. Alone, either mode is weaker. Together they sell the late opening as something students need, not a favour.
The page mock below is a simplified layout of a multi-modal web feature written for this lesson (the kind of mix you meet on a council scheme page or a news long-read). Words, image, video, sound, graphic and layout sit in separate blocks so you can point to each mode. You are not watching finished media here; you are practising on a clear layout of a real page type.
Mark at least five places where a mode is doing clear work, name the mode, and write one sentence on what it adds for the reader. Your marks are not saved: when you have them, press Copy for my portfolio and paste them into the first answer box in the next step. They are not the piece you file.
This is the analysis you file in your Communication Portfolio, the only piece you file today. Answer the three questions under the feature: the modes and what each contributes, exactly three sentences on the combined message, and one sentence on which mode does the most work.
When your answers are complete, press Copy for my portfolio and save them into your Communication Portfolio as m2_l59_multimodal_analysis_<your-initials>.txt (or the same name in your usual document format). This is multi-modal reading evidence, the same skill you lean on in Contemporary Issues media work. If the combined-message sentences are not done when class ends, finish them for homework and file before next lesson.
Talk for a minute with the person beside you. If one answer sticks, note it in your Reflective Journal after class:
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