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.
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. If the combined-message sentences are not done when class ends, finish them for homework and file the analysis before next lesson.
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