Topics · Primary English · Visual Text
Visual text: reading posters, adverts and notices
A visual text is a poster, advert, notice or leaflet. The information is spread across headings, pictures, small print and contact details — and the questions are about finding the right part and noticing what it is trying to do to you.
- 320 exam papers analysed
- appears in 72% of P5 English papers
- ~3 min read
01 Read the whole thing before answering
A visual text is not read top to bottom like a story. Information sits in separate places, and the answer to one question is often in the corner you skipped.
Sweep it once completely first: title, pictures, every block of text however small, and the fine print at the bottom.
The small print is where the answers hide. Dates, prices, age limits, conditions and exclusions are deliberately set small, and questions are set on exactly those.
02 The questions they ask
A small set, and knowing which one you have been given decides where to look.
| Question | Look where |
|---|---|
| Who is this for? | title, pictures, age or group mentioned |
| What is being offered? | the largest text |
| When and where? | usually small print |
| How much / how to join? | small print, contact details |
| Why this picture / colour / word? | the effect it has on the reader |
03 Why it was designed that way
The harder questions ask about the purpose of a choice, and want a reason connected to the reader.
A large word or bright colour is there to catch attention and be read first.
A picture of children signals who the text is for, faster than any sentence.
An exclamation mark or a question aimed at you — Tired of waiting? — is meant to make the reader feel spoken to.
A discount or “limited time” is there to make the reader act quickly.
Say what effect it has on the reader, not what it looks like. “It is big and red” describes; “it is big and red so it is noticed first” answers.
04 Purpose and audience
Two things every visual text has, and questions ask for both.
Purpose — to inform, to persuade, to warn, or to instruct. A notice about a closed pool informs; an advert persuades; a safety sign warns.
Audience — who it is aimed at. Look at the pictures, the vocabulary and where it would be displayed. Simple words and cartoon pictures mean children.
Give evidence from the text. “It is for children, because it shows cartoon characters and says ages 6 to 12” scores where “it is for children” does not.
05 How to say them
These are words most children have never said out loud, and a word you cannot say is a word you avoid using. Capitals mark the syllable you lean on. Tap the speaker to hear it.
- visual textmore than onevisual texts
A poster, advert, notice, leaflet or sign, where words and pictures work together.
- purposesayPUR-puhss
What the text is for: to inform, persuade, warn or instruct.
- audiencesayAW-dee-uhnss
Who the text is aimed at.
- persuadesaypuh-SWAYD
To make someone want to do something. Adverts persuade.
- small print
The smallest text, holding conditions, dates and prices. Most questions are set on it.
- slogansaySLOH-guhnmore than oneslogans
A short memorable phrase used to sell or promote something.
06 What each level is tested on
The same topic, asked differently as it goes up. The percentage is the share of papers at that level in which it appears.
- P2
Reading simple posters and notices and finding stated information.
Practise P2 Visual Text — 8 questions →42% of P2 papers
- P3
Locating details across different parts of a visual text.
Practise P3 Visual Text — 8 questions →39% of P3 papers
- P4
Purpose and audience, and why pictures are used.
Practise P4 Visual Text — 8 questions →32% of P4 papers
- P5
Small print questions, and explaining the effect of design choices.
Practise P5 Visual Text — 8 questions →72% of P5 papers
- P6
Full visual text sections with locating and purpose questions together.
Practise P6 Visual Text — 8 questions →72% of P6 papers
07 Mistakes worth knowing about
Each of these is wrong. Decide why before you open it.
“I read the big text and answered.”
The answers are usually in the small print — dates, prices, conditions and age limits.
“The picture is there to make it look nice.”
Say what it does: shows who it is for, or shows what is being offered. Decoration is rarely the marked answer.
“The purpose is to tell people about it.”
Be specific: inform, persuade, warn or instruct. An advert persuades even while it informs.
“It is for children.”
Give the evidence — cartoon pictures, simple words, an age range printed on it.
“The heading is red because red is eye-catching.”
Finish the thought: so it is noticed first and the reader reads it before anything else.
Now try it
40 questions across 5 levels, marked as you go with the working shown.