Multimodal Texts
AdvancedText + graphics + audio.
- A multimodal text mixes words, graphics, video, audio and comments — every part carries meaning.
- Each mode has a job: video attracts, the article argues, charts prove, comments reveal reactions.
- Make the links: which claim does the chart support? what do the comments confirm?
文體小知識：Read combined texts.
§Text Passage
1Open the school's recommended website, Healthy Eating, and the first thing you see is not a wall of words but a short video about cooking fish. Below it sits a straightforward article about vitamins, and beside it a colourful chart comparing the nutrition of different fruits. At the bottom, visitors can leave comments; one user writes, 'Great recipe! My kids loved it,' while another asks, 'Can I use chicken instead?' There is even a quiz that lets you test your knowledge of food. In other words, the page is a classic multimodal text: it integrates written text, graphics, audio and video in a single source.
2Reading a multimodal text requires more than fast eyes. Each element carries part of the message, so a skilled reader must combine them rather than treat the video and the article as separate items. The chart, for example, may support the article's claim that vitamin C strengthens the immune system, while the comments reveal how ordinary users actually respond. When you interact with such a page — pausing the video, zooming into a graphic, clicking a link — you are actively constructing meaning instead of passively receiving it.
3The DSE increasingly reflects this reality. Paper 1 has included webpages, posters and infographics, and questions often ask candidates to find information that spans a photograph, a caption and a paragraph at once. Examiners want to see whether you can connect a graphic to its written source and explain the relationship between them. Practise with real websites: cover the text and describe the picture, then cover the picture and summarise the text.
4Multimodal reading is not an exam trick; it is daily life. Advertisements, news apps and school platforms all mix modes, and each mode demands a slightly different kind of attention. Learn to read them critically now, and both your examination results and your media literacy will improve together.
§Sentence-by-sentence translation Sentence-by-sentence translation
Open the school's recommended website, Healthy Eating, and the first thing you see is not a wall of words but a short video about cooking fish.
打開學校推介的「健康飲食」網站，首先映入眼簾的不是密密麻麻的文字，而是一段講解烹魚方法的短片。
Below it sits a straightforward article about vitamins, and beside it a colourful chart comparing the nutrition of different fruits.
短片下方是一篇簡明的維他命文章，旁邊則有一幅比較不同水果營養的彩色圖表。
At the bottom, visitors can leave comments; one user writes, 'Great recipe! My kids loved it,' while another asks, 'Can I use chicken instead?'
頁面底部讓訪客留言：有人寫道「食譜很棒！我的孩子很喜歡」，另一人則問「可以改用雞肉嗎？」
There is even a quiz that lets you test your knowledge of food.
網站甚至設有測驗，讓你測試自己對食物的認識。
In other words, the page is a classic multimodal text: it integrates written text, graphics, audio and video in a single source.
換言之，這個頁面是典型的多媒體文本：它把文字、圖像、聲音和影片整合於單一來源之中。
Reading a multimodal text requires more than fast eyes.
閱讀多媒體文本，單靠眼快手快並不足夠。
Each element carries part of the message, so a skilled reader must combine them rather than treat the video and the article as separate items.
每個元素都承載着訊息的一部分，因此有經驗的讀者必須把它們互相結合，而非把影片和文章當成互不相干的內容。
The chart, for example, may support the article's claim that vitamin C strengthens the immune system, while the comments reveal how ordinary users actually respond.
例如，圖表可能佐證文章中「維他命C增強免疫系統」的說法，而留言則反映一般用戶的真實反應。
When you interact with such a page — pausing the video, zooming into a graphic, clicking a link — you are actively constructing meaning instead of passively receiving it.
當你與頁面互動——暫停影片、放大圖像、點擊連結——你正是在主動建構意義，而非被動接收。
The DSE increasingly reflects this reality.
文憑試亦日益反映這個現實。
Paper 1 has included webpages, posters and infographics, and questions often ask candidates to find information that spans a photograph, a caption and a paragraph at once.
卷一已出現網頁、海報和資訊圖表，題目往往要求考生同時從照片、說明文字和段落中找尋資料。
Examiners want to see whether you can connect a graphic to its written source and explain the relationship between them.
閱卷員想看到的，是你能否把圖像與文字來源聯繫起來，並解釋兩者關係。
Practise with real websites: cover the text and describe the picture, then cover the picture and summarise the text.
你可以用真實網站練習：先遮住文字描述圖片，再遮住圖片撮寫文字。
Multimodal reading is not an exam trick; it is daily life.
多媒體閱讀並非應試技巧，而是日常生活。
Advertisements, news apps and school platforms all mix modes, and each mode demands a slightly different kind of attention.
廣告、新聞應用程式和學校平台全都混合多種媒介，而每種媒介都需要稍為不同的專注方式。
Learn to read them critically now, and both your examination results and your media literacy will improve together.
現在就學會批判地閱讀它們，你的考試成績與媒體素養將會一同進步。
1Summary 重點摘要
Text + graphics + audio.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
Combined media.
Words.
Image.
Sound.
Moving image.
Interact.
Combine.
來源。
3Step by step Steps
- TextText is still the backbone of a multimodal page: the Healthy Eating article explains vitamins - start with the title and each paragraph's first sentence for the gist. Comments are text too: 'Great recipe! My kids loved it' and 'Can I use chicken instead?' show how real users receive the message, and they can support judgements about the article's popularity or controversy. Check whether the question asks about the article itself or the readers' reactions; never mix the two.
- GraphicGraphics do their own job: the nutrition chart compares different fruits and may support the article's claim that vitamin C strengthens the immune system. Read the caption first - it states what the graphic means - then the axes and legend for how the comparison works. Relationship questions ask whether the chart supports, supplements or contrasts the article, and answers must cite evidence from both sides.
- AudioVideo and audio attract attention and demonstrate: the short cooking-fish film at the top shows steps the article never repeats, and its content is a source of answers too. With narration, listen for stressed words and keywords - emphasis marks the likely exam points. Read the questions before playing, watch with them in mind, replay when needed, and never ignore the subtitles, which carry information of their own.
- IntegrateIntegration is the heart of multimodal reading: one question can span a photograph, a caption and a paragraph and ask you to state the relationship - the chart supports the article's claim. Never read the page as three separate texts; a multimodal text is one whole whose elements complete each other. Answer formula: what the text says, what the graphic or video adds, then one sentence naming the relationship - support, illustrate or contrast.
- Interactive readingInteractive reading means building meaning actively rather than scrolling passively: pause the video to study a step, zoom into the chart for the figures, follow the link for extra information. Practise two ways: cover the text and describe the picture in your own words; cover the picture and imagine what image would fit the text. Both build the bridges between elements - exactly the skill integration questions reward.
- Ask the purposeMultimodal texts need critical reading as much as print: does this page teach or sell? Are the comments real users or planted praise? Where does advertisement end and content begin? Clues include tone (neutral or emotional), commercial links, and whether sources are listed. Support your judgement with evidence - the comments use persuasive words to... - instead of a bare 'it is an advertisement'.
- DSE useDSE Paper 1 already tests webpages, posters and infographics: one question may ask you to merge a slogan, a photo and a paragraph into a single answer. Prepare with real websites: choose a news or health site containing graphics, text and video, and set yourself integration questions. In the exam, scan the layout first, extract from each element as the questions direct, and merge at the end.
5Worked example Example
Using the Healthy Eating webpage as an example, explain what job each element does — video, article, chart, comments, quiz — and how a skilled reader combines them.
- Step 1: Identify each mode's role: the cooking-fish video hooks and demonstrates; the vitamins article carries the core information; the fruit chart compares nutrition.
- Step 2: The comments show real responses — 'Great recipe!' and 'Can I use chicken instead?' — evidence of how users receive the message.
- Step 3: Integrate rather than separate: the chart may support the article's claim that vitamin C strengthens the immune system.
- Step 4: Interact actively: pause the video, zoom into the graphic, click the link — meaning is constructed, not received.
- Step 5: Practise for the DSE: cover the text and describe the picture, then cover the picture and summarise the text.
- Answer: The webpage is a classic multimodal text in which every element works. The video about cooking fish attracts and demonstrates; the article on vitamins holds the main information; the colourful chart compares the nutrition of fruits; the comments reveal how ordinary users respond — praise for the recipe, a substitution question about chicken — and the quiz lets visitors test themselves. A skilled reader does not treat these as separate items: the chart's figures can back up the article's claim that vitamin C strengthens the immune system, and the comments show which advice actually lands. Pausing, zooming and clicking are acts of constructing meaning. Since Paper 1 now includes webpages, posters and infographics spanning photos, captions and paragraphs, practise by hiding one mode and explaining the other.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1What?
Q2How?
Q3Graphic?
Q4Audio?
Q5Tip?
Q6Example?
Q7What media types?
Q8What is the video about?
Q9What is the article about?
8Recap Recap
- A multimodal text mixes words, graphics, video, audio and comments — every part carries meaning.
- Each mode has a job: video attracts, the article argues, charts prove, comments reveal reactions.
- Make the links: which claim does the chart support? what do the comments confirm?
- Interacting — pausing, zooming, clicking — means constructing meaning, not scrolling past.
- Paper 1 now uses webpages, posters and infographics; practise by covering one mode and explaining the other.