English Teachers Association
Students
How to do English
Interpreting Visual Texts in English
These guidelines are based on the work of Edmund Feldman, a leading American art educator. According to him there are four stages in analysing artworks/visual texts. These have been adapted to assist you in writing responses in English.
- Description
- What can you see?
- What is it?
- What details can be seen in the work? List everything.
- How was it made/ constructed? What materials or processes were used?
- Analysis
- How has it been designed? Describe its composition.
- What is the relationship between the materials and processes used and the idea or theme chosen?
- Does the text belong to an identifiable genre?
- What is the relationship between its function and form?
- What is the mood of the text?
- Interpretation
- What does it mean?
- What ideas do you think the composer was exploring?
- Does the text convey meaning in a literal or metaphoric manner?
- What feelings about or responses to the text do you have?
- What imaginative qualities or you think it has?
- What influences (political, social, historical, religious etc.) do you think have affected its composition?
- What influences (political, social, historical, religious etc.) are affecting your response?
- Judgement (Evaluation)
- How effective is it?
- How well has it been executed?
- How does it relate to other visual texts?
- How does it relate to texts composed in different modes and media?
- How significant is it and to whom?