IB English A: Language & Literature Unit 3 - Language, Media & Representation

Comprehensive review flashcards covering Unit 3: Readers, Writers & Texts (Language, Media & Representation), including core vocabulary, the non-literary text-type matrix, IB concepts, Paper 1 analytical writing structure, and retrieval practice problems.

What is the Unit 3 Statement of Inquiry regarding media texts?

Media texts construct reality through strategic visual and linguistic choices, reflecting and shaping societal power structures and cultural ideologies.

What is the distinction between denotation and connotation in media analysis?

Denotation is the literal, objective, dictionary definition of a word or explicit visual element without emotional interpretation, whereas connotation refers to the emotional, cultural, or social associations attached to a word, symbol, or image.

What is anchorage in visual and media analysis?

Text (such as a slogan, caption, or headline) paired with a visual image to pin down, direct, or limit its potential interpretations.

How is ideology defined in the Unit 3 vocabulary?

A shared set of values, beliefs, or cultural assumptions that govern how a society or group understands power, identity, and truth.

What does framing refer to in media analysis?

The visual or textual placement of information, camera angles, or evidence to manipulate audience focus and construct bias.

How are the persuasive appeals ethos, pathos, and logos defined?

Ethos appeals to authority, moral character, expertise, or credibility; pathos appeals to emotion, sympathy, urgency, or fear; and logos appeals to logic, facts, statistics, historical data, and cause-and-effect reasoning.

What is greenwashing?

A marketing strategy where corporate advertising uses green imagery, natural landscapes, and vague environmental language to construct false environmental responsibility.

What is the difference between satire and caricature?

Satire is the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and critique human folly, social injustice, or political corruption, whereas caricature is the visual distortion or exaggeration of a person's physical features or behavioral traits to poke fun at them or critique their power.

What analytical meanings are conveyed by a direct gaze versus an averted gaze?

A direct gaze involves the subject looking straight into the camera lens to demand audience attention, power, and authority; an averted gaze involves looking away from the camera, signaling passivity, introspection, reflection, or vulnerability.

What is visual hierarchy, and what defines a multimodal text?

Visual hierarchy is the arrangement and size of elements (typography, images, layout) to guide the reader's eye in order of importance, while multimodal texts are texts that combine two or more semiotic systems (e.g., written words, static graphics, audio, interactive swipes, video cuts) to construct meaning.

How do loaded diction, subtext, and gatekeeping operate in media texts?

Loaded diction uses high-connotation words to elicit strong emotional reactions; subtext is the underlying, implicit message not directly stated; and gatekeeping is the process by which media editors, directors, or institutions select, filter, and decide which perspectives are published or omitted.

What are the core purpose, key conventions, and analytical risks of print and commercial ads?

Their purpose is to sell products, brand identity, or lifestyle ideals using slogans (anchorage), high-contrast imagery, brand logos, and ethos/pathos framing; their risk is simplifying complex social issues and reinforcing luxury/consumption tropes.

What are the key conventions and analytical risks of political cartoons?

They use caricature, juxtaposition, captions/labels, symbolic objects, and irony to satirize political authority and critique current events, but they rely heavily on the reader's prior political knowledge and context.

What structural conventions and analytical risks are associated with magazine covers?

Conventions include mastheads, lead cover lines, subject gaze, and camera angles (low vs. high angle) to capture cultural moments and drive sales; risks include curating direct celebrity/leader authority and obeying retail space constraints.

What conventions and analytical risks characterize multimodal social media campaigns?

They employ carousel layouts, graphic infographics, swipe cues, and calls-to-action (CTAs) to raise public awareness and drive digital activism; their main analytical risk is fostering performative activism and rapid emotional consumption over depth.

What are the structural conventions and analytical risks of written opinion editorials (op-eds)?

They utilize an explicit thesis, loaded diction, concession/rebuttal, tone shifts, and CTAs to shape public consensus; their risk lies in taking implicit ideological biases for granted and omitting counter-views.

What visual and structural conventions are used in documentary films, and what is their key analytical risk?

They use Voice of God narration, B-roll layering, talking heads, and non-diegetic sound to present a subjective narrative as factual truth, risking audio/visual manipulation of viewer empathy faster than text alone.

How are the four core IB concepts (Communication, Power, Representation, Perspective) defined in Unit 3?

Communication examines strategic linguistic and visual choices; Power examines how texts reflect, reinforce, or subvert power structures; Representation examines how subjects and crises are reconstructed through media lenses; and Perspective examines how background and bias shape framing.

What are the four components of the Paper 1 Introduction Paragraph Formula?

1. Context & Text Type (text type, creator, title/headline, date/context); 2. Target Audience & Purpose (target demographics, intended reaction); 3. Primary Argument / Stance (central message or representation); 4. Thesis Statement (combining 2–3 stylistic/visual techniques with purpose and an IB core concept).

What is the template for writing a Paper 1 thesis statement according to the guide?

"Through the strategic implementation of [Technique 1], [Technique 2], and [Technique 3], the [Text Type] constructs [Subject] as [Representation], ultimately persuading the intended audience to [Purpose/Action]."

If a print advertisement features a photo of an empty, barren landscape paired with the bold slogan "Our Legacy for 2050," how does the text anchor the visual meaning?

The slogan eliminates ambiguous interpretations of the landscape by directly anchoring it as an environmental warning, framing the barren space as the catastrophic future legacy created by current human inaction.

Why would an editorial author structurally shift from an urgent/critical tone to an empowered/pragmatic tone?

The author first uses alarming statistics to disrupt reader complacency and establish the severity of a crisis, then transitions to an empowered, pragmatic tone to offer actionable solutions and motivate civic engagement without causing defeatist paralysis.

What is the difference between diegetic and non-diegetic sound in documentary film, and which is added in post-production to manipulate empathy?

Diegetic sound originates from within the film's world (visible action, dialogue, ambient noise), while non-diegetic sound originates outside the film's world (voiceover narration, musical score). Non-diegetic sound is added in post-production to manipulate viewer empathy.