The

process
and
What is a text ?

semiotic
A text is a message or a ‘piece of communication; it is
something that we make meanings out of.

approac
 Texts are created using non-verbal codes (a glance,
nodding, tilt of the head etc)
hes
 Cultural practices can be read as texts
Definition of texts as ‘anything that has the potential to read
or interpreted’.

Genre

Texts belong to different categories, types or genres and

provide a context for the message we receive. When you are
asked to interpret or decode a message, part of what helps
you do so is the context (what sort of text it is). If you are
analysing or decoding a magazine article, you recognise the
conventions of a magazine article - the language, the way of
laying it out, the use of certain kinds of images. If you are
watching a film, you recognise key elements, which identify it
as science fiction or horror and this helps you to understand
the narrative, the ‘story’.
What is a convention?

A rule, a style, a model of organising signs in a text.

 When we look at a text we need to be aware of the

'cultural communicative context' in which it works. In
other words, if we are looking at a text aimed at
teenagers we would expect the conventions of 'youth
culture' to be observed - in the language, the use of
images, and the use of colour or font styles.

 Conventions which are associated with the medium the

text is using. If the text is a newspaper, we have
expectations of what it will look like in terms of layout,
what sort of images there will be and the sort of
language normally contained there.

 Other conventions are Television, Film and Advertising

also has conventions, as you have just seen with your
film posters. We watch films knowing what conventions
of camera movement, editing, SFX, music we will see
depending on the genre of film it is.
Shannon And Weavers Model

The source – sender of the message

The transmitter- the device used to transform the

message into a physical form

The channel- physical means of transmission

The receiver – the device which transforms the message

into something that can be understood

The Destination – the receiver

Encode – to convert a message into a means capable of

being transmitted

Decode – to convert an encoded message into a form

that can be understood