Matthew McMillan Contents page analysis Unit 1

Contents title
The contents title of a magazine is conventionally at the top page of the magazine and it is
always the largest text on that page. The contents title indicates the purpose of the page to
the audience, which is to inform the audience of the magazine, where to find the relevant
information that they are looking for throughout the magazine.
The Empire magazine does include the contents title in the contents page of the magazine
which provides the audience reading it an understanding of what page they are on. The
contents title is conventionally at the top of the page and is the largest text on the page to
signify the importance of it.

Page number and additional information

The page number and additional information for the contents page of the magazine is
usually located at the bottom of the page with the text for it being smaller on the outer
corners of the contents page. 
There is a page number and additional information in the Empire magazine and it is located
in the bottom left corner of the contents page. The page number is conventionally the
smallest text on the page and the additional information also being small on the outer
corners of the contents page. 

Repetition of the masthead

The repetition of the masthead on the contents page is sometimes at the top of the page or
bottom of the page near the contents title.
The repetition of the masthead is in my Empire magazine and it is located in the bottom left
corner of the contents page next to the page number. The reason that it is little in text could
be to signify the brand but also making sure its not big so they can get more on their
contents page.

Section headings
The section headings on the contents page of a magazine is text used to separate the article
into sections as it helps to create order for the audience so they have a better understanding
of where information is. The sectioned headings are smaller than the contents title but are
bigger than the main body text. 
The section headings in Empire magazine are located underneath the image of the contents
page. The sectioned headings help create a sense of order for the contents page and helps
the audience reading it have a better understanding of where to find things on the page. The
sectioned heading is conventionally a smaller text then the contents title but it is bigger than
the main body text. The sectioned headings are conventionally in a bold text and are smaller
than the contents title but bigger then the main body text, this signifies the importance of
the sectioned headings as they provide the audience to find what they need easier. The
sectioned headings of my Empire magazine signify what the contents beneath it is about and
give the audience a better understanding of the contents page. For example, one of my
sectioned headings is named ‘features’ so this signifies to the audience that the pages listed
below will be features that the magazine got.

Column layout
The column layout on the contents page of a magazine is used to create structure and order
to allow the audience to navigate around the page easily and help them get a better
understanding of where the information is. Conventionally, there are three columns to a
contents page.
There is a column layout in my Empire magazine and is located underneath the sectioned
headings. The column layout signifies structure and order in my Empire magazine as it allows
the audience to navigate their way around the contents page easily, find where the useful
information is and it is also very appealing to the audience which could possibly make them
want to read on. The column layout for my Empire magazine has four columns to the
contents page.

Issue information
The issue information of the contents page is a smaller text than the contents title but is
usually positioned near it or at the bottom of the page. The issue information includes the
issue number, the month and the year. 
This Empire magazine does include issue information and it is located at the bottom left of
the contents page next to the repetition of the masthead and also page number and
additional information. The issue information includes the month and year that this
magazine came out (October 2021).

 Images
The contents page has multiple images to illustrate the articles on the page. The images are
conventionally positioned together on the contents page and they will be visually interesting
and will have relevant mise en scene that signifies the genre of the magazine. 
This Empire magazine does include images and they are located at the top of the contents
page underneath the contents title and also at the bottom of the contents page next to the
main body text. Both of the images use mise en scene to signify the genre of the magazine
as Sci-Fi because that is what this magazine is about, it also uses mise en scene as we get an
understanding of what the movie is about as the characters are wearing headscarves and
padded clothing to protect themselves in this other planet. In my Empire magazine the
contents page only has two images which is unusual for a film magazine as they would be
using a lot of photos to promote the different films that are in this week's issue
 Layout of articles
The layout of the article is that the page number would normally come first and it is then
followed by the articles title which is conventionally in a bigger, bolder font and is a
different colour then the main body text so that it stands out from it. The main body text is a
simple, plain font and it is a small text size and it will give the audience the information
about the article. This is used so that it gives the audience a better understanding on where
to find the information for what they are looking for.
In my Empire magazine, the layout of the articles starts with the page number and then
gives us a description on what if on the pages of the magazine and gives the audience the
correct information that they need for it.

Sectioned Headings
Sectioned headings are used to help organise the content on a contents page and also make
the text easy to read and also helps manage the contents page better. The sectioned
headings are conventionally towards the bottom of the page and use a big,bold font but it is
a lot smaller than the contents title.
In my Empire magazine, the sectioned headings are used to make the text of the contents
page more visible to the audience and also it makes it look cleaner. It gives the audience a
better understanding of the contents page and will help them navigate their way round
easier.