LECTURE 3 Evaluation of Texts And Images in Multicultural Contexts
 Evaluating Texts and/or images is
essential because of the rapid in
increase of information resources
and rapid technological change. We
are always confronted with a diverse
wealth of information for personal,
academic, or professional use that can
be accessed in multi-cultural setting.
 With the coming of the internet, most of
the information is unfiltered making its
authenticity, validity, and reliability
questionable.
 As a competent communicator, you
should be able to evaluate, manage,
and use information effectively.
The best to evaluate messages and images
is through CRITICAL READING.
CRITICAL READING
- Critical reading involves studying
and evaluating the text closely in
terms of relevance, validity and
logic.
Goal of Critical Reading:
- to examine not only what message
is conveyed but also how the
message is conveyed as well as its
purpose, target audience, and other
ways of presenting it.
Critical reading requires you to be an
investigator and “break down” a text to
appreciate and understand it better.
Reading critically means you
thinking critically.
EVALUATING MESSAGES AND
IMAGES
EVALUATING MESSAGES
The importance of evaluating the
effectiveness of our messages is by
developing and using strategic questions to
identify strengths and weaknesses
FOUR MAIN QUALITIES FOR AN
EFFECTIVE MESSAGE
1. Simplicity
2. Specificity
3. Structure
4. Stickiness
STRATEGIES FOR EVALUATING A
MESSAGE
In order to evaluate whether a
message is effective, we can ask a series of
questions which reflect a messages
simplicity, specificity, structure and
stickiness.
1. SIMPLICITY
In order to ensure that the messages have
simplicity, ask these two questions:
- Is the purpose evident?
- Is the core message clear?
2. SPECIFICITY
Refers to choices of language and its usage
in order to ensure language is specific;
- Is the language specific?
- Is the language concrete, rather than
abstract?
are - Are there words which have
additional meanings and could
perhaps be misconstrued?
3. STRUCTURE
LECTURE 3 Evaluation of Texts And Images in Multicultural Contexts

Ideas should be organized and easy to VISUAL ANALYSIS

follow.
- How is the image composed?
- Does my messages have a - What is in the Background and what
STRUCTURE? is in the foreground?
- Is there a more effective way to - What are the most important visual?
arrange my ideas?
IMAGE SOURCE
4. STICKINESS - Where did you find the image?
- What information does the source
Sticky messages communicate with vivid
provide about the origins of the
words.
image?
- How can we get our messages - Is the source reliable and
heard, understood, and trustworthy?
remembered? - Was the image found in an image
database or was it being use in
another context to convey meaning?
EVALUATING IMAGES
TECHNICAL QUALITY
 It is important to critically evaluate
- Is the image large enough to suit
images you use for research, study and
your purposes?
presentation images should be
- Are the color, light and balance,
evaluated like any other source, such as
true?
journal articles or books, to determine
- Is the image a quality digital image
their quality, reliability and
without pixelation or distortion?
appropriateness.
- Is the image in a file format you can
use?
 Visual analysis is an important step in
evaluating an image and understanding CONTEXTUAL INFO
its meaning and also, there are three
- What information accompanies the
steps of evaluating an image and these
image?
are:
- Does the text change how you see
1. Identifying Source
the image? How?
2. Interpret contextual information
- Is the textual information intended to
3. Understand implications
be factual an inform or is intended to
influence what and how you see?
- What kind of context does the
CONTENT ANALYSIS
information provide?
- What do you see? - Does it answer the questions where,
- What is the image all about? how why and what?
- Are their people in the image?
- What are they doing?
- How are they presented?
- Can the image be looked at different
ways?
- How effective is the image as a
visual message?