What the exam asks
On Paper 1, you may be given a print or digital advertisement, a public-service or charity appeal, or a two-page spread from a brochure or leaflet. The accompanying guiding question usually targets the interplay of text and image, persuasive techniques, or how a lifestyle or urgent problem is constructed (for example: “How do visual and verbal features work together to persuade the audience in this appeal?”).
For the Individual Oral or HL Essay, a campaign of advertisements or appeals by one brand, agency, or charity counts as a single body of work. Because no single human author is usually named, you must explicitly state this widened authorship (such as the brand or commissioning organization) at the start of your response.
Core ideas
Conventions of promotional and informational texts
Creators rely on established layout conventions to guide the reader’s eye—often along a Z-pattern (left to right across the top, diagonally down to the bottom left, and across to the bottom right) or from a central dominant image outward.
| Feature | Definition and analytical focus |
|---|---|
| Headline | Large display text at the top or centre; hooks the reader using puns, direct address (“you”), imperative verbs, or provocative questions. |
| Dominant image | The primary photograph or illustration; sets the emotional tone through camera angle, lighting, colour palette, and gaze (demand gaze looking directly at the viewer vs offer gaze looking away). |
| Body copy | Smaller block of prose explaining features, storytelling, or providing statistics; look closely at register (conversational vs technical) and synthetic personalization (addressing a mass audience as if they are a single friend). |
| Slogan / tagline | A memorable phrase attached to the brand’s identity across a whole campaign (for example, an imperative phrase about achievement or care). |
| Logo and endorsement | The brand mark, often placed in the bottom-right corner (the terminal point of the Z-pattern), or a celebrity/expert figure lending credibility (ethos). |
| Call to action (CTA) | Explicit instruction telling the audience what to do next (“Scan to donate”, “Book your escape today”), frequently paired with a URL, QR code, or button. |
| Brochure / leaflet panels | Folded or multi-page layouts using subheadings, bulleted lists, pull quotes, infographics, and white space to balance information with persuasion. |
Constructing desire, identity, and values
Commercial advertisements rarely just sell a physical object; they sell who you will become if you buy it.
- Target audience vs represented subjects: Always distinguish between the people shown in the image and the actual audience holding the page. An advertisement showing a carefree toddler in muddy boots targets protective, middle-income parents, not toddlers.
- The “lack” and the aspirational self: Many ads manufacture an insecurity or “lack” (exhaustion, social invisibility, domestic chaos) and present the product as the bridge to an idealized, aspirational identity.
- Value alignment: Modern brands frequently attach themselves to social causes—such as environmental sustainability, gender equality, or mental wellbeing. When evaluating (Criterion B), ask whether the text offers concrete evidence or relies on vague clichés (such as green leaves, or soft acoustic music in a video advert) to project ethical virtue.