Textual Aids

    Cards (11)

    • Textual aids refer to non-textual elements that help readers understand the content of the text. They also refer to elements that stand-out from the main text such as titles and subtitles, bold, italicized and underlined texts. Non-textual elements include illustrations, maps, tables, graphs and charts.
    • TITLES & SUBTITLES
      • Provide initial idea on what the text is all about
      • Activate prior knowledge on the topic
      • “Represent the key concepts (title) and supporting ideas (subtitles) in the paper” (Elite Editing, 2015)
      • Layering or positioning of these aids convey the ideas’ level of importance
    • Identify the parts
      A) Kicker
      B) Title
      C) Subtitle
    • illustration
      • Visual representation of a subject
      • Facilitates better retention of the information presented
    • TABLES
      • Information (facts and figures) that are organized and arranged in columns and rows
      • Used to show patterns and relationships that still appeals to the readers’ verbal system, meaning tables are supposed to be read like a text (Nussbaumer, 2011)
      • Column headings - found on top of columns; used to identify the contents of a specific column
      • Row headings - used to define or identify the contents of a specific row
    • Identify parts
      A) Row headings
      B) Column headings
      C) Title of the table
    • GRAPHS - Used “when a simple table cannot adequately demonstrate important relationships” of and within data (Mind Tools Content Team, 2020)
    • 4 TYPES OF GRAPHS:
      1. bar graph - uses either vertical or horizontal bars to show the data it represents but SkillsYouNeed.com (2020) emphasized that these bars do not touch each other
      2. line graph – used to show how numerical data have changed over time and it is best used to show trends
      3. pie graphs - show “how a whole is divided into different parts” (SkillsYouNeed.com, 2020)
      4. pictograph - “similar to bar chart but use pictures to symbolize a countable unit of items” (Google Sites, n.d.).
    • maps - Visual representations of selected characteristics of a place, usually drawn on a flat surface
    • 2 TYPES OF MAPS:
      1. physical map - includes labels for features such as mountain ranges and bodies of water
      2. political map - usually includes labels for features such as cities and major towns, units such as states or provinces, and bodies of water
    • Identify the map
      A) Physical
      B) Political
    See similar decks