To help students practice making inference, I did this fun activity in the computer lab. They really enjoyed this, and were pretty good about identifying the message and supporting it with the text and image in the ad.
Example:
Inference with Advertisements
Find one
advertisement with some kind of written
words. Google for “Magazine Ads.” Look at the images.
1. Write a 1-2
sentence description of the
advertisement
- Who? What? When? Where? How? Why?
2. Write a 3-5
sentence interpretation to the
advertisement
- What message(s) can be inferred from the advertisement?
- Who is the audience? How
does the written message reflect that audience?
Example:
BMW
Description: This advertisement shows a simple gray car in a gray
background. The big words say,
“The Only One You’ll Need.” The smaller text says, “Experience the freedom and
peace of mind knowing you’ve made a great investment. Essentially, you are
buying a car for life. Twenty years from now it will still get you from point A
to B.”
Interpretation: In my interpretation, it seems that the message is
that this car will last a long time.
The text, “Experience the freedom and peace of mind knowing you’ve made
a great investment,” seems to speak to older people who think responsibly about
their purchases. It seems to say
that this is the smart thing to do.
Also, when it says that it gets you from “Point A to B” seems to mean
that the most important consideration in buying a car is reliability. Because of this, this ad is definitely
meant for older people (age 50+).
