The

shape

of text

to come
How k
image and text wor

Jon Callow
First published 2013
Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA)
Laura St, Newtown, NSW 2042, Australia
PO Box 3106, Marrickville Metro, NSW 2204
Tel: (02) 8020 3900
Fax: (02) 8020 3933
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.petaa.edu.au

ISBN 978-1-875622-86-3

Cataloguing in Publication data for this book is available from the National Library of Australia

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Author: Callow, Jon, 1964– author.

Title: The shape of text to come / Jon Callow.
ISBN: 9781875622870 (paperback)
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Subjects: Visual literacy – Study and teaching.
Visual communication – Study and teaching.
Language arts.
Other Authors/Contributors: Primary English Teaching Association (Australia)
Dewey Number: 372.6

Copyright © Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA) 2013

Cover and internal design by Nice Stuff

Edited and project managed by Rema Gnanadickam
Printed in Australia by Finsbury Green

Copying for educational purposes

The Australian Copyright Act 1968 allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever
is greater, to be copied by any educational institution for its educational purposes, provided that the
educational institution (or the body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright
Agency (CAL) under the Act.

For details of the CAL licence for educational institutions, contact CAL, Level 15, 233 Castlereagh Street
Sydney NSW 2000 Australia, Tel: (02) 9394 7600, Fax: (02) 9394 7601, email: [email protected]

Copying for other purposes

Except as permitted under the Act, for example fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism
or review, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written
permission of the publisher.
Acknowledgements

The Authors and Publisher gratefully acknowledge the use of the following
copyright material in this publication.

[copy to come]
You don’t take a photograph, you make it.

Ansel Adams

It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.

Henry David Thoreau

 If you could say it in words, there’d be no reason to paint.

Edward Hopper

You discover how confounding the world is when you try to draw it.

Shaun Tan
 When you photograph a face … you photograph the soul behind it.

Jean-Luc Godard

Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.

Dorothea Lange
 To photograph is to hold one’s breath, when all faculties converge
to capture fleeting reality. It’s at that precise moment that mastering
an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.

Henri Cartier-Bresson
Visual texts
Visual images are hard to ignore. They pervade our waking hours and
sometimes our sleep. Even when we are focusing on a particular task, our
eyes are taking in all sorts of visual cues, interpreting them, choosing to
notice or ignore them. Even before the advent of paper, books and computer
screens, the world for most people was a visual text.

Written text has always held and will continue to hold a key place in our
cultures. However many commentators note the rise of the visual as part
of cultural and technological change. In one sense, the written word has to
share the limelight with the visual. But do they have a closer connection
than we realise?
What is the shape of text to come? Nearly • learn to listen to, read, view, speak, write,
everyone in Western culture is impacted by visual create and reflect on increasingly complex
texts each day, learning how to respond to them and sophisticated spoken, written and
and understand them in order to go about their multimodal texts across a growing range
daily lives. Educators, however, have a particular of contexts with accuracy, fluency and
interest in understanding how visual texts work. purpose
We need to understand how to best teach our • understand how Standard Australian English
students to enjoy, engage with and critically works in its spoken and written forms and
interpret all types of texts. in combination with non-linguistic forms of
communication to create meaning.
The purpose of this book is to engage educators
with both image and word, while at the same To this end, the content of the curriculum is
time acknowledging that other modes and organised into three interrelated strands:
communicative forms are part of the literary
Language: knowing about the English language
landscape. It is hoped that this book will
engage you as a reader both affectively and Literature: understanding, appreciating,
intellectually. It seeks to provide a way for responding to, analysing and creating literature
teachers to understand how images work in
Literacy: expanding the repertoire of English
their own right, as well as in relation to written
usage.
text. Text, in the broad use of the term, can
be print, screen-based or live presentation Each strand is developed through Content
and performance. A variety of modes can be Descriptions, sequenced from Foundation to Year
utilised through each form, such as word, 10, and grouped by sub strands (see Table 1).
image, sound, music, movement, video and Each of the sub-strands is intended to interrelate
interactive elements. The term ‘multimodal’ when planning teaching and learning experiences
acknowledges this variety of meaning-making in the classroom.
resources. While all are important, and should
In one sense, multimodal texts are relevant to
be part of classroom experiences, this book will
every strand and sub-strand, whether as the
focus more specifically on images, and how they
basis for reading, viewing, writing and creating,
work, both alone and with written text.
talking and listening or for the development of
knowledge about texts and context. At the same
The Australian Curriculum: time, there are some sub-strands, which deal
English specifically with viewing, visual analysis and
creation of visual and multimodal texts. Specific
The Australian Curriculum: English v.3.0 pays
focus areas within a sub-strand are termed
significant attention to multimodal texts and
threads.
the role of visual images. As well as including a
sub-strand entitled ‘Visual Language’, reference The following table highlights a selection of sub-
to multimodal texts, visual and other modalities strands and threads that are particularly relevant
permeates the content descriptions of the when focusing on visual and multimodal texts.
Curriculum. Appropriately, these inclusions However, these are not exhaustive and teachers
are meant to form an integrated and coherent will find that nearly all sub-strands will apply to
curriculum, seeking to ensure that students: some aspects of multimodal texts.
 Language Literature Literacy
Language variation and change Literature and context Texts in context
How texts reflect the context Texts and the contexts in which
of culture and situation in they are used
which they are created How texts relate to their contexts
and reflect the society and culture
in which they were created
Language for interaction Responding to literature Interacting with others
Expressing preferences and
evaluating texts
Expressing a personal
preference for different
texts and types of texts, and
identifying the features of
texts that influence personal
preference
Text structure and organisation Interpreting, analysing and
Concepts of print and screen evaluating

The different conventions that apply Comprehension strategies

to how text is presented on a page Strategies of constructing meaning
or screen from texts, including literal and
inferential meaning
Expressing and developing ideas Creating literature Creating texts
Visual language Creating literary texts Creating texts
How images work in texts to Creating their own literary Creating different types of spoken,
communicate meanings, especially texts based on the ideas, written and multimodal texts using
in conjunction with other elements features and structures of texts knowledge of text structures and
such as print and sound experienced language features
Adapted from Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), 2012

The scope and sequence chart in the Australian Curriculum English shows
the development of each of these threads from Foundation to Year 10
(www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/English/Rationale). For each content
description there are Elaborations, which are intended to exemplify and
illustrate but not prescribe nor limit the ways a teacher may develop the
content description. Chapter 6 in this book provides links between teaching
and learning activities and relevant Content Descriptions and threads.

The shape of text to come will continue to evolve. The shape of text now
already shows the importance of understanding how visual images work.
What teachers see now shapes what our children will see and understand in
the future.
Contents

1 I see what
you mean

2 When image and text meet

3 Happenings

4 Interacting
and relating

5 Design and
layout

6 Working with visual

and multimodal texts
Theories that explain
how we see and make
2
sense of visual texts

Developing a metalanguage
for understanding visual and
12
multimodal texts

Visual resources for expressing actions

and ideas, presenting characters or
22
participants and showing circumstances

Visual resources for interacting with others,

showing feelings, attitudes, credibility and
48
power relationships

Visual resources for

organising logical and
74
cohesive texts

Principles for selecting

texts and activities for
98
use in the classroom

References
128
Chapter 1

2 The shape of text to come

I see what you mean

Theories that explain how we see and make sense of visual texts

Glance at the cover of this book. What do you to reading it in preparation for an examination.
see? While this act may seem quite simple, there Critiquing an historical photograph for possible
are a number of complex processes occurring. bias will differ from reflecting on the same
Your eyes allow you to physically observe what photograph for its aesthetic qualities. A magazine
is on the page, but then the job of interpreting review for a new movie will be constructed quite
what is seen, making sense of words and images, differently from the same review shared with
and then fitting them into the task at hand or friends over drinks or at a meal. Understanding
your world view, adds complexity to the ‘simple’ that there are a number of ways to read and
act of viewing. Approaching images and visual view visual texts is a key part of becoming a
texts from an educational position assumes that literate individual. Viewing is more than just
we are interested in not only how meaning is enjoying the pictures, although this is an integral
made but also the skills and roles associated aspect. As with reading, it involves decoding,
with making meaning. What sorts of possible comprehending and questioning all types of texts.
interpretations might we be able to explore with Most teachers are aware that they are not only
our students, as we read or view a picture book, helping their students to understand what they
a graphic novel, a film or an interactive e-book? read and view, but also helping them to enjoy,
How can we enjoy, critique and make clear for create and develop the tools necessary to critique
our learners not only the various meanings in the texts and ideas they come across now and
texts but also how they have been created? will in the future.

In the same manner that we consciously bring All types of texts, from early manuscripts and
ways of reading and writing into our everyday children’s illustrated picture books to film, video
activities, we do the same with viewing. Reading and interactive media, have some type of visual
a favourite novel on holidays will be different elements present. Even spoken texts, when
performed or delivered, have a certain ‘visuality’,
Figure 1.1 depending on their context. For the scope of

I see what you mean 3

this book, the focus will mainly be on the visual also to do with the knowledge teachers have
image, as well as its relation to the written word. about the visual texts that they use in their
It’s important to acknowledge areas such as classrooms. This book focuses on the latter, the
theatre, drama and media studies, which regularly knowledge of visual texts. Providing educators
deal with a variety of modes – spoken, written, with solid theoretical frameworks not only builds
gestural, visual, aural. Research in drama and their own enjoyment and understanding of how
media studies continues to inform many aspects of texts work, but allows them to systematically
the literacy, English and arts curricula (Anderson & teach and develop their own students’ skills,
Jefferson, 2009; Bazalgette & Buckingham, 2012; at whatever stage their students happen to be,
Jenkins, 2008; Lankshear & Knobel, 2011). from pre-school to high school and beyond.
The sections of this chapter that follow present
Whenever we teach a class or a learner about
some key concepts of visual literacy drawn
visual texts, we are taking on a theoretical
from a number of disciplines, acknowledging
position, whether we are conscious of it or
the diversity and influence of fields such as
not. A teacher who mainly asks students what
perception studies, graphic design, media studies
pictures they liked best in a story has a different
and advertising. The chapter concludes with a
theoretical position to the one who explains
focus on multimodality and visual semiotics.
how the visual elements work to make meaning
in the same story. A teacher who provides time
for small groups or individuals to pore over the Perception
images in a text and discuss them has a different
theoretical position to a teacher who reads the Working with visual texts assumes the ability to
book once and tells the students what the main see, and with that there are a number of cognitive
ideas were in the pictures. Some of the examples processes and visual capacities that are helpful to
presented here relate to pedagogy, but some are understand.

Figure 1.2

4 The shape of text to come

Can you find the person that is different in Figure 1.2? As soon as you look Figure 1.3
at it, over a 100 million light-absorbing receptors on your retina convert
the light into electrical impulses. More than a million nerve fibres then
send these signals to your brain, which interprets them. You then perceive
the yellow figure as being different from the others. Our ability to see and
interpret seems almost instantaneous as we encounter and look at hundreds
of images each day. We are able to remember thousands of images in our
long-term memory. Visual perception involves a number of processes. similarity
Without knowing it, we are always processing visual elements in our
world. A short glance at a person or a photo and we detect shapes, colours
and contrasts. From birth, we begin to recognise objects and people, and
we start to characterise and categorise what we see and what catches our
attention. These are understood as bottom-up processes (Ware, 2008 p. 10).
At the same time, there are top-down processes. These are driven by a
purpose, such as needing to read a map or reaching out to catch a ball,
where visual information is being linked to non-visual information to proximity

achieve a goal (Ware, 2008 p. 12). Top-down processes are also informed by
our experiences, our memories and our social and cultural knowledge. The
figures above are a generic representation of people or perhaps ‘men’, which
is a particular Western cultural representation that is learnt.

While cognitive studies detail visual processing systems in terms of sensory

memory, working memory and long-term memory, our brains are also
predisposed to creating meaning and order from what we see. Without
continuity
conscious effort, a number of ‘pre-attentive’ processes occur as we seek to
make sense of our world. The yellow figure seemed to ‘pop out’ because we
are attuned to features that stand out, which may include the use of colour,
movement, orientation or size. Similarly, we are aware of the textures in
what we see, so we can differentiate edges and recognise individual objects
(Ware, 2008, Ch 2).

We are also predisposed to grouping elements in what we see. In Figure 1.2,

we perceive the people to be in three groups, even though all of the
individual figures are identical. Whether we are trying to orient ourselves closure
in a busy market or view a complex artwork, we tend to look for elements
that are similar or grouped in a meaningful way. We also look for continuity
that the eye follows or lines that seem to form a known shape. Gestalt
principles draw on these perception behaviours and are often cited by
those working in design fields (Chang & Nesbitt, 2006). Based on Gestalt
psychology, these principles are based on the premise that we tend to see
objects in their entirety before seeing the individual parts. Similarity occurs
when elements are perceived as being related by aspects such as colour,
size, shape or orientation, such as the blue dots in Figure 1.3. Proximity states
that elements that are close to each other will be perceived as a group.

I see what you mean 5

The principle of continuity suggests that viewers decorating. The power of the visual to affect and
prefer a continuous flow between elements and emotionally engage us is evident from advertising
will interpret grouped objects as a line or curve. research to the prominence of multimedia video,
Closure builds on our ability to fill in perceived gaming and social media (Buckingham, 2005;
‘missing parts’ when viewing objects, such as the Lenhart et al., 2008; Singh, et al., 2000). Although
incomplete circle or square in Figure 1.3. some argue that Western culture has been shaped
by visual images for many centuries, changes
Visual perception abilities not only equip us to
in technology have meant that there has been a
live and function in our world, but also inform
proliferation of images over the past 20 years,
the development of visual literacy skills when
through print and on screen, which is quite unlike
we focus on the variety of visual and multimodal
past eras. While researchers from fields such as
texts we experience in our daily lives.
sociology and philosophy debate the implications
Many people say, ‘Oh, I’m a visual learner’. In of such changes (Mitchell, 1994; Sturken &
one sense, we are all visual learners because now, Cartwright, 2009), educators are also called to
more than ever, information is presented using respond to the evolving cultural and literacy
a variety of visual elements and features. Even landscape.
if some people feel more attuned to a learner
In response to the changing literacy landscape,
style that focuses on visual images, the truth is
research in education covers a wide terrain.
that we need to develop every learner’s visual
Much work has developed around children’s
literacy skills. This is of course more than just
picture books (Arizpe & Styles, 2003;
immersing them in a visually rich environment. It
Pantaleo, 2005; Sipe, 1998), screen-based
is providing them with the content and skills to
texts (Callow, 2010; Unsworth, et al., 2005;
make sense of all types of texts, especially those
Walsh, 2010), online identities, video games,
that work across the visual mode as well as other
fan fiction and blogging (Knobel & Lankshear,
modalities.
2007). Curriculum documents, locally and
internationally are also reflecting the changing
The impact of the visual landscape, where the use of screens and
internet skills sit alongside literary appreciation
Images are often prominent in our lives because and print-based texts (Australian Curriculum
of the pleasure and enjoyment they provide. Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA),
From the personal aesthetic of our own homes, 2012; Leu et al., 2011). Educators and teachers
decorations and clothing to books, advertising, need to develop their own knowledge and
public buildings and art galleries, the affective skills for teaching literacy in this continually
role of images is an important part of our lives. expanding area. In the same way that teachers
The immediate emotional power of images is have a set of skills or metaphorical ‘tools’ for
recognised across a number of fields, from media understanding and teaching reading and writing,
studies to the fine arts (Bordwell & Thompson, that toolkit needs to be flexible enough to
2010; Fahmy, et al., 2006; Fahmy & Wanta, 2007; take on new types of texts and concepts. The
Joffe, 2008; Lang, et al., 1993). Images regularly following section introduces a toolkit that goes
work in accord with written text, whether beyond written text to include images and
they are persuading, informing, entertaining or multimodal texts.

6 The shape of text to come

Understanding signs
A pair of wings.

What do they mean?

What could I use them for?

Figure 1.4

A physical pair of wings could have many surprising uses – an adult’s fancy
dress costume, a child pretending to be a bird, an artefact for an artwork or
collage. It depends on what your motivation and needs might be at the time
you come across these wings.

Similarly, an image of wings can also be put to many uses. They could
decorate a card, illustrate a story, sell a product or re-tell an ancient myth.
They could signify a number of meanings – black wings may suggest a fallen
angel, or the wings of a crow. On a birthday card they may be playful but in
a Halloween story they could signal fear and horror. It seems that one pair
of wings could be an excellent resource because they represent a sign for a
number of meanings.

I see what you mean 7

Semiotics social and cultural knowledge. If you are familiar
with detective stories, this type of pipe could
Semiotic theory is the study of signs. Signs can visually reference Sherlock Holmes. The red and
include written or spoken language, as well yellow flags on Australian beaches are meant to
as visual images. Someone calling out ‘STOP!’ indicate the area safe for swimming, but without
is a verbal sign, while the same words on an this knowledge, there is nothing in the flags
octagonal shape is both a written and visual themselves that clearly signify their meaning.
sign. A red traffic light can also mean stop, by Thus semiotics raises important questions about
virtue of the shape and colour of the light. More how we make sense of all that we see and read.
broadly speaking, signs can be understood as
‘images, gestures, musical sounds, objects, and Daniel Chandler’s book, Semiotics: the
the complex associations of all of these, (Barthes, basics (2002) provides a good introduction
to semiotics as does his website. See
Lavers, & Smith, 1967, p. 9). Semiotics has been
Chandler, D 2002 in the References.
applied across a range of fields, from media to
linguistic studies.

One of the key concepts when understanding Social semiotics

semiotics is that it is concerned with systems of
Social semiotics, a particular strand within
signs and how they make meaning. This can range
semiotics, stresses the importance of the social
from understanding the visual and architectural
settings and contexts in which all types of
features in Gothic cathedrals to high-end fashion
meanings occur (Kress, 2010). When creating a
design, from the scribbled pictures a two-year-old
Halloween card, there are various ‘signs’ that
creates to the advertising logos and brands we
might be used, which will have particular cultural
see. In semiotics, signs are thought of as having
meanings – the black cat, the jack-o-lantern,
two aspects – the form the sign takes and the
the witch’s hat. Whether a young child or a
concept it represents. Look at the image below and
graphic designer is creating the card, they will
the associated concept.
be thinking about what resources might get their
ideas across, allowing them to be creative and
clear. A key principle in social semiotics to keep
in mind, both as a reader and viewer, as well as a
writer and designer, is to consider the audience,

pipe purpose and resources that have been used in

any text. In what social context will this text be
used or read? Will it be appropriate and clear?
Figure 1.5
What impact does the choice of colour, layout
We attach the word ‘pipe’ to this particular and image content have on the viewer? Is there
image, although as speakers of other languages a particular viewpoint put forward here? Who is
will know, the word for this object is arbitrary, in included and who or what is excluded? Who may
the sense that there are many words in different be challenged, offended or discriminated against
languages that can name a pipe. While this sign, by certain content? One of the aims of this book
in the form of a photo and the attached concept is to provide readers with an understanding of
of ‘pipe’, may seem obvious, many signs are social semiotics, in order to build their toolkit to
more abstract or arbitrary, depending on your answer these types of questions.

8 The shape of text to come

 Figure 1.6

What do you look at first in Figure 1.6:

• the large, tattooed biker standing in the centre with red ‘wings’ on his shoulders?
• the logo at the top or the social media logos at the bottom of the page?
• the tag line above the biker’s head?

I see what you mean 9

As experienced readers, we may quite quickly purpose of the text. Adopting a socio-critical
begin to interpret the elements, or ‘signs’ in terms approach, we can also view texts through a
of what they mean in this poster. The red wings critical lens, asking whose interests are served
(visually echoing the hand logo of the charity) by what is presented. As with written text,
suggest a bird, but when attached to a person, visual representations present a particular view
the image of an angel could spring to mind. The of the world, which may privilege or normalise
tag line ‘Donating is uplifting’ works nicely with certain beliefs, while excluding others. Working
the double meaning implied here, as we shift with various sign systems, or modes, we use our
from the visual to the written mode. However, own semiotic tools to make sense of what we
the image of a tough, tattooed biker somewhat see, while at the same time the poster designers
contrasts the stereotypical image of an angel. creatively drew on a range of semiotic resources
Perhaps that is part of the ad’s purpose – to to compose the poster.
include a variety of possible donors, imbuing
Many educators are familiar with understanding
them with the ‘angelic’ qualities of kindness and
language from a social semiotic viewpoint.
care. In fact, this poster is from a series, where
Michael Halliday’s work is seminal here. As part
various people are presented using the same
of his work in developing functional grammar,
technique (see the 2012 campaign http://www.
he argues that language is a semiotic system,
centraide-mtl.org/en/ ). The logo is made up of
from which writers and speakers use words
a hand cupping a small figure, surrounded by a
and language as resources for making meaning
rainbow. These iconic symbols have associated
(Halliday & Hasan, 1985). More recent work by
meanings, used here for the purposes of a
theorists such as Gunther Kress and Theo van
charity campaign. As a reader, we have to be
Leeuwen have developed a functional semiotic
able to understand the visual and verbal signs,
framework, including a type of visual ‘grammar’,
the semiotic resources, which are being used.
which works across language and images, as
Of course, the designers of the poster used the
well as a number of other modes such as sound,
visual and textual resources they thought were
gesture and music (Kress & van Leeuwen,
most appropriate when they were creating the
2006). This functional semiotic approach has
poster, considering their audience, the cultural
been applied across various texts, including
connotations and the clearest way to achieve
picture books (Painter, Martin, & Unsworth,
their purpose.
2012), popular culture (Zammit, 2007), science
You will notice that while we initially focused texts (Bezemer & Kress, 2010), film (Bateman,
on some specific signs, such as the wings or the 2008), animation (Khajavi, 2011) and online
person, the interpretation keeps returning to reading environments (Chan & Unsworth,
the overall meaning of the poster. The overall 2011). The application of functional semiotics
meaning includes the effectiveness of the across a number of modes has supported the
advertisement, who the audience may be, and development of multimodality as a theory. This
the assumptions about what symbols mean theory of multimodality, which ranges from the
in different settings. The social nature of the word and visual level up to structural features
communicative process always needs to be of texts and discursive analysis (Kress & van
considered, along with the various elements, Leeuwen, 2001), offers educators some solid
from the words and sentences, to the objects, theoretical ‘tools’ when reading and viewing
typography, symbolic meanings and overall a variety of visual and multimodal texts. The

10 The shape of text to come

analysis of the charity poster drew on multimodal theory when pointing
out particular visual and design elements – the symbolic meaning of the
wings, how various elements drew our gaze, the cultural assumptions
about bikers. These aspects form part of a larger set of visual semiotic
resources (sometimes called a visual grammar) that this book will explore
in more depth over the subsequent chapters.

Multimodality is a theoretical perspective that asserts communicative meanings are made (as well
as shared, challenged and re-mixed) through the use of multiple modes, ranging across writing,
speech, image, sound, gesture, typography, moving image and so on. Modes are ‘organised
sets of semiotic resources for meaning-making’, (Jewitt, 2008, p. 246). Multimodal theory
incorporates the use of functional semiotics as well as considering the broader contexts of
culture, audience purpose and structures of a range of texts, such as film, performance, music,
electronic texts and picture books.

While multimodality draws on linguistic studies and semiotic theory, the

study of English and literacy is a broad church, where educators often adopt
a number of theoretical perspectives. Thus, personal response theories and
more aesthetic understandings of literature sometimes sit in tension with
more language-focused approaches. The role of pleasure and enjoyment was
noted earlier in this chapter. A number of scholars advocate for the inclusion
of creativity and aesthetic approaches to teaching English and literacy, while
at the same time acknowledge the need to have a strong language-based and
socio-critical approach as teachers. There have been profitable discussions
about the role of various theoretical models in English and literacy teaching,
which continue to make education a professional and vibrant field. A
number of writers present views about a range of theoretical approaches to
literacy (Andrews, 2010; Callow, 2005; Green, 2002; Manuel, Brock, Carter,
& Sawyer, 2009).

Using multimodality and a functional semiotic framework to inform our

reading and viewing practices provides a powerful resource for us as
educators. Informed by the importance of aesthetic and creative aspects, as
well as socio-critical understandings, the following chapters develop in detail
the semiotic resources of multimodal theory, focusing on how visual images
make meaning, both independently and in accord with written text.

I see what you mean 11