Description = what you can see. Interpretation = what it means.
a)A man stands on a melting iceberg.
b)The iceberg stands for the planet.
c)He is holding a sign that says „Business as usual".
d)The cartoonist criticises people who ignore climate change.
e)A polar bear sits next to him.
2Put the parts of a cartoon analysis in order (1 to 4).
Describe – analyse – message – evaluate.
a)Message of the cartoonist
b)Description of the picture
c)Analysis of the devices (contrast, exaggeration, symbols)
d)Your own opinion
3Useful phrases: Complete with the right word.
shows, background/foreground, reads, criticises
a)The cartoon … a classroom. (shows / says)
b)In the …, we can see a teacher. (background / behind)
c)The caption … „…". (reads / writes)
d)The cartoonist … that … (criticises / thinks)
4Describe a cartoon you imagine: a person with a huge phone and a tiny book. Three sentences.
The cartoon shows … The phone is much bigger than …
a)Setting, objects, size difference
1Description or interpretation? Write D or I.
Description = what you can see. Interpretation = what it means.
a)A man stands on a melting iceberg.D
b)The iceberg stands for the planet.I
c)He is holding a sign that says „Business as usual".D
d)The cartoonist criticises people who ignore climate change.I
e)A polar bear sits next to him.D
2Put the parts of a cartoon analysis in order (1 to 4).
Describe – analyse – message – evaluate.
a)Message of the cartoonist3
b)Description of the picture1
c)Analysis of the devices (contrast, exaggeration, symbols)2
d)Your own opinion4
3Useful phrases: Complete with the right word.
shows, background/foreground, reads, criticises
a)The cartoon … a classroom. (shows / says)shows
b)In the …, we can see a teacher. (background / behind)background
c)The caption … „…". (reads / writes)reads
d)The cartoonist … that … (criticises / thinks)criticises
4Describe a cartoon you imagine: a person with a huge phone and a tiny book. Three sentences.
The cartoon shows … The phone is much bigger than …
a)Setting, objects, size differencee.g. The cartoon shows a young person sitting on a sofa. In one hand the person holds a phone that is as big as a door; in the other hand a book the size of a stamp. The person looks at the phone.
Cartoon (described, for practice): A classroom. A teacher stands at the board on which is written „Critical thinking". All twenty students look at their phones; above every head a speech bubble shows the same thumbs-up icon. One student in the back row has raised her hand. Caption: „Miss, can we just google what to think?"
1Description: Write four to five sentences in the present tense.
The cartoon shows … In the foreground / background … The caption reads …
a)Setting, people, what they do, text in the picture, caption. From general to detail.
2Analysis: Answer in one or two sentences each.
Look for contrast, exaggeration, symbols and the gap between words and picture.
a)What is the contrast between the board and the students' behaviour?
b)What do the identical thumbs-up bubbles stand for?
c)Why does the cartoonist choose a classroom as the setting?
d)What is ironic about the caption?
3Message: Formulate the cartoonist's message in one sentence and name the target of the criticism.
The cartoonist criticises … / warns that … / suggests that …
a)Message:
b)Target:
4Evaluation: Do you agree with the message? Write five to six sentences with one argument for and one against.
While I agree that …, the cartoon ignores …
a)Refer to your own experience with social media and school.
Cartoon (described, for practice): A classroom. A teacher stands at the board on which is written „Critical thinking". All twenty students look at their phones; above every head a speech bubble shows the same thumbs-up icon. One student in the back row has raised her hand. Caption: „Miss, can we just google what to think?"
1Description: Write four to five sentences in the present tense.
The cartoon shows … In the foreground / background … The caption reads …
a)Setting, people, what they do, text in the picture, caption. From general to detail.(cartoon)
2Analysis: Answer in one or two sentences each.
Look for contrast, exaggeration, symbols and the gap between words and picture.
a)What is the contrast between the board and the students' behaviour?The board demands independent thinking, but the students all react in the same way and don't look up — the opposite of critical thinking.
b)What do the identical thumbs-up bubbles stand for?Uniform, unreflected approval — everyone „likes" the same thing instead of forming an opinion.
c)Why does the cartoonist choose a classroom as the setting?School is where thinking is supposed to be taught; the cartoon shows the lesson failing.
d)What is ironic about the caption?The student asks for permission to outsource thinking itself — she treats „what to think" like a fact you can look up.
3Message: Formulate the cartoonist's message in one sentence and name the target of the criticism.
The cartoonist criticises … / warns that … / suggests that …
a)Message:The cartoonist warns that constant use of social media makes young people passive and uniform in their thinking, so that even school can no longer teach them to think for themselves.
b)Target:Target: young people's dependence on phones and social media — and possibly schools that fail to react.
4Evaluation: Do you agree with the message? Write five to six sentences with one argument for and one against.
While I agree that …, the cartoon ignores …
a)Refer to your own experience with social media and school.Own text. Check: clear position, one argument for (e.g. group pressure through likes), one against (e.g. the exaggeration — many students do discuss and disagree online), reference to own experience.
Cartoon (described, for practice): A supermarket checkout. A customer holds out a single apple. The cashier, smiling, hands over a receipt three metres long that curls onto the floor. Tiny print on the receipt reads: „water 800 l — CO2 1.2 kg — pesticides — transport 9,000 km — wages 0.02". A sign above the till says: „Price: 0.39". Caption: „Would you like the full receipt?"
a)Which visual contrast carries the message, and how is it exaggerated?
b)What is the function of the tiny print? Why tiny?
c)Analyse the caption: on which two levels can „full receipt" be understood?
2Message and target: Formulate the message in one sentence and discuss who is being criticised — the customer, the supermarket, the system? Argue with evidence from the cartoon.
The smiling cashier and the low price are clues.
a)Message:
b)Target — argument:
3Evaluate the cartoon: Is it fair and effective? Consider one possible objection to its argument.
e.g. Is it fair to list costs without saying who should pay them? Does exaggeration help or harm?
a)Six to eight sentences.
4Write a full cartoon analysis (200 to 240 words).
Present tense. From general to detail. Every device with its effect.
a)Description, analysis of devices, message and target, evaluation.
Cartoon (described, for practice): A supermarket checkout. A customer holds out a single apple. The cashier, smiling, hands over a receipt three metres long that curls onto the floor. Tiny print on the receipt reads: „water 800 l — CO2 1.2 kg — pesticides — transport 9,000 km — wages 0.02". A sign above the till says: „Price: 0.39". Caption: „Would you like the full receipt?"
a)Which visual contrast carries the message, and how is it exaggerated?(cartoon)
b)What is the function of the tiny print? Why tiny?One tiny apple against a three-metre receipt: the true cost is made visible as sheer length; the exaggeration (curling onto the floor) shows that the hidden costs outweigh the product many times.
c)Analyse the caption: on which two levels can „full receipt" be understood?It lists the real environmental and social costs — tiny because in reality they are hidden and nobody reads them; the viewer has to lean in, which is the point.
2Message and target: Formulate the message in one sentence and discuss who is being criticised — the customer, the supermarket, the system? Argue with evidence from the cartoon.
The smiling cashier and the low price are clues.
a)Message:The price we pay in the shop hides the true environmental and social costs of our food.
b)Target — argument:The target is the system rather than the individual: the cashier smiles and the price sign is official, so the supermarket and the pricing system are shown as responsible; the customer is only confronted with the truth — though the question also invites the viewer to ask for it.
3Evaluate the cartoon: Is it fair and effective? Consider one possible objection to its argument.
e.g. Is it fair to list costs without saying who should pay them? Does exaggeration help or harm?
a)Six to eight sentences.Own judgement, e.g. effective because it uses a familiar everyday object; fair in exposing hidden costs, but it does not say who should pay or how; the exaggeration makes the point clear but may let viewers dismiss it as unrealistic.
4Write a full cartoon analysis (200 to 240 words).
Present tense. From general to detail. Every device with its effect.
a)Description, analysis of devices, message and target, evaluation.Own text. Check: description first, three devices with effect, message and target discussed, evaluation, present tense, 200 to 240 words.
Four steps
Describe (what you see, from general to detail, present tense) – analyse (contrast, exaggeration, symbols, caption) – message (what the cartoonist criticises or warns about, and whom) – evaluate (do you agree, is it fair?).
Useful language
The cartoon shows … In the foreground / background … The caption reads … The X stands for … The cartoonist criticises / warns / suggests that …
Where the meaning is
Usually in a contrast (words vs. picture, big vs. small, expectation vs. reality) or in an exaggeration. Ask what would be normal — the difference is the point.