Year 8 · English · Literacy
Purpose and audience in media texts
Examine everyday media such as news reports, advertisements and websites to identify their purpose, target audience and how they grab attention.
Awaiting educator review. This material was drafted by our content team with AI assistance and is waiting for review by a qualified educator. Please check it suits your child before using it. Created 10 October 2026. How we review
These lessons were written around Australian Curriculum strands and matched to UK year groups by age (Year 1 is the year a child turns 6 in England). They are not mapped to the National Curriculum in England or the curricula of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, so check them against your own plans.
Learning goals
Learners will
- Identify the main purpose of everyday media texts (to inform, persuade, entertain or instruct).
- Work out a media text's target audience from its content, language and design.
- Explain the techniques media texts use to grab and hold attention.
Success looks like
- I can state the main purpose of a news report, an advertisement and a website.
- I can describe a target audience using evidence such as language, images and topic.
- I can name and explain at least three attention-grabbing techniques.
The big idea
Every day we are surrounded by media texts – news reports, advertisements, websites, videos and social-media posts. Each is created with a purpose and a target audience in mind. Thinking critically about both helps you understand why a text looks and sounds the way it does.
Purpose. Most media texts mainly aim to inform (a news report), persuade (an advertisement), entertain (a comedy video) or instruct (a recipe website). Many mix purposes – a cooking show entertains while instructing, and a news website informs but also wants you to stay and click.
Target audience. Look for clues: the topic, vocabulary, images, colours, fonts and where the text appears. A cereal ad with cartoon characters and bright colours targets children (and the parents who buy the cereal); a bank ad with calm blues and words like 'secure' targets adults.
News reports use a headline to grab attention, often with puns, alliteration or strong verbs ('Floods Force Hundreds From Homes'). The lead answers the 5 Ws – who, what, when, where, why – and the rest of the article gives details in order of importance (the 'inverted pyramid').
Advertisements use eye-catching images, slogans, bold colours, celebrities or relatable people, and calls to action ('Order now!').
Websites use banners, large headings, images, menus and buttons arranged so the most important information is seen first. Online headlines sometimes use clickbait ('You won't believe what happened next…') to make people click.
When analysing a media text, ask: What is its main purpose? Who is it for, and how can I tell? What grabs my attention first, and why was it placed there?
Worked examples
Analysing an advertisement
An original ad shows a smiling teenager mid-jump on a skateboard, bright orange text reading 'GRIP THE MOMENT', and the line 'New ProGrip shoes – in stores now.' Identify purpose, audience and two attention-grabbing techniques.
- Purpose: it promotes shoes, so it aims to persuade people to buy.
- Audience: the teenage skater, energetic image and short slang-like slogan suggest active teenagers.
- Techniques: a dynamic action photo catches the eye; the bright orange capitals and the pun 'grip the moment' (on 'seize the moment' and the shoes' grip) make the slogan memorable.
Answer: Purpose: persuade. Audience: active teenagers. Techniques: an action image, bold colour and a punning slogan, plus the call to action 'in stores now'.
Reading a news lead
Original lead: 'A family of ducks brought peak-hour traffic to a standstill on Riverside Road on Tuesday morning as they waddled from the park to the pond.' Find the 5 Ws.
- Who: a family of ducks (and peak-hour drivers).
- What: brought traffic to a standstill.
- When: Tuesday morning, peak hour.
- Where: Riverside Road, between the park and the pond.
- Why: they were waddling to the pond.
Answer: The lead answers who, what, when, where and why in one sentence, informing the reader quickly – a typical feature of a news report.
Spotting clickbait
Compare two headlines for the same story: (a) 'Local School Raises $5000 for Library Books' and (b) 'This School Did Something AMAZING – You Won't Believe It!' Which is clickbait and why?
- Headline (a) clearly states who, what and how much.
- Headline (b) hides the key information and uses capitals and an exaggerated claim to create curiosity.
- Its purpose is to make people click, even though the story itself is ordinary.
Answer: (b) is clickbait: it withholds information and exaggerates to make readers click, whereas (a) informs directly.
Practice check
Have a go, then check your answers. Each answer comes with an explanation.
Answer guide for parents
What is the main purpose of a news report?
To inform — News reports mainly give readers information about events.
A toy ad uses cartoon animals, bright primary colours and a catchy jingle. Who is the main target audience?
Young children — Cartoons, bright colours and jingles are designed to appeal to young children.
A news lead answers the 5 Ws: who, what, when, where and ___? (one word)
why — The 5 Ws are who, what, when, where and why.
What is the main purpose of an advertisement?
To persuade — Ads aim to persuade the audience to buy, use or support something.
Which headline is most likely to be clickbait?
Doctors HATE This One Weird Trick! — It uses capitals and vague, exaggerated wording to create curiosity without giving real information.
Complete the term for the specific group a media text is designed for: target ______ (one word)
audience — The target audience is the group the text is aimed at.
Why is the most important information in a news report usually placed in the first paragraph?
Because readers may stop reading early, so the key facts come first — This 'inverted pyramid' structure means even a quick reader gets the key facts.
A website for a retirement village uses large fonts, calm colours and photos of older adults gardening. What does this suggest about its audience?
It targets older adults and their families. — The images, readable fonts and calm design are chosen to appeal to older people and their families.
Watch out for
- Believing a text has only one purpose. Many media texts combine purposes, such as informing and persuading.
- Assuming the audience is 'everyone'. Almost all media texts are designed with a specific group in mind.
- Thinking news reports are completely neutral. Choices about headlines, images and what to include can still shape how readers feel.
Tips for parents
- Flick through junk mail or a magazine together and ask, 'Who is this page trying to reach? How can you tell?'
- When browsing a website together, ask your learner what their eye was drawn to first and why the designer put it there.
- Make a game of rewriting clickbait headlines as honest, informative ones.
Go further
- Design a print advertisement for an invented product aimed at a specific audience, then annotate your choices of image, colour and slogan.
- Write a 150-word news report about a real family event using a headline and a 5 Ws lead.
- Compare how two different websites present the same news story and write a paragraph about which audience each targets.
About 45 minutes
You'll need
- A printed newspaper, magazine or junk-mail catalogue
- Access to a family-friendly website (with a parent)
- Exercise book and highlighters
Key words
- Media text
- Any text produced for a public audience through media, such as a news report, advertisement, website, podcast or video.
- Purpose
- What a text is trying to do: inform, persuade, entertain or instruct.
- Target audience
- The specific group of people a text is designed to appeal to.
- Headline
- The title of a news story or article, designed to grab attention and summarise the story.
- Lead
- The opening sentence or paragraph of a news report, which usually answers who, what, when, where and why.
- Clickbait
- An online headline written to make people click, often by exaggerating or holding back key information.
Still tricky?
For parents
Want an outside view of where your child is at?
Book a free, no-obligation English and maths assessment at a Success Tutoring centre and get a clear starting point.
Book a free assessmentRelated literacy lessons
Build up to it (Year 7)
Next steps (Year 9)