Reading Images for Knowledge Building: Analyzing Infographics in School Science: A Book Review
Abstract
The book “Reading Images for Knowledge Building: Analysing Infographics in School Science” by J. R. Martin and Len Unsworth, published by Routledge in 2024, explores new perspectives on visual grammar derived from Systemic Functional Linguistics and their application in the multimodal discourse of school science. It examines key components of infographics, specifically image mass (technicality, iconization, aggregation) and image presence (explicitness, affiliation, congruence). The book enriches our theoretical understanding of visual grammar and provides strategies for the effective use of infographics in classrooms.
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References
Kress, G., & van Leeuwen, T. (2021). Reading images: The grammar of visual design (3rd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003099857
Martin, J. R. (2020). Revisiting field: Specialized knowledge in secondary school science and humanities discourse. In J. R. Martin, K. Maton, & Y. J. Doran (Eds.), Accessing academic discourse: Systemic functional linguistics and legitimation code theory (pp. 114-148). Routledge.
Martin, J. R., & Unsworth, L. (2024). Reading images for knowledge building: Analyzing infographics in school science. Routledge.
Tang, K.-S. (2020). Discourse strategies for science teaching and learning: Research and practice. Routledge.
Unsworth, L., Tytler, R., Fenwick, K., Humphrey, S., Chandler, P., Herrington, M., & Pham, L. (2022). Multimodal literacy in school science: Transdisciplinary perspectives on theory, research and pedagogy. Routledge. http://doi.org/10.4324/9781003150718
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