Learner Resource 7.1 ‒ Influential power

So far we have mainly been analysing how instrumental power is enacted in texts but now we’re going to turn to our study of influential power. Here’s a reminder of the definition:

It’s interesting to examine how some aspects of influential power work because it is, in subtle yet important ways, ‘linked’ to instrumental power through using signifiers of such power.

The mastheads of broadsheet newspapers are an example of a use of language that has been chosen to bring with it echoes of the power that was once contained in institutions that were legally allowed to use such forbidding stylised language in days gone by.

The Times masthead, which can be viewed at can be seen to share some graphological similarities with the legal document, Magna Carta (below right), for example, particularly in its use of stylised ‘gothic’ font faces and design elements. School and university letter-headings, and many more besides, are often similarly chosen because they carry echoes of this bygone power. Of course, a person does not need to have seen the Magna Carta to recognise this power in action. There is something in certain type-faces, designs and layouts that suggests ‘power’ and influence.

Version 11© OCR 2017

Linguistic variations of power

Compare the University of Oxford logo (at with that of Northumbria University which can be found at andespv=2 andbiw=1280 andbih=918 andsite=webhp andsource=lnms andtbm=isch andsa=X andved=0ahUKEwiGzZ_IturRAhXkL8AKHcv7B3gQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=9aa3BMh_CRyCwM%3A

Certainly, the connection of ‘power’ with ‘design’ (the graphology aspect) is a complex area and is largely linked to aspects of genre. This ‘power’ can, of course, also repel readers as well as attract them. For example, logos such as that used by The Times work to attract its own target audience, and carry influence as described above; but they would act to repel other possible audiences who might, for example, feel belittled by what they perceive as the serious and educated formality implied by such a logo. It seems that we are ‘hard wired’ to respond to certain types of overtly complex and intricate designs in ways that create influence and power.

This is one area in which the much maligned language level of graphology comes into its own and can yield highly subtle analyses and commentaries.

The focus in the exam is on how power is represented and although much of this will take place in the language used, the graphology will also be significant in reinforcing this representation. Therefore you need to comment upon the relationship between the graphology used and the written word, so here is a checklist of the features of graphology you might discuss in terms of how they represent power:

  • Pictures are obviously very important as is the style chosen for the image. Consider the different connotations and impact of the use of one of the following rather than another from this list: drawing, photograph, caption, diagram, chart, logo
  • Use of colour - powerful at evoking associations in the reader’s mind
  • Font – as seen above, the font can signal certain associations:
  • style: e.g. handwritten or printed, plain or ornamental (sans serif or serif),
  • type: e.g. Times New Roman, Comic Sans, Arial, Bauhaus 93, Impact, Lucida Calligraphy, Broadway, Old English Text, Stencil, Hobo, Harlow Solid Italic, Cooper Black, Castellar, Century Gothic, Jokerman, Showcard
  • style: e.g. standard, emboldened, italicised, underlined, UPPER or lower case
  • size: measured in points – 72 points to the inch: eight point, twelve point, 24 point)
  • Use of punctuation
  • Layout and organisation of text:
  • headlines,
  • columns,
  • bullet points,
  • numeration,
  • borders,
  • boxes,
  • paragraph size,
  • line spacing,
  • use of white space.

Consider the above when you are commenting upon the relationship between the language and the visual aspect in the practice texts that follow.

Version 11© OCR 2017

Linguistic variations of power