Australian Curriculum v9 / ACiQ Year 9 English - Unit 1 - Representation, values and attitudes
Representation, Values and Attitudes | Year 9 English
Analyse how texts construct people, groups, places and ideas, and how those choices position audiences.
Updated 2026-06-15 - 4 min read
In English, representation means the way a text constructs a person, group, place, event or idea. A representation is not just what is shown. It is shaped by choices about language, structure, selection and omission.
Representation is more than description
Description tells us what appears in a text. Representation asks how the text shapes meaning.
Weak: "The article talks about teenagers using phones."
Stronger: "The article represents teenagers as distracted and dependent on phones by using negative adjectives and examples of classroom disruption."
The stronger sentence names:
- the group being represented
- the attitude attached to that group
- the choices that create the representation
Values and attitudes need evidence
A value is something the text presents as important. An attitude is the position or feeling the text suggests toward a subject.
For example, a text might value independence, fairness, tradition, achievement or community. It might show an approving, critical, fearful or amused attitude.
Audience positioning
Texts can position audiences to admire, distrust, pity, question or reject something. This does not mean every reader will respond the same way. It means the text encourages a response through its choices.
Turning evidence into analysis
A representation paragraph should not stack quotes and hope the meaning is obvious. After each piece of evidence, slow down and explain the choice.
Ask:
- What word, image, event or omission shapes the representation?
- What attitude does that choice suggest?
- Who benefits from this representation, and who might be limited by it?
- What response is the audience encouraged to have?
For example, if a news report calls young people "restless crowds" instead of "students", the phrase does more than identify a group. "Restless" can suggest disorder, while "crowds" can make individuals seem less personal. That language may position the audience to see the group as a problem to manage.
The analysis does not need to accuse every text of being unfair. Sometimes a representation is sympathetic, complex or balanced. The important point is to prove the interpretation with choices from the text.
Notice that the sentence does not just list techniques. It links evidence to an interpretation.
Paragraph pattern
Use this structure when you get stuck:
- Make a claim about the representation.
- Add short evidence.
- Analyse a word, image, feature or structural choice.
- Explain the value, attitude or audience position.
- Link back to the question.
The link matters because representation questions are rarely asking for a random technique list. They usually ask how a text shapes a view of a person, group, place, issue or idea. The final sentence of a paragraph should return to that view.
For example: "Therefore, the article does not simply describe teenagers; it positions them as a social concern by connecting them with disorder and distraction."
Quick check
Read this sentence:
"The old library stood quietly between the glass towers, holding its stories while the city rushed past."
- How is the library represented?
- Which words support your answer?
- What value might the sentence suggest?
Possible answer:
The library is represented as calm, old and valuable. "Stood quietly" and "holding its stories" suggest patience and memory. This may value history or knowledge in contrast with the fast modern city.
Transfer task
Compare two representations of the same group, place or issue from different texts. Explain one similarity, one difference, and what each text encourages the audience to value or question.