MYP English Lang & Lit 12.1 Agency Notes

What Is Agency?

1. Agency is about who has the power to act, choose, and influence outcomes through language and texts.
2. It matters both for:
   1. Creators (writers, journalists, advertisers, filmmakers, influencers): the choices they make when constructing a text.
   2. Audiences (readers, viewers, users): the choices people make when interpreting, believing, sharing, resisting, or responding.

How Does Agency Imply Bias?

1. Every text is built from decisions.
2. These decisions are never neutral; every author has an agenda.

Purpose and audience influence

1. A creator's purpose (to inform, persuade, entertain, criticize, satirize) influences what they select, emphasize, and omit.
2. For example, an advertisement's purpose is typically to persuade you to buy, click, or believe.
3. Because of this, advertisements tend to present information in the most appealing way possible.

Language, tone, and structure

1. Creators can increase their influence by using an objective tone.
2. This is a style that sounds neutral and factual, even when the text is shaped by a clear viewpoint.

Why Do Author's Blur Fact, Opinion, and "Alternative Facts"

Agency becomes especially important when texts make truth claims, statements presented as things the audience should accept as real.

Creating the illusion of truth

1. Some advertisers deliberately "play" with fact and opinion by stating ridiculous claims as if they were factual.
2. This can satirize the idea of "alternative facts," things presented as true that are not true in reality.
3. Paradoxically, this strategy can make the advertiser's other statements feel more trustworthy by contrast.

Fake news and audience agency

1. Fake news sites often imitate the layout and style of real journalism so the content appears genuine.
2. A major issue is that people may share a headline without reading closely.

What's The Role Of Setting, Representation, and Reality?

1. Texts do not just describe the world; they construct versions of it.
2. Representation is therefore always framed by selection.

Selective framing in advertising

1. Selective framing means highlighting some aspects and hiding others.
2. In travel advertising, settings are chosen to match what an audience desires (luxury, adventure, low price, status).

Voice and authority in travel triting

1. Non-fiction travel writing is not usually trying to sell. It aims to communicate a sense of people and places through description, tone, and personal reflection.
2. That does not make it "bias-free," but it does change the relationship with the reader.
3. The contrast between two city descriptions shows how agency works:
   1. A factual, planner-like description (landmarks, infrastructure, notable features) can create a sense of order and stability.
   2. A metaphor-rich, personal description can create mood and complexity, presenting a city as damaged yet hopeful.

What Is Audience Agency?

1. Agency isn't only something creators have.
2. Audiences also have agency, but it can be strengthened or weakened by context (time pressure, emotion, social media design, group influence).

Resisting manipulation

1. Audiences exercise agency when they:
   1. Pause before reacting emotionally.
   2. Identify purpose (persuade, entertain, criticize, sell).
   3. Separate fact from opinion.
   4. Check evidence and look for what is missing.
   5. Consider bias (what perspective is promoted?).

What's Ethical Agency And Responsibility?

Texts can influence decisions, reputations, and social attitudes, which makes agency an ethical issue.

Questions on ethical agency

1. Is the creator being transparent about persuasion (for example, an ad clearly trying to sell)?
2. Are facts represented accurately, or are they distorted?
3. Does the text exploit stereotypes or fear?
4. Could the text cause harm if it is believed or shared?