Y05W21RC Stories in Pictures

This week, you are exploring how pictures and words work together to tell a story, and how websites are designed to help you find your way around. You will read to discover how the parts of an online article fit together — including features that most people click past without thinking about. As you read, pay attention to how the layout itself is giving you information, not just the words.

Multimodal / media — Website/Article with Hyperlinks

A website article is a piece of writing published online, designed to be read on a screen rather than a printed page. Writers use this form to inform readers clearly and efficiently, often breaking content into sections so that readers can find what they need quickly without having to read everything from start to finish. You will encounter headings that divide the content into labelled sections, hyperlinks — clickable words or phrases that lead to related pages — and sometimes a sidebar, which is a separate column running alongside the main text that lists additional links or navigation options. Unlike a book, a web article can be read in different orders depending on which links you follow, which means the layout itself is part of how the information is communicated. As you read, your job is to notice not just what the article says, but how its different features work together to guide you through the content.

Before You Read

  • Scan the headings and sidebar before you begin reading the main text — they give you a map of what the article covers and how it is organised.
  • Think about what you already know about reading comics or image sequences — most people understand instinctively that you read pictures in a particular order, even if they have never thought about why.
  • Notice the labelled hyperlinks inside the article — before you click any, read their text carefully to predict what kind of information they might lead to.

While You Read

  • Use the headings to keep track of which part of the article you are in and what new information each section is adding.
  • When you encounter a hyperlink, pause and ask yourself what it is offering — consider whether it connects to the current topic or takes you somewhere new.
  • Pay attention to the sidebar as a separate feature — notice what it contains and how it differs from the main body of the article.
  • If a section introduces a new term, look at the sentences around it for clues about what it means before moving on.

Read With Purpose

  • Notice how each section of the article builds on the one before it — pay attention to how the structure moves from one idea to the next in a deliberate order.
  • Pay attention to what the hyperlinks and sidebar are doing — notice whether they add to the main content or help the reader move around the article.
  • Follow how visual sequence is explained through words — notice the specific language the article uses to describe the order in which images should be read.

Now read

The online article

~4 min read · ~503 words

How to Read a Comic Strip Online

Have you ever clicked on a comic strip online and felt unsure where to start? With panels going in different directions and links popping up everywhere, it can feel a little chaotic. But once you understand how comic strips are put together — and how websites organise them — the whole experience becomes a lot more enjoyable.

What Is a Panel?

A panel is one single framed image in a comic strip. Think of it like a window into a frozen moment in a story. Each panel shows one scene, one action, or one piece of dialogue. On a webpage, panels are usually arranged in a row from left to right, just like the words in a sentence. When you reach the end of a row, you drop down to the next row and continue reading left to right again.

Some online comics display one panel at a time, using a ‘Next’ button to move forward. Others show the whole strip at once. Either way, the reading order is always the same: left to right, top to bottom.

What Is a Gutter?

The space between two panels is called the ‘gutter’. It might look like empty space, but it is doing important work. The gutter is where your imagination fills in what happened between one moment and the next. If panel one shows a dog eyeing a sandwich, and panel two shows an empty plate and a satisfied dog, your brain automatically bridges the gap. That invisible jump is part of what makes comics so engaging — you become part of the storytelling.

How Hyperlinks Help You Navigate

Online comic articles often include hyperlinks — clickable words or phrases that take you to related content. A hyperlink might look like this:

[How panels create movement] or [Understanding speech bubbles]

These links are there to help, not distract. Before clicking, read the link text carefully. Ask yourself: Does this connect to what I am reading right now, or is it taking me somewhere new? Good readers decide whether to follow a link or keep reading the current page first.

Sidebar links (the list of links usually running down the side of a webpage) often give you a map of the whole article. Scanning them before you read can help you understand how the content is organised.

Putting It All Together

Reading a comic online means thinking about two things at once: the story inside the panels and the structure of the webpage around them. Panels carry the story forward in sequence. Gutters carry your imagination. Hyperlinks and sidebars help you move around the site and find more information when you need it.

Once you know how each of these features works, you will find that reading comics online feels less like guesswork and more like a skill.

Sidebar: Quick Navigation Tips

  • Scan the sidebar links before you start reading.
  • Read hyperlink text carefully before clicking.
  • Follow the panel order: left to right, top to bottom.
  • Use the ‘Back’ button if a link takes you too far off track.

Check your vocabulary knowledge

panels n.
individual framed images in a comic strip, each showing one moment
gutter n.
the blank space between comic panels where the reader imagines the gap
hyperlinks n.
clickable words or phrases on a webpage that lead to related content
navigate v.
to find your way through a website or piece of content purposefully
sequence n.
the ordered arrangement of panels that tells a story step by step