Bridging the Multimodal Gap + Everyone's an Author
Bridging the Multimodal Gap
Multimodal composition is an idea that both excites and worries me as somebody who aims to be a professor. When I was initially introduced to the idea in this class, it was an interesting concept, but I also felt a lot of hesitation and doubt around such a teaching model. I couldn't help but worry that students were already struggling with learning to write, so how could introducing new modes that come with their own rhetorical strategies and aesthetics not worsen the problem? But throughout this semester, I've definitely come around to the value of incorporating multimodal assignments and teachings, and Chapter 11: "Multimodality, Transfer, and Rhetorical Awareness," particularly solidifies for me the value of multimodal writing.
The chapter summarizes a study that observes how students explore their composition when taking an alphabetical text and converting it to a multimodal one. Its findings are fascinating; when students have to compose multimodally, they are challenged to think rhetorically about the different conventions of the medium they are using, something that often doesn't happen during essay-writing, since students feel much more familiar with creating alphabetical texts than multimodal ones. By having students deconstruct the composition process when it comes to creating videos, websites, and other nontraditional modes, they not only excel at being able to produce multimodal content which is more suited to modern day requirements, but are also able to take a more reflective approach to traditional essay-writing. I really like the idea that by placing studbgggggfgents in a myriad of unfamiliar situations, you naturally lead your class to start considering all the elements of each mode and how to utilize them for their own projects.
Meanwhile, in Chapter 12: "Distributed Assessment from the Runway to the Classroom," the author claims we should look to the fashion industry as a source of inspiration when it comes to multimodality:
"I argue that the fashion process maps onto the writing assessment process... Our students compose in a networked, distributed environment, and we should assess in a networked, distributed environment. Therefore... we expand our idea of authorship from a single author to a system of distributed authorship. The model of multimodal writing assessment based on distributed authorship and distributed assessment is promising because it demands rhetorical reliability and honors the differences amongst assessors; … a way to create a more inclusive and generative writing-assessment process" (222)
Thus writing, like fashion, should be evaluated by a network rather than individuals, since each individual brings with them their own unique opinion and thus no single person can provide a complete assessment of a work, in a way that's similar to how fashion is evaluated. This perspective is very unique, but I can definitely understand where the author is coming from. Writing is created within a system of values, taught to a student by a network of people over time, and in realistic settings writing is distributed to multiple people. Thus, it's fair that writing should be assessed in a distributed manner. Implementation of this method may be difficult however, since it requires building a network of assessors, which requires a group of professors to make the effort to build such a network in the first place, or for the university or an academic organization to take the initiative.
Everyone's an Author
There were three readings this week from Everyone's an Author, each centering on a unique component of writing. The first assigned chapter, “Rhetorical Situations”, asks writers to consider the circumstances of their writing and utilize the correct rhetorical strategies to tackle the goals of their task. It's a good purview of what a student learning composition should be guided to start considering as they write. Questions such as the expected genre of a text, what conventions come with said genre, the purpose of the text, and the intended audience should all shape how one writes. There is also an important mention of medium; writers should be able to decide which medium works best for their rhetorical situation and how to utilize the elements of that medium to accomplish their task. The biggest takeaway from this chapter for me was that there will be a myriad of unique writing situations, and no matter how defined these situations are, it will always be up to the writer to assess what rhetorical strategies they should employ. While this can only be learned through experience, in my opinion, drawing students' attention to these questions will ensure they write more thoughtfully throughout the writing process and lead to active learning.
"Writing Processes" and "Arguing a Position" cover a large swath of topics that are important for new students to know, outlining how students could break down the writing process into multiple pieces, encouraging students to see the collaborative nature of writing, and explaining the importance and methodology of argumentation. I think these are all helpful, but I will say that in the "Managing the Writing Process" chapter, I disliked the framing that writing is mostly a linear process in which the writer goes through each part of the process step by step, usually not returning to any past steps unless something has gone wrong and further work is needed. I think we've moved past this view of writing, and while there is a focus on process instead of product, this perspective on process is a little too rigid in my opinion. Overall, however, I would likely incorporate parts of this book for a class of freshmen writers because it's a very accessible work full of good advice.
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