This semester, Fall 2013, I am teaching two sections of the Rhetoric and Writing class at Ball State University. This class aims at introducing and developing understanding of principles of rhetoric; basic research methods; elements, strategies, and conventions of persuasion used in constructing written and multimodal texts. One of our major assignments is the multimodal assignment, which in my class is a causal argument video. This post deals with some of the in-class activities that I find efficient in implementing that multimodal project in the composition class. In the context of freshman composition, I find it important to conceptualize video production as a form of multimodal expression. The Causal Argument Video should not just be viewed as a fun assignment with the potential to spark students' interest. It should also be viewed as a legitimate composing task with the same conventions, rules, guidelines, and constraints as "traditional" writing assignments. Video production involves planning, composing, and revising, the same process encountered with "traditional writing assignments." Besides, video production puts even more of an emphasis on the composing process, since it usually necessitates more planning than regular writing assignments. Beyond using verbal text to get its message across, video production employs a combination of written, spoken, non-verbal, visual, and/or auditory material that communicates a message. After establishing video as a form of multimodal text, it becomes crucial to look at what makes multimodal forms of expression effective. In that regard, I implement a class activity that enables students to evaluate different multimodal texts. Students are assigned various texts and are asked to assess them utilizing the Relationship between Modes as described by Karen Schriver, the Principles of Design as established by Robin Williams, and the Visual Assessment Criteria as proposed by Cynthia Selfe. As they are completing this evaluation, I make sure they identify the modes used in each text and how these modes are interacting to create a unified meaning. In addition, they work closely in looking at how different elements are arranged in the text and how this arrangement is working to make the text meaningful. Finally, they evaluate the visual coherence, salience, and organization of different elements in the text. While going through each step, they are asked to reflect on the effectiveness of the choices made by the author and to propose different alternatives that could have worked better. This exercise enables students to realize that multimodal composition is indeed complex and relies on a set of principles to be effective. The following are two multimodal texts, which are making a similar argument. They were posted on the blog It's Okay To Be Smart by Joe Hanson. While the video uses the Girl With A Pearl Earring to emphasize the existence of a "wonderland" between Science and Art, the second multimodal text uses different modes to reiterate this very point. Go over these two multimodal forms of expression and evaluate their relative effectiveness.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorHi, I am Ritassida Mamadou Djiguimde. This blog is intended to provide a linguistic perspective on different language phenomena taking place worldwide with a particular focus on Burkina Faso. Archives
November 2015
Categories
All
|