User:AVB227/Multimodal Composition

Lead
Multimodality is comprised of various and diverse modes to create one product. In the context of writing and composition, multimodal composition is a method that combineds visuals (e.g. photos, social media posts, videos, etc.) with words or audio in place of standarized writing. Similar terms define it as composition that goes beyond standard writing, and instead includes all kinds of visuals. In the growing age of digital media, the use of multimodal composition is becoming more aparment and common for people to use. News sources, social media platforms, journalists, schools etc. are rethinking how to efficiently use this method to reach a wider audience.

Background
In ancient civilizations, stories were told through the modes of imagery (stone carvings or paintings), as well as told through verbal descriptions. Through the use of these multimodal methods, stories of culture and importance were able to be passed down to many generations

. These early examples of multimodal text show how humans adapted to find ways to tell their stories so that they could be recorded and remembered" . A modern way of expressing this would be through comic or picture books, newspaper articles, brochures, etc..

Academia
The use of multimodality is not new to the world, but it is new to how academica is responding and accepting to it. As early as the 1960's, there has been pushback against the use of multimodal composition in the classroom. It was arugued that it should not be taught as a way for students to compose their writing due to the thought that it would take away from the work. On the opposite end, there are educators, such as Cindy Selfe, who speak for incorporating multimodal composition into the curriculum. Teachers have the risk of interest in and composition studies - as a whole- to lose engagment from students if they do not find ways to engage with this type of composition. The world is always changing, and like how humans have developed from cave paintings to current modes, people need to become literate in multimodal composition types as the modern world relies so much on it.

In recent years, due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, schools have had to adapt their curriculum's into a system that can rely on technology even more. Students are exposed to a world of multimodal compositions through the use of applications like PowerPoint, Google Classroom, Youtube, Zoom, etc. Multimodal composition projects are beginning to be used more instead of the standard multipage essay.