Gagich, Klein and Shakelford provides us with the tools and strategies to carefully craft and design a well-composed document while utilizing a variety of multimodal options.
Gagich informs us that in our daily lives, we encounter, interact with, and consume many types of texts, and it is important to consider how most texts are also multimodal. Most people assume that multimodal always involves digital technology or spaces, but that not always required in multimodal communication. I like how both articles are essentially discussing the same matter, but from different aspects. Even though, there are so many different modes of communication; they all intertwine for the betterment of designing our documents.
Noticing that there are affordances within having the freedom to write and compose as we wish-there are also constraints that we must be aware of. For example, writing essays may be a breeze for some when given the topic and bits of research and info, but for others it may be a tedious task of torture and consumed time. I find that designing documents can be fairly enjoyable when all of the pieces to the puzzle finally come together and actually make sense. The usage of all necessary tools are helpful to designing our assignments and translating information.
How can we ensure that it all makes sense? Gagich informs us that multimodality is all around us and at times we don’t even realize it. From the various modes of communication through lingusitic (words), visual (social media photos), spatial (infographics), gestural (gesture and movement) and aural (what we can/can not hear): we not only use these forms for academic assignments, but for ‘real-life’ matters, as well.
Whether we’re all writing about the same topic or composing documents to share or research other information: the process includes similarities such as determining our rhetorical situation, reviewing our multimodal text, and gathering content and tools, just to name a few. These processes are essential to designing a full and wholesome body of work.
Klein and Shackelford express that composing and writing quite beyond the black and white that we see on the surface/paper, but our formatting also plays a considerate role in how our audience grasps the information that we intend to convey. Although, I almost always prefer APA format as a previous Psy major; MLA was the example of formatting used within this article to show how to apply the principles for not only just the design of the document, but the meaning of it overall. I agree that incorporating design principles within documents whether essays, resumes, publications can add that razzle dazzle for easier understanding and review.
I appreciated the knowledge gained within both articles because it will assist me in future composition of academic and personal writing. I will also be paying more attention to the variety of multimodal text utilized within my daily social media post, comments, and college writing 🙂
Leave a Reply