Social media has a significant impact on college writing, influencing both content and style. The prevalence of intertextuality is evident as students often borrow ideas, quotes, or images from online sources. Additionally, interdiscursivity is observed in the implicit adoption of rhetorical choices seen on social media platforms. The brevity and immediacy of social media communication may also influence writing styles in academia, encouraging concise and engaging expressions. However, challenges arise, such as the need for critical evaluation of information quality and potential distractions from sustained, focused writing. In essence, social media shapes the landscape of college writing by fostering interconnectedness and influencing rhetorical approaches.
Ann N. Amicucci identifies two crucial ideas—intertextuality and interdiscursivity—that are associated with writing and its relationships to other texts. Intertextuality is the process by which authors directly connect their writing to an outside source by purposefully taking ideas or content from another text. Using other people’s photographs or graphic images, paraphrasing ideas or quotes, and mentioning particular texts—such as songs, movies, TV shows, or books—are a few instances of intertextuality. By purposefully appropriating, the author gives their ideas more depth and context by tying them into already-published material.
In contrast, interdiscursivity refers to the tacit borrowing or parodying of another author’s or text’s rhetorical devices. This can take many different forms, such as following other texts’ formatting guidelines for papers or citations, beginning an article with a statistic or quote from a well-written piece, or adding elements like clever asides or rhetorical questions based on how other writers have used them. In contrast to intertextuality, interdiscursivity takes its cues from the more general rhetorical devices used by other authors rather than requiring direct quoting.
In conclusion, writers interact with and borrow from preexisting texts and rhetorical devices through the use of both intertextuality and interdiscursivity. While interdiscursivity involves more implicit influences and adaptations of rhetorical devices from other texts, intertextuality involves explicit references and borrowing. By recognizing and expanding upon the larger context of current discourse, these ideas add to the complexity and richness of college writing.
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