multimodaltheoryofwriting

[multimodaltheoryofwriting]

Language is diverse, powerful, and essential to cultural intercommunication.

Words are an essential aspect of human interaction, whether they are written or verbalized; and language is the primary means of communicating and connecting with others around us. It has the capacity to unite us all through mutual respect and understanding regardless of the dialect being used. Language diversity connects us all in a widespread manner. It serves as the essence of inter-communication and it provides us with the power to understand and interact with individuals across different cultural backgrounds. It enables us to learn how to express, react, respond, and understand others beyond standard English. By embracing this claim, we will in turn be welcoming the acceptance and use of a linguistic diversity that goes far beyond our own. 

 This is something that I am always cognizant of in all of the different aspects of my life—academic, personal/private, social, and professional.  Whether I am conversing with my friends and loved ones over text, or collaborating with colleagues and associates over the phone and via email at work—I have learned to respond accordingly to the context at hand, and in the corresponding idiolect: standard, colloquial English, Spanish, Spanglish etc. I feel that this is an ability that not only makes me more flexible as a communicator, but also helps me to better connect and understand people beyond standard English.

Renowned and respected linguist, Suresh Canagarajah, advocates for the incorporation of World Englishes (WE) in our classrooms, so that students can continue to comprehend and connect with others of different backgrounds on a global scale. This will thus aid in the development and future progression of a universal communication that would be filled with a variety of integral lingual variations amongst students—variations that will unite us, not divide us. This is why it is crucial to understand and continue encouraging the development of language diversity in the scholastic environment. It is imperative that we help students cultivate a very necessary ability, one that would allow them to easily adapt to a variation of vernaculars, depending on the social context at hand. This is a fundamental skill that would essentially enable students to effortlessly adjust their own lexical variation to those around them in order to better understand and communicate more effectively with others, written or otherwise, on an academic, professional or personal level— because that is what will in turn, allow the language to further evolve and develop, live on, and unite us all in the future. 

[multimodaltheoryofwriting]

Writing is a process, not a product; and it is unique to us all.

Writing is a beautiful process that involves an endless ebb and flow of continual trial and error. There is no one particular way to write or develop a certain piece. The methodology itself is something that is built only through constant effort and focus on discovering one’s own language and style. It places attention to the journey of writing rather than the destination.  If students learn to develop their own unique writing process, new generations of writers will be created—writers specialized in process pedagogy, who can one day pass on their knowledge of exploration and experimentation down, in order to help those around them grow beyond “the final product.”

Many a times I have been inflicted with placing too much emphasis and concentration on the result of a piece, and in turn end up compromising the actual development of it. For instance I recall having a college professor that only gave us one opportunity to write an article on transformational leadership—there was no first draft, no peer edit, instead a breakdown response of everything I did wrong—not how I could have made it better. For years, I spent the majority of my time racking my brain on writing material that I thought my professor expected, instead of learning how to master the way I could use language to better express my thoughts, beliefs, and ideas. The only time I received any kind of feedback was when I would receive my final writing paper— which always seemed to have been doused with a large amount of red ink suggesting that there was only one correct way to write.

In fact, many English professors have yet to acknowledge or accept that this is a variable that largely contributes to the excessive underdeveloped writing skills of students. Many professors also make the mistake of “constructively criticizing” the final outcome of a student’s work—a very obsolete method that not only hinders the growth and evolution of an individual’s writing skills, but also devalues what knowledge they have learned so far. By doing this, instructors completely overlook how necessary it is to encourage the students to explore and discover the process that leads to the end product. Donald M. Murray wrote “Instead of teaching finished writing, we should teach unfinished writing and glory in its unfinishedness” (Murray 4). We work with language in action.” This suggests that English instructors should focus their efforts on helping their students discover their own individual style through the use of language and act of writing.  Learning how to develop this skill in a more profound manner, along with fathoming that it is a unique process to everyone will help to unite us in a way, that will allow us to learn from one another and to break platitudinous stereotypes in our scholastic environs in hopes of continuing to redefine the true significance of communication with every passing generation.

[multimodaltheoryofwriting]

The writing classroom should be a place of new-age educative exploration and development.

Many things can influence the evolution and personal growth of a writer, especially their academic groundwork. It refers to the importance of also understanding that there is no right or wrong way to learn, or even teach writing—and the classroom provides the perfect foundation to foster the symbiotic relationship between students and professors—where a mutual exchange of new-found ideas, and notions are welcomed between both parties. By placing a greater emphasis on stimulating students to further the exploration of different methodologies to writing and composing, they would also be discovering new ways to incorporate, perfect, and present writing to audiences with emphasis placed on process pedagogy along with the inclusion of a variety of diverse elements such as  draft edits, multimodality, new media, peer reviews, etc. etc. 

By encouraging this, instructors would not only be partaking in the personal development and academic growth of current individuals and future scholars—but would in turn also be partaking in the contribution to help achieve major strives and advancements for the future of the English Composition and Communication fields as well. This is an ever developing field, and there will always be a continual discovery of different ways to achieve particular outcomes, with the aid of experimentation and investigation—which is what will in turn be more enriching and beneficial for the academic and personal progression of every party involved.

For instance, this class, has given me the opportunity to not only learn about the various different ways I can compose and communicate my ideas and thoughts, but has also provided me the encouragement to explore the different technological avenues, methods, and platforms from which I could present it, such as presenting this particular assignment on this platform! I feel that I have gained an entirely new definition of writing altogether. The study, discoveries, and in-depth knowledge that I have encountered and sustained within this course has enabled me to determine what methodologies work best for me in my own professional environment.

It has assisted me in gaining greater critical thinking skills, becoming more adaptable, flexible, and self-aware to the needs of my intended reader. It has also empowered me to become a more effective writer, by educating me on what communicative portrayal would work best for my intended audience depending on the situation and context at hand. For instance, I was recently tasked at work with developing an idea that would inform hospitals that our home health agency is both accepting seeing patients affected by the coronavirus, and I developed an infographic—something that I otherwise would have not been able to do if it wasn’t from the teachings of this class.

[multimodaltheoryofwriting]

Writing Studies provides the tools for writers to create a change through communication.

There is an extraordinary amount of power that lies behind the words of communication, and its influence can create an impact that goes beyond the individual and cause change throughout the world’s masses. Our language is in a state of continual evolution, it is a living, growing thing whose vernacular can cause significant changes amongst the lives of its people, their relationships, and belief systems. Writing Studies can help individuals learn to connect and convey ideas more effectively across various different kinds of audiences and promotes the respect, support, and mutual understanding of our own personal and cultural differences. 

The knowledge gained here will help future scholars unify the masses on a worldwide scale with their extensive and unstrained knowledge of writing, and communicative abilities that can be applied to any given purpose. Just as Dr. Yancy wrote in her CCCC address in 2004, it is necessary to foster the growth of writing publics, because the skills attained in this field, will in turn aid in the philanthropic development of our characters. The acquired literacy that we obtain as scholars through our academic writing experience will help us to view the world in a variety of different forms, and through newfound perspectives other than our own.

There is a grand interconnection between the capabilities and virtuosities we acquire as writers and how it leads us reach a greater sense of moral responsibility to promote conviction, humility, and generosity amongst us all. This, along with ethicality is something that still lives within our purpose as writers and efficacious communicators in this day-in-age. Regardless of the context from which we are communicating from—article, video, website, journal, etc.— we must be adept at both recognizing and being mindful of our reader’s backgrounds, gender, literacy levels, social classes, and opportunities when addressing a broad audience; and we must find a common ground that will unite us all as a people. It is only by doing so that this would indeed cause, a greater positive influence to be imprinted on not just the audience—but on both the writer and the individual as well.

The further I delve into writing studies the more I realize that everyone in the communicative field has a greater purpose than just ensuring their ideas are expressed in a comprehensive and effective manner towards their audience. Not only did I learn more about the kind of person I would like to become, but I also learned how to understand myself, and by doing so I could better comprehend others, their perspectives of the world, way of thinking, through the English language. This has also enabled me to essentially become a linguistic chameleon, regardless of the social context at hand—whether at home, at work, or even in school. Whether it is professors educating their students, or professionals in any given occupational writings or communications field—our purpose is, and always should be to continuously strive to harness the power to inspire humanity, and create a change that will positively impact others through the power of our words.

[multimodaltheoryofwriting]

[multimodaltheoryofwriting]

About The References

Canagarajah, Suresh. "The Place of World Englishes in Composition: Pluralization Continued." College Composition and Communication (2006).

Murray, Donald M. "Teach writing as a process not product." The Leaflet (1972): 3-6.

Yancey, Kathleen Blake. “Made Not Only in Words: Composition in a New Key.” College Composition and Communication, vol. 56, no. 2, 2004, pp. 297–328. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4140651. Accessed 9 Dec. 2020.