Written Communication Apr 2018

Composing for Affect, Audience, and Identity: Toward a Multidimensional Understanding of Adolescents’ Multimodal Composing Goals and Designs

Blaine E. Smith University of Arizona

Abstract

This study examined adolescents’ perspectives on their multimodal composing goals and designs when creating digital projects in the context of an English Language Arts class. Sociocultural and social semiotics theoretical frameworks were integrated to understand six 12th grade students’ viewpoints when composing three multimodal products—a website, hypertext literary analysis, and podcast—in response to a well-known literary text. Data sources included screen capture and video observations, design interviews, written reflections, and multimodal products. Findings revealed how adolescents concurrently composed for multiple purposes and audiences during the literature analysis unit. In particular, students viewed projects as a platform to emotionally affect and entertain a broader audience, as well as a conduit through which they could represent themselves as composers. Emphasis was placed on creating cohesive compositions—ranging from close modal matching to building meaning at a thematic level and creating a multisensory experience indicative of the novel’s narrative world. These findings contribute a multidimensional understanding of adolescents’ various and interacting multimodal composing goals and have implications for leveraging modal affordances in the classroom.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
2018-04-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088317752335
Open Access
Closed
Topics
multimodality multilingual writers affect and writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (9)

  1. Stamm (2025)
    Investigating Method & Madness: The Composing Processes of 5th Grade Students
    Computers and Composition
  2. Tham et al. (2024)
    Understanding Writing Instructors’ Feelings toward the Affordances of Multimoda…
    College Composition and Communication
  3. Jiang (2024)
    Composing to Enact Affective Agency: Engaging Multimodal Antiracist Pedagogy in…
    College Composition and Communication
  4. Höglund (2022)
    The Heartbeat of Poetry: Student Videomaking in Response to Poetry
    Written Communication
  5. Doody et al. (2022)
    “Everything Is in the Lab Book”: Multimodal Writing, Activity, and Genre Analys…
    Written Communication
Show all 9 →
  1. Gallagher et al. (2021)
    Phenomenology of writing with unfamiliar tools in a semi-public environment: A …
    Computers and Composition
  2. Fields et al. (2021)
    A Case Study of One Youth’s Stance toward the Discourse of Literary Analysis in…
    Research in the Teaching of English
  3. Smirnov et al. (2019)
    “Presenting Our Perspective”: Recontextualizing Youths’ Experiences of Hypercri…
    Written Communication
  4. Smith (2019)
    Mediational Modalities: Adolescents Collaboratively Interpreting Literature thr…
    Research in the Teaching of English

Cites in this index (13)

  1. Cimasko et al. (2017)
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    Written Communication
  2. Anderson et al. (2017)
    Seeing Academically Marginalized Students’ Multimodal Designs From a Position o…
    Written Communication
  3. Zapata et al. (2017)
    “Because I’m Smooth”: Material Intra-actions and Text Productions among Young L…
    Research in the Teaching of English
  4. Ehret et al. (2014)
    Embodied Composition in Real Virtualities: Adolescents’ Literacy Practices and …
    Research in the Teaching of English
  5. Shanahan (2013)
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    Written Communication
Show all 13 →
  1. Gilje (2010)
    Multimodal Redesign in Filmmaking Practices: An Inquiry of Young Filmmakers’ De…
    Written Communication
  2. Vasudevan et al. (2010)
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    Written Communication
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