Moves and Images: A Multimodal Genre Analysis of Web-Based Crowdfunding Proposals

Haiying Feng University of International Business and Economics ; Chengfang Song ; Lin Li University of International Business and Economics

Abstract

This article presents a multimodal genre analysis of crowdfunding proposals, an emerging web-based genre for raising funds from internet crowds for a project or venture. Based on an analysis of nine most-funded Kickstarter crowdfunding proposals, the authors describe the generic move structure using a semiotic approach and examine the role of visual images in constructing meaning within and across moves. The analysis shows that visual images facilitate potential backers’ sense-making in basically two dimensions: rhetorically, functioning to persuade by establishing ethos, logos, and pathos, and compositionally, helping achieve cohesion within and between moves and facilitate move mixing, embedding, and positioning. This study also attests a case-based approach to examining multiple influences on genre emergence.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2023-10-01
DOI
10.1177/10506519231179959
Open Access
Closed
Topics

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication

Cites in this index (2)

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Technical Communication Quarterly
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