Visual Rhetoric and Alternative Compositions in the Writing Classroom

Under the Universal Designs for Learning Framework, I examine the applications of multimodality in the First Year Composition classroom. It becomes increasingly clear that a varied approach to composition that uses different means of expression can enhance student understanding of rhetorical appeals, as doing so allows students to use an expansive selection of communicative tools. I argue that in order to create more entry points for student engagement and to help students recognize their own ability to construct meaning, the use of different mediums should be encouraged in traditional writing classrooms. To view one possible approach, I also examine the multimodal project in my First Year Composition class where students translated their written academic prose into different mediums