ENGL 1007 Course Guide

While "composing" probably brings to mind traditional writing, whether done by hand or on a digital device, other forms of communication have transformed how we think about writing and sharing it with others. In ENGL 1007, there is an emphasis on what is termed "multimodal composition" -- in essence, that we are attentive to incorporating diverse methods and manners of communication into the composition process. The authors of Writer/Designer describe five such "modes": linguistic, visual, aural, gestural, and spatial ("How does multimodality work?").

While these concepts will be covered in class, it is important to begin with a consideration of how these modes are deployed in the texts you encounter every day and how you might take advantage of their affordances in your own writing. It is worth noting that while we may consider "traditional writing" as primarily linguistic, these modes are blended in any actual communicative situation. Being attentive to modality is more about considering how each mode affords different means of reaching audiences. A few additional resources below provide ways of thinking about modality and tools you might use to further your composition processes.