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Multimodal Rhetoric:
Multimodal Rhetoric:
"a text that uses any combination of information that has sound, text, or visual elements (whether they are static and unmoving, or dynamic and moving)–including music, sound effects, spoken word, color, camera angles, varied fonts, etc."
"a text that uses any combination of information that has sound, text, or visual elements (whether they are static and unmoving, or dynamic and moving)–including music, sound effects, spoken word, color, camera angles, varied fonts, etc."
Multimodal rhetoric is any text** that combines more than just written language. This can include images, video, sound, color, speech, and a whole lot more. In the truest sense of the word, “multimodal” rhetoric combines multiple modalities–so images and text; video and sound; spoken language and video; etc.
Multimodal rhetoric is often discussed as something that is an alternative to rhetoric that is purely written; however, as the information we look at each day is increasingly on screens–tablets, phones, laptops, even smartwatches–it’s on the table for discussion whether or not purely written (i.e. non-multimodal) rhetoric even exists anymore, except for in a few isolated instances. And while it’s not incumbent on us to resolve the debate about what multimodal rhetoric even is and whether it can exist separately from written rhetoric, it does speak to the fact that rhetorical analysis can involve consideration of not only the message (i.e. the way that written rhetoric is used to communicate a purpose) of an argument, but also the medium (i.e. the manner in which it is communicated).
**Note: Typically, when referring to text, people mean written words. But in multimodal genres, the term text can refer to a piece of communication as a whole, incorporating written words, images, sounds, and even movement. The following images are examples of multimodal texts.
The Five Modes
The Five Modes
Communication happens through many different modes, not just text or reading. For example, a professor’s lecture differs from their written notes, just as a group chat differs from an in-person meeting. Understanding these modes is the first step to navigating a multimodal world. When a given text makes use of more than one mode, the text can be characterized as multimodal. Most texts are multimodal – we make sense out of their messages through decoding the different modes of communication that they employ.
When a given text makes use of more than one mode, the text can be characterized as multimodal. Most texts are multimodal – we make sense out of their messages through decoding the different modes of communication that they employ.
What is the Relationship Between Modes and Media?
What is the Relationship Between Modes and Media?
A mode is a way of communicating, while a medium is the channel used to convey that communication. For example, communicating in the linguistic mode might use the medium of print, while the aural mode might use a podcast. Both print and podcasts are types of media.
When analyzing or creating multimedia texts (artifacts that use multiple modes of communication), it’s important to recognize how different modes operate together and which mode dominates in a given medium. For instance, both photographs and films use the visual mode, but they differ in how they convey meaning. Photographs focus on the arrangement of objects in a still image, while films rely on the spatial mode, using the movement of bodies and objects through space to tell a story. While photographs can sometimes emphasize spatial relationships, the visual mode dominates. In contrast, in films, the spatial mode often takes precedence. Understanding which modes dominate within a medium can help you craft stronger claims and choose persuasive evidence for your multimodal arguments.
Key Takeaway: Modes of Communication
Key Takeaway: Modes of Communication
A mode, quite simply, is a means of communicating. According to the New London Group, there are five modes of communication: visual, linguistic, spatial, aural, and gestural.[1]
A mode is different from a medium, which is the substance through which communication is conveyed. Examples of a visual medium, for instance, would be photography, painting, or film.
Visual
Visual
The visual mode refers to anything people see, such as images, colors, shapes, or the arrangement of objects. It helps communicate ideas and emotions through what is visible. Sometimes people must see to believe, and visuals can be helpful and even persuasive.
The visual mode also includes elements of design and allows writers a more creative way to present text on a page/screen. For example, a textbook likely makes use of labels, headings, color, and other visual features to help the reader more easily understand the information. This would be considered multi-modal since it combines multiple modes of communication.
Aural
Aural
The aural mode is focused on sound including, but not limited to, music, sound effects, ambient noises, silence, tone of voice in spoken language, volume of sound, emphasis, and accent. [2]
An example of an aural mode— one that depends almost exclusively on sound—might be the recording of a public speech that is delivered orally to a live audience, a radio address, or a podcast.
Gestural
Gestural
The gestural mode refers to the way movement is interpreted. Facial expressions, hand gestures, body language, and interaction between people are all gestural modes.
This has always been important in face-to-face conversations and in theater, but it has become more apparent on the web lately with the wide use of YouTube and other video players.
Linguistic (or Alphabetic)
Linguistic (or Alphabetic)
The linguistic mode refers to written or spoken words. The mode includes word choice, the delivery of written or spoken text, the organization of words into sentences and paragraphs, and the development and coherence of words and ideas. The linguistic mode is not always the most important mode; this depends on the other modes at play in the text, the type of text, and other factors. Linguistic is probably the most widely used mode because it can be both read and heard on both paper or audio. The linguistic mode is the best way to express details and lists.
Spatial
Spatial
The spatial mode, as the name implies, refers to the arrangement of elements in space. It involves the organization of items and the physical closeness between people and objects.
Example: Multimodality in a Scholarly Text
Example: Multimodality in a Scholarly Text
Here is an example of a standard scholarly book in a print edition. This text relies primarily on the linguistic mode. In other words, it is made up primarily of letters and words. However, because most texts are multimodal in some sense, there are at least three modes at work in this example.
The linguistic mode operates in the printed written text.
The visual mode operates in the formatting of the text (such as the use of fully justified margins) and in the choice of typography (such as the different fonts used for the chapter title and the use of brackets around the chapter title).
The spatial mode can be seen in the text’s arrangement (such as the placement of the epigraph from Francis Bacon’s Advancement of Learning at the top right and wrapping of the paragraph around it).
Multiliteracy
Multiliteracy
Once upon a time, being literate meant the ability to communicate through reading and writing. Of course, literacy was not the only way to communicate. Oral storytelling, for example, is a tradition of communication that precedes and continues to this day and does not require traditional literacy for the storyteller or the listener.
Today, however, we know that communication encompasses the ability to produce, consume, and analyze ideas and information across a variety of modes. As a result, scholars like the New London Group have coined a new term, multiliteracy, which acknowledges that communication is not just traditional reading and writing and recognizes that students of communication need to be proficient across a range of modes. Too often traditional education focuses exclusively on reading and writing. A focus on multiliteracy includes but also moves beyond just reading and writing to consider the ways in which all of use need to be multiliterate to function effectively as communicators in today’s world.
Citations
Citations
Image provided by Adobe Stock.
CC licensed content
The Five Modes. Provided by: University of Mississippi. Project: PLATO WRIT 100/101. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
What is Multimodality?. Provided by: University of Georgia. Project: PLC-EC Adaptive Courseware Pilot. License: CC BY: Attribution
What is a mode? . Provided by: University of Mississippi. Project: PLATO WRIT 100/101. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
What is Multimodality?. Authored by: University of Georgia. Project: PLC-EC Adaptive Courseware Pilot. License: CC BY: Attribution
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Adapted From:
"The Five Modes" Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
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