32nd Annual Student Research Conference
An Alternative Approach to Composition: the Multimodal Project
Lydia A. Whitacre♦
Dr. Barbara Price, Dr. Summer Pennell, and Dr. Priscilla Riggle, Faculty Mentors
Communication manifests in a variety of formats in our daily lives. Our methods of expression—or, modes of expression—differ throughout our day and life depending on our purpose, personality, and place. But, often, in academic or work settings, when it comes to composing, we fall into the motion of writing a five-paragraph essay—as we learned to do in school. While there is value and purpose in essay writing, sharing a message can be done in many different ways. Through a multimodal composition project, I sought to compare student composition performance in alternative approaches to composition with the traditional five-paragraph essay. My research question asked: “How do alternative modes of composition achieve the same learning objectives reached by traditional modes of writing composition?” It took place as a case study at a small school in NE Missouri with a constructivist research paradigm.
Keywords: multimodal, five-paragraph essay, composition
Topic(s):Education
English, Secondary MAE Research
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 207-6
Location: MC 208
Time: 11:30