Introduction

In our current technological era, things are changing rapidly. Our society is constantly connected with their smart phones, laptops, and tablets, and demand instant updates in news, entertainment, and communication. This new technology-driven mentality has changed the way we, as a culture, communicate and learn. With many sources going digital, we find ourselves needing to move forward and rethink the way we do many of the things we’ve been doing for thousands of years. Certainly not least among these is writing and composition. Writing is more than the simple act of placing a pen to paper in order to form words. Writing is the act of communication. In order to be a successful writer, one must be able to effectively communicate. Communication has always been more than language. Body language, tone, and facial cues all contribute to verbal communication. The same goes for writing. Until now, writers have been confined to the written word, publishing works on silent sheets of paper, perhaps adding a photograph or two, but still confined to what a piece of paper can provide. With the advent of the internet, writers are now able to use infinite resources to supplement their writing including videos, sound, and interactive images. Possibilities are endless. However, this new multimedia form of composition raises many issues. How do readers read this new text? How do the writer and reader interact with each other? How must the writer effectively use these new tools in order to successfully communicate to their audience? How does rhetoric change to accommodate for this new form? Multimedia composition creates an entirely new world of rhetoric incorporating the visual as well as the linguistic. Multimedia writing can be effective but there are many times that it is rhetorically unsuccessful. In order to use this new form of composition effectively, writers must know what this new rhetoric looks like.

In this paper, I will lay out the rhetoric of multimedia composition. I will analyze how readers are reading online media and how they retain information. I will also analyze rhetorically successful and unsuccessful examples of texts attempting to use new forms of media. I will discuss the rhetorical decision-making behind multimedia pieces and what should be included and what should be avoided. I focus on the audience as the guide for how a piece should be set up. In order to successfully set up a document, you must know how the specific audience you are writing to will absorb the information. The audience dictates composition. After all, they are the ones you as a writer are trying to communicate to. If your communication is unclear or faulty, you will lose your audience.

What is Rhetoric?

Before I continue discussing the rhetoric of multimedia composition, I must first define what exactly rhetoric means in terms of this paper. Rhetoric is the effective persuasion of an audience. It is not coercion of an audience, which suggests deceit and distrust in order to push the audience towards your argument, but rather the truthful and direct presentation of knowledge—all knowledge regardless of whether it goes against your claim or not—in order to give your audience the chance to decide whether they accept your claim. These claims do not necessarily have to be controversial, and many times the audience may not be aware that they are being persuaded at all, but merely enjoying an informational text. In terms of multimedia composition, rhetoric includes not only the text, but video, sound, and visuals as well. Rhetoric is everything from the voice and word choice of the actual text to the background color of the webpage and the different fonts chosen within the piece. In my research, I focus only on online compositions, including videos and works written specifically for online media, as well as web pages.

How Does the Modern Reader Read?

In multimedia composition, as well as any sort of composition, it is important to always keep the audience in mind. Each choice a writer makes will affect the audience whether consciously or subconsciously. From the very second a reader sees a webpage, he or she will have a notion of what the text is about. In her article The Multiple Media of Texts: How Onscreen and Paper Texts Incorporate Words, Images, and Other Media, Anne Frances Wysocki states, “When you first look at a page or screen, you initially understand its functions and purposes because it follows the visual conventions of a genre… That we associate particular visual arrangements with different genres of writing means that the visual arrangements do some of the work of the genre” (Wysocki). A reader has come to expect certain things when they come across a text of a certain genre. Academic texts are typically black text against a white background, possibly broken by a data set or chart here or there. Audiences expect a similar composition online. If a reader comes across an academic text riddled with animations, written in a silly font such as comic sans, and against a bright pink background, he or she would most likely not take the text seriously and move on. This decision-making establishes a sense of ethos. Since readers are used to a certain look of different texts, if texts do not follow those guidelines, the reader will not trust that the text is the genre it claims to be. For example, if a reader is looking for an academic text, they will expect certain patterns. Typically, academic texts begin with an introduction, a body of text which is split by subtitles, and possibly charts and data to support their claims. If a work does not emulate this style, the writer will become skeptical and not trust the work as an academic piece. Later on I will use specific examples to illustrate this.

Visually, there are multiple things a writer must pay attention to in order to create a composition appropriate to the genre and audience. Font size, font style, font color, shapes of the texts, geometry of the page, choice of photographs or videos, sound clips are only a few of the things to consider (Wysocki). In order to decide an effective visual composition of the piece, it is important to keep in mind how a reader reads. In the English language, we read left to right and down the page. Because of this, our eye also tends to move in this direction over any text, regardless of whether it is written linearly. Knowing this, you can choose to place your text where it will be most rhetorically effective, and thus having some sort of control over how your reader reads the piece. This is important because, as a writer and rhetor, you must have some idea of how your piece will be digested so you can successfully form a cohesive argument. If you were to write a piece in the more traditional method, you would expect your audience to read it in order and would construct your argument with that assumption. You want to know how the reader will read the piece so that you can anticipate how the reader will take the information provided. It also gives the reader a more familiar construction of the piece. If the reader is unable to successfully navigate the piece he or she will become frustrated and you lose your ethos as the author. If the reader cannot understand what you are saying, or if you come across as having no knowledge about web page composition, the reader will lose interest as well as their trust of the piece. Why should they trust an author that is unable to present her information effectively? It is also important to keep in mind the relationships between the visual aspects of the text. For example, if the size of a bit of text is similar in size to a photograph accompanying it, the audience will assume that they are of equal importance (Wysocki). This is an incredibly useful tool when writing a multimedia text. The reader will follow where you point, and text and photo size and color gives you the ability to do that without the reader realizing. Rhetorically, it gives the writer the ability to guide the reader through the piece, adding emphasis to the bigger, more important points allowing the reader to pay more attention to these areas. Subtlety is the name of the game in multimedia rhetoric.

It is also important to know how readers retain the arguments you provide so that you can effectively form an argument that the audience will remember. After all, isn’t the point of rhetoric and composition to inform your audience? Knowing how to successfully create an interactive piece is important. In the article Neurophysiological Considerations Related to Interactive Multimeda, Mark Simpson lays out different types of memory: “Short term memory focuses on sounds and visual impressions and is also thought to be an arousal process… Long term memory involves permanent changes in the biochemical organization and synaptic connections of neural groups and may be represented by plastic changes in the brain” (Simpson). He claims that since long-term memory requires a biochemical change, interactivity helps to cause that change. “Time and interaction with objects of perception, both external and internal, are necessary to effect biochemical changes in the brain—the functional basis of memory” (Simpson). According to a study conducted by J. Fletcher in which he analyzed 47 experiments concerning interactive multimedia, interactive instruction improved achievement in students by a .5 standard deviation (Simpson). Multimedia composition provides the perfect opportunity to enable interactive reading. It is important to provide this for the reader as not only does it gain higher retention, but the reader gets the choose-your-own-adventure-type text that they are used to. As I said before, it is important for writers to know how their readers read, and not only do modern readers read top to bottom, left to right, but they also scroll their online pages, click on hyperlinks, zoom in on pictures. Readers have come to expect this, and so the writer must provide it. This helps to build the writer’s ethos. If they show that they have a strong understanding of online media and how it works, the reader will have a stronger trust of the writer. However, if they use a web page ineffectively, it may show ignorance and they will lose their credibility. You must know what your audience will expect when they pull up a piece.

Effective Multimedia Composition: Some Examples

Timothy J. Briggs provides a perfect example for an academic text in an online setting. He writes an article about using Facebook in a professional setting and how exactly Facebook helped him to spread ideas on his work and create a community of educators and academics who shared an interest in his work and helped push his ideas and create a discussion. However, instead of displaying an actual text, he creates a video in which he narrates the text. 

Music is played beneath his narration, and photographs go along with it as well. This composition is still technically a piece of writing, only the reader doesn’t have to actually read the article, but listen instead. The music in the background matches the mood of each section. In the beginning, he talks about his doubts with Facebook and reluctance to even have a social networking site. The music playing is more melancholy and backs up his unsure attitude about Facebook. The reader is not only told about Briggs’ initial concerns about Facebook, but they are able to feel it for themselves, even if it is only subliminally through music. Rhetorically, this combination of visual, audio, and words uses ethos, pathos, and logos at the same time. The music brings up emotion in the “reader,” and she is able to feel as the author did when he was dealing with the frustrations of Facebook. He also establishes ethos by showing photographs of him and his colleagues. The reader does not have to take his word for it; she can see his credentials for herself. His words bring the logical arguments. He explains his decisions as an academic struggling to learn how Facebook can be an effective tool in order to spread ideas and present his work as it progresses. In a monomedia piece, logos, pathos, and ethos can only be established one at a time. Briggs effectively uses multimedia in order to establish these three tools at once, allowing his piece to progress more quickly. As the piece goes on, and he continues to take the reader on his journey to understand Facebook and everything it is capable of, the music becomes happier and more hopeful. This helps transition the reader’s mindset about Facebook and its uses. The article is also structured much like a written piece might be, with sections and subtitles within the piece. As he transitions between points, the music in the background stops and the reader is shown the title of the next section on the screen. This emulates how a reader might actually read between sections. As the reader reads a printed piece, when she comes across a new section within the text, she knows that another topic or point is being introduced and, therefore, she must change her mindset. It keeps the piece organized and clear. This is how a reader expects to be presented information in print form, so it is important to give them a similar experience, even when the article is spoken and not actually text. His choice of color in this piece is also very important. He uses the same color scheme of Facebook, keeping a constant theme throughout. It keeps the reader in the Facebook state of mind, reminding them of the theme of the piece. It also makes the piece more approachable. A black and white pages covered in words can be intimidating to a reader. In order to reach a wider audience, Briggs creates a multimedia piece which is accessible to academics and professionals as well as those of the general public who may just be curious. Many times, academic texts and articles can alienate readers because of its format. This video provides a format easily understood by many audiences. Briggs understands how a text must be laid out, and also understands how modern media works. He uses the tools at his disposal to effectively create a rhetorical piece that blends different forms of media for a successful piece. 

Briggs provides an example of an interactive piece that effectively uses rhetorical tools in a multimedia composition. He understands that readers expect certain visual cues while reading a piece, but he also understands that the modern reader also does not want to sit at a computer screen and scroll down a very large work in order to get the information. He creates a piece that caters to the modern reader, uses strong rhetorical tools, maintains the academic text format, and allows for his own creativity.

It is all too easy to create an ineffective multimedia piece as well. This example provides a unique example because the actual text from the piece is an incredibly established work--The Art of War by Sun Tzu who was an ancient Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher. His name alone is ethos enough. However, the way the information is presented lacks in readability and usability. The font chosen is unprofessional and is difficult to read. Although the text does provide periodic links to different portions of the text for quick access, the portions of the text are labelled by numbers rather than key words, leaving the reader to guess where the numbers lead. Besides the title of the piece, the reader has no proof that the text she is reading is, in fact, The Art of War except to make sure for herself, which completely defeats the purpose of this text. If the reader had wanted to read The Art of War, this piece should be sufficient. The author also does not use tools that may have been effective to the reader, such as important background information which could be provided by simply linking different texts to the piece, or a table of contents linking to different portions of the text. The author did, however, provide the original Chinese, which some readers, especially readers who would be interested in this topic, might find useful.

I used this example because it shows how even an established text, presented ineffectively in a multimedia format, can lose its effectiveness. Visual composition is just as important to the reader as the information being presented. It can say just as much rhetorically as what the author states. Because of this, it is important to step back from your text and ask yourself, how does what I am showing visually effect what my readers will think of my work? Readers today are fast-paced, expecting quick results and instantaneous information. Oftentimes, it takes one glance to lose an audience. If your piece is not visually appealing, it will not be taken seriously.

Why is this Important and What Next?

Online media is slowly taking over the writing industry. Because of the vast accessibility, the daily changes, the readers’ expectations for fast resources and instantaneous information, writing is moving from an art form which takes time to compose into a formulaic entity made for pure informational value. As writers, we must be aware of these changes and, instead of succumbing to these expectations, merely adapting our work to this new world. Multimedia writing does not have to be generic. Multimedia writing still allows for creativity and careful composition. Although writers must keep in mind how modern readers are reading, and they do have to be aware of the changes that are happening and adapt to the modern world of writing, it does not mean that writing has to be sacrificed in the name of technology. It is important that effective multimedia rhetoric and composition continues to be inspected and analyzed so that the art of writing is not lost in the hustle and bustle of the modern world. Here, I have outlined how to effectively use the tools the Internet provides while still maintaining the creativity that writing deserves. However, this is something that is constantly changing and adapting. We, as writers, must always be aware of this. Writing will always survive as long as there are those who still love it for the art form that it is. Instead of rejecting new forms of composition, we must continue to adapt and survive, creating a new world of writing, not destroyed, but enhanced by technology.

Resources

Benbasat, Izak, and Kai H. Lim. "The Influence of Multimedia on Improving the Comprehension of    Organizational Information." Journal of Management Information Systems. 19.01 (2002): 99-127. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.

Briggs, Timothy J. Writing a Professional Life on Facebook. 2013. Video. KairosWeb. 8 Apr 2013.

Hocks, Mary E. "Understanding Visual Rhetoric in Digital Writing Environments." National Council of Teachers of English. 54.04 (2003): 629-656. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.

Pohl, Margit, and Peter Purgathofer. "Hypertext Writing Profiles and Visualisation." Springer. 38.01 (2004): 83-105. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.

Simpson, Mark S. "Neurophysiological Considerations Related to Interactive Multimedia." Springer. 42.01 (1994): 75-81. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.

Slawson, Brian. "Interactive Multimedia: The Gestalt of a Gigabyte." Art Education. 46.06 (1993): 15-22. Web.

Tzu, Sun. "Sun Tzu On The Art Of War The Oldest Military Treatise In The World." China Page. N.p.. Web. 8 Apr 2013.

Westbrook, Steve. "Visual Rhetoric in a Culture of Fear: Impediments to Multimedia Production." College English. 65.05 (2006): 457-480. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.