Dear Abby,

Im a Composition instructor and recently Ive been struggling with something: How do I
define writing in the 21st century? Theres so many ways to compose now, like video essays,
slideshows, blogs, but are they real writing? Tell me how I should classify them?
Signed,
Confused Composer in Charlotte
Well dear reader, youve waded into quite the debate. Im going to disappoint you
though, and say right off the bat, I cant definitively answer your question. I can give you some
background on the debate raging around this subject, which will hopefully help you make your
own decision about how to classify multimodal composition, just as all of us interested in
Composition must and have. And make no mistake, all the non-textual forms of communication
you brought up, they fall under the heading of multimodality.
So, the first thing to remember dear reader, is that multimodal composition is actually
older than computers, which is a common misconception that I see it coming through in the
examples you gave. You shouldnt beat yourself up about that though, because Ive seen it in
many people that Ive surveyed about this same question. The truth is that multimodal projects,
like photo collages, have been a part of Composition for decades (Shipka 4-5). The Happening
movement of the 1960s is great example if youre interested (Shipka 4-5). Knowing that might
help you sort out how you feel about calling multimodal composition writing, since a lot the
resistance Ive seen from previous readers is that were moving away from something weve
always done (black words, white page), simply for the new technology made available by
computers.
The second thing you should try to remember dear reader, is that you, and I and everyone
else in the Western world at least, are using multimodal communication on a daily basis already,
outside the classroom. Every time we send an emoji, or a video message, or design a flyer for a
group event or for work, or, or, or. You get the picture, right? This is really important for two
reasons, and both should help you with the difficult decision youre struggling with right now.
The first is that our clear comfort with multimodal composition shows that, in terms of
communicative power, its already on par with traditional textual communication. The second
takes us back to the classroom, and there the main takeaway is that what is taught in the
classroom should reflect and prepare students for the world outside it. Many Composition
scholars stress this point, because they want to avoid the profession becoming increasingly
irrelevant to students, parents, and the public in this rapidly-evolving century (Selfe and Selfe
85).
So, if were approaching your question from this perspective, then its much easier to say,
unequivocally, yes, multimodal composition is real writing, but of course, theres always two
sides to every story. So, keep that in mind, and keep an open mind, and then hopefully this all
can help you decide how to classify non-textual modes of communication in the future. Best of
luck Confused Composer in Charlotte!

Works Cited
Selfe, Richard J. and Cynthia L. Selfe. Convince me! Valuing Multimodal Literacies and
Composing Public Service Announcements. Theory into Practice 47 (2008): 83-92.
Web. 2 Apr. 2016.
Shipka, Jody, and Muse Project. Toward A Composition Made Whole. Pittsburgh, Pa: University
of Pittsburgh Press, 2011. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 2 Apr. 2016.