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Create Navigation Tools

Although they are linear documents, multimodal essays often include navigation tools that allow readers to move quickly from one part of the document to another. In this sense, they share a number of similarities with Web sites. As you create your essay, consider including the following types of navigation tools.

Next and Previous buttons or links allow readers to move from one part of an essay to another.
Internal links help readers move from one page to a related page.
External links help readers open related documents.
Tables of contents allow readers of longer multimodal essays to move directly to a particular part of the essay.
Essay maps help readers visualize the essay as a set of concepts, sections, or pages. You can click on part of the map to navigate to a particular point within the essay.
Menus can appear on each page, listing major sections within the essay.
Headers and footers provide information about the document, helping readers recognize which part of the essay they are reading and providing access to links to, for example, a works cited list and an “About This Essay” page.