Editing multimodal compositions

Editing words

• Have you chosen the clearest, most appropriate words for your purpose and audience?
• Are your sentences and paragraphs in logical order?
• Have you included transitions between sentences and paragraphs to improve the flow of your ideas?
• Could your ideas be expressed in more concise language?
• Do grammar or spelling errors distract from your message?

Editing sounds

• Is the volume appropriate? Do any sounds drown out other elements?
• Is the pace of the narration right? Not too slow or too fast?
• Do you need more sound or more silence?
• Is your sound synched properly to any static or moving images that go with it?

Editing static images

• Have you chosen the clearest, most appropriate images for your purpose and audience?
• Do you need more visual evidence? Do you have the right kind of visuals? Would a graph, for example, be better than a photograph for your composition?
• Have you used captions as needed for the images? Some visuals can’t speak for themselves.
• Are the images you’ve chosen presented at an appropriate size?

Editing moving images

• If you’re using video clips, is the length appropriate?
• Is the purpose of the moving images clear in your composition?
• Are the moving images emphasizing the right content?

Editing for consistency and clarity

• If you’ve made changes in one mode (edited words in the narration, for instance), do you need to make changes in another (edit words that appear on-screen)?
• If you’ve produced slides, do they have a consistent design?
• Are you using colors, font sizes, and headings purposefully and consistently?
• If you have navigation elements in your project, is it clear to your users/viewers how to get from one place to another?

Crediting and citing

• Have you cited the works you’re quoting from, paraphrasing, or summarizing?
• Have you credited the artists whose music you’ve used?
• Have you credited the creators or photographers of the images you’ve used?
• Have you credited the creators or composers of the video clips you’ve used?