Multimodal essays, by definition, rely on sources such as images, animations, video clips, audio clips, and data files. Like academic essays, they also draw on information, ideas, and arguments from written sources and field research. As you work on your multimodal essay, your first concern should be identifying sources that can be used to support your main point and illustrate the positions and approaches taken by other writers. Then consider how you can use nontextual sources to bring your essay to life. Each of these concerns will shape your decisions about three key issues: choosing among media sources, deciding how to place and stage media sources, and determining whether you should embed a source or link to it.