Import or Link to Media Sources

Multimodal essays can include complete files downloaded from media sources, as would be the case if you placed a photograph in your essay, or they can link to media sources, as you might do if you wanted your readers to play a YouTube video. When you import a file into your essay, the file is literally saved within your essay. In contrast, when you link to a file, as you might do if you used the “embed code” that YouTube provides for its videos, the link sends your readers to a source on a Web site or some other sort of network location.

Your decisions about importing a file versus linking to it will depend on factors such as design, the length of time you want your essay to be available, concerns about file size, the software you will use to create your essay, and copyright restrictions.