Composing beyond college

College isn’t the only place where you might have to analyze and produce multimodal texts. You may, for example, encounter public service ads like this one, which combines words and an image to prompt viewers to think about making an emergency plan for themselves and their families. Or you may be part of a community group hosting a fundraising event, for which you’ll have to create eye-catching, compelling flyers to attract both sponsors and participants.

A multimodal public service ad

Knowing how to produce multimodal texts will be an asset as you start to look for a job. In a 2009 document called “Workplace Writing Skills,” educator Christine Polk pointed out that although businesses and organizations rely on efficient and effective communication to profit and thrive, many people struggle to write effectively in the workplace. Job ads—seeking everything from engineering architects to park rangers to grocery store managers—often emphasize the ways in which companies and organizations value candidates who can effectively communicate in multimodal ways. Job candidates today may be expected to produce any of the following:

Analyzing and composing multimodal texts in college can give you the practice you need to communicate effectively in civic, personal, or professional situations in the future.

Related topics:

Writing in the disciplines

What does it mean to “read” a text?

What is multimodal composing?

Composing hasn’t changed

Composing has changed

Composing in college

A toolkit for analyzing and composing multimodal texts