Multi-Modal Process Reflection

Writing a sample for the Multi-Modal assignment truly went well for me. It certainly confirmed some of the hypotheses in my Rationale. Even though I have created a few non-MLA documents this semester, I think this particular one significantly increased my functional, critical, and rhetorical literacy.

For one thing, I learned more about how Publisher works and the tasks involved in creating a visually effective document out of a block of text. I tried to follow my own instructions, just experimenting with various aspects, like page size and font. I felt that, with computer lab time and a little help from me, my students would have little difficulty creating their own interesting documents with Publisher. It did take me a while to print my document correctly, so I may need to help my students with those kinds of issues.

On the whole, I found it interesting to try to design my document in such a way that it was more interesting and more persuasive for my readers. It made me feel like I want to make all of my future papers more visually effective, but I do not know if other professors will think differing from the standard is acceptable. But even I, who am very strict and detail-oriented about MLA and other kinds of format, can see the benefits of letting (encouraging!) students to look beyond the abstract content of their texts. Honestly, I think my students might do a little better job because I am normally not very creative. I like that this assignment leaves room for many different ideas and approaches to designing their rhetorical documents.