Introduction

 

First-year composition (FYC) is still in the midst of the “multimodal turn” as pedagogies of alphabetic-only assignments slowly morph into pedagogies that include multimodal assignments. Despite a number of compelling arguments calling for the inclusion of multimodal composing (New London Group, 1996; Shipka, 2005; Takayoshi and Selfe, 2007; Yancey, 2004), many writing instructors are concerned about losing valuable classroom time for teaching alphabetic composing, or they are unsure of how to create an approach that's inclusive of both alphabetic and multimodal composing. In this webtext, I address these concerns by offering a pedagogical approach for integrating video arguments into FYC as part of a sequence of assignments. In my second-semester, research-focused composition courses, I ask my students to remediate their 8-10 page academic arguments into 5-7 minute video arguments aimed at self-selected target audiences they want to reach through their YouTube channels. This approach enables me to facilitate learning about multimodal composing and rhetorical principles while equipping my students with skills and knowledge for enacting 21st century digital literacy practices.