This article needs attention from an expert in Media. The specific problem is: difficult to read for those not already familiar with the subject.WikiProject Media may be able to help recruit an expert.(May 2013)
Example of multimodality: A televised weather forecast (medium) involves understanding spoken language, written language, weather specific language (such as temperature scales), geography, and symbols (clouds, sun, rain, etc.).
Multimodality is the application of multiple literacies within one medium. Multiple literacies or "modes" contribute to an audience's understanding of a composition.[1] Everything from the placement of images to the organization of the content to the method of delivery creates meaning. This is the result of a shift from isolated text being relied on as the primary source of communication, to the image being utilized more frequently in the digital age.[2] Multimodality describes communication practices in terms of the textual, aural, linguistic, spatial, and visual resources used to compose messages.[3]
While all communication, literacy, and composing practices are and always have been multimodal,[4] academic and scientific attention to the phenomenon only started gaining momentum in the 1960s. Work by Roland Barthes and others has led to a broad range of disciplinarily distinct approaches. More recently, rhetoric and composition instructors have included multimodality in their coursework. In their position statement on Understanding and Teaching Writing: Guiding Principles, the National Council of Teachers of English state that "'writing' ranges broadly from written language (such as that used in this statement), to graphics, to mathematical notation."[5]
