Length: At least 300 words
Genre: Short essay
For more information about the Weekly Writing assignments, see the Weekly Writing Overview page.
Chapter 6.2: Understanding Visual Rhetoric
First, write a short paragraph responding to the following prompt:
Based on the reading, how does visual design affect how we read texts and engage with genres? Be specific, and support your answer with examples from the reading.
Then complete the following:
Choose one visual design element discussed in the reading (e.g., line, shape, color, etc.).
Find a specific communication event from your community that uses this visual element. (See the reminder section below for a definition of “communication event.”)
In your response, explain how this one visual element functions in the example you chose.
For example: How is this visual impacted used? How does it impact the post?
Somewhere in your writing, clearly identify your community. For example: “This meme is from my discourse community, BookTok...”
If the post is from a public platform, include a link at the end of your essay. If it comes from a private space, attach a screenshot of the full post, making sure to blur out any names or personal information.
Reminder: For a definition of a “communication event,” see the section below.
Note: I updated the organization of these instructions on 6/11/25.
For our class, a communication event is a piece of writing, image, or video that is posted in your community. A communication event could be any of the following:
A written post
A written comment or series of comments
A video post, including the caption (if any)
An image post, including the caption
A series of Discord or chat messages
A reply on a forum
And so on...
For this assignment, if the communication events in your community are all text-only (i.e. written posts that don't include images or video), you can describe something about the website the community is on instead. For example, you could describe the banner that a Facebook group uses, or the color choices of a subreddit, etc.
✓+ (2/2)
All requirements for the assignment are met, including word count minimums, prompts, and clearly referencing the reading (when applicable).
✓- (1/2)
One of the above criteria is not met.
NC (no credit) (0/2)
Two or more of the above criteria are not met.
Please check the Canvas grade book at least once a week for feedback on your Weekly Writing assignments. I will leave writing feedback and suggestions on your weekly assignments (when applicable).