The final project in my WRD 110 class is a photo essay in which students apply what they have learned about rhetoric, analysis, storytelling, and multimedia to create an exploration of a chosen topic that combines language and images. To prepare them to choose, take, and incorporate photographs, students read “Visual Rhetoric and Design” in The Town Branch as well as a few sample photo essays. We then spend several class periods discussing visual design in those samples, identifying and analyzing elements of visual design in well-known photographs, and taking original photos that demonstrate principles of visual design.
The lesson attached below occurs in the last third of the semester, after students have read “Visual Rhetoric and Design” and practiced visual and multimodal rhetoric in class. This lesson was successful because it allowed students to work in groups before encouraging their participation in class discussion. They had time and space to guess and to fail. Moreover, they enjoyed getting practical experience in setting up and taking photographs in order to prepare them for their photo essay. They didn’t mind the opportunity to get up and roam around the building, either. This was one of my favorite and most successful lessons of the semester because it addressed a number of learning goals while giving students creative freedom. Click the link below or the “download” button to view this lesson.
