Identity signifier literacy is defined as one’s ability to accurately read – via personal interactions or via visual, verbal, written, or digital communication – the signifiers others display in direct and indirect ways and interpret these signifiers to gain understanding of others’ identities. In this study, 22 first-year composition students were surveyed about their communication practices in order to see how their identity signifier literacies influence and are influenced by digital environments and composition. These results are meant to improve first-year composition pedagogy by making connections between students’ informal composition practices and their academic composition courses.
","abstract_html":"<p>Identity signifier literacy is defined as one’s ability to accurately read – via personal interactions or via visual, verbal, written, or digital communication – the signifiers others display in direct and indirect ways and interpret these signifiers to gain understanding of others’ identities. In this study, 22 first-year composition students were surveyed about their communication practices in order to see how their identity signifier literacies influence and are influenced by digital environments and composition. These results are meant to improve first-year composition pedagogy by making connections between students’ informal composition practices and their academic composition courses.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["McAlister, Bailey"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts in Professional Writing (MAPW)","degree_level":"Capstone","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Jeanne Bohannon","Todd Harper"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-07-26T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2018-07-26T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:43:26Z","subjects":["identity signifier literacy","composition","rhetoric","first-year composition","pedagogy","Communication","Higher Education","Linguistics","Rhetoric and Composition"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/mapw_etd/42","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Jeanne Bohannon","Todd Harper"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["McAlister, Bailey"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-07-26T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Capstone"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts in Professional Writing (MAPW)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["identity signifier literacy","composition","rhetoric","first-year composition","pedagogy","Communication","Higher Education","Linguistics","Rhetoric and Composition"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/mapw_etd/42"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Identity signifier literacy is defined as one’s ability to accurately read – via personal interactions or via visual, verbal, written, or digital communication – the signifiers others display in direct and indirect ways and interpret these signifiers to gain understanding of others’ identities. In this study, 22 first-year composition students were surveyed about their communication practices in order to see how their identity signifier literacies influence and are influenced by digital environments and composition. These results are meant to improve first-year composition pedagogy by making connections between students’ informal composition practices and their academic composition courses.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Unraveling Identity Signifier Literacy: A Case Study of First-Year Composition Students' Communication Practices"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Jeanne Bohannon","Todd Harper"],"dc:creator":["McAlister, Bailey"],"dc:date.available":["2023-07-26T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Identity signifier literacy is defined as one’s ability to accurately read – via personal interactions or via visual, verbal, written, or digital communication – the signifiers others display in direct and indirect ways and interpret these signifiers to gain understanding of others’ identities. In this study, 22 first-year composition students were surveyed about their communication practices in order to see how their identity signifier literacies influence and are influenced by digital environments and composition. These results are meant to improve first-year composition pedagogy by making connections between students’ informal composition practices and their academic composition courses.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/mapw_etd/42"],"dc:subject":["identity signifier literacy","composition","rhetoric","first-year composition","pedagogy","Communication","Higher Education","Linguistics","Rhetoric and Composition"],"dc:title":["Unraveling Identity Signifier Literacy: A Case Study of First-Year Composition Students' Communication Practices"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Capstone"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts in Professional Writing (MAPW)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:43:26Z"}