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Northern Michigan University

Teaching Video Composition and Digital Rhetoric in the YouTube Era: Analysis and Research of Academic Video Essays in the College Composition Classroom

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<p>As video-based communication has gained popularity across sites like YouTube, it is essential to represent this type of rhetorical communication within the college composition classroom. Using video and filmmaking to communicate information in the classroom is not new, as academics have explored such media as aids to writing since the 1970s, following the popularity of news broadcasting in the 1950s. In the 21st Century, teaching students video composition and digital rhetoric in an era where a platform such as YouTube has made it easier to share information to a large audience. The freshman college composition classroom should provide the tools necessary to succeed in the increasingly multimodal world by encouraging students to write in various formats. This thesis analyzes the importance of digital rhetoric and new media, especially in oratory terms, the pedagogical approach, and the academic standpoint of composing video with a study titled “Multimodal Video within the College Composition II Classroom,” and finally, addressing the concerns and ethics of creating in a digital space through copyright, fair use, and preventing the loss of media. It is integral that as teachers, we can teach students how to understand the rhetorical values that video can provide, and hopefully, with teaching students how to use software and rhetorical devices, they will be able to think critically and transfer those skills to future software and evolutions in technology and communication.</p>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Arts
Level thesis:degree_level
Thesis
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
English
Year dc:date.available
2025

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Ollila, Carmen
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Ben Wetherbee

Subjects

dc:subject × 10

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/874
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:commons.nmu.edu:theses-1938

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Northern Michigan University
Base URL
commons.nmu.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Ollila, Carmen. Teaching Video Composition and Digital Rhetoric in the YouTube Era: Analysis and Research of Academic Video Essays in the College Composition Classroom. Thesis thesis, 2025. https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/874