This digital media analysis is itself a hybrid between linear and non-linear forms. Although it is presented with suggested hierarchy on the index page (noted by the arrangement of nodes from top to bottom), it could be read in whatever order the reader desires. While this is technically true of a print-based essay or journal article (a reader could read pages out of sequence), it it less likely as the print genre is highly formalized and “demands” that the reader start with page one, move to page two, and continue in numerical order to the final page.

I call this project a hybrid form because it uses linear strategies to connect lexia (links at the bottom of each page suggest a linear progression through an argument as denoted by their left-to-right placement) while also employing links within the lexia itself that may jump between argumentative nodes. Following these links allows the reader not only to follow an alternate path but also enhances her/his ability to see connections between arguments in various nodes. In terms of navigation, a reader may always return to the index page using the “home” link at the bottom of each page.

By explicitly describing these link structures, it is my aim to make this argument more useful to readers regardless of academic rhetorical culture or previous experience with new media compositions.

Introduction • A developing genre & a reluctant culture • Works cited • Home