Channels, Fall 2016

Channels • 2016 • Volume 1 • Number 1 Page 67 Conclusion Visual literacy is extremely important but, oftentimes, left on the back burner when it comes to education. With common pitfalls like teaching design tools over critical thinking, instructors sometimes neglect teaching their students to be visually literate professional writers. The result is students who can make a beautiful product but cannot produce a con- vincing argument (or students who do not even understand that an image IS part of their argument). Professional writing programs should include a course on visual rhetoric within their re- quirements. The visual is important, and an emphasis on images in this visual age is only growing. Universities should seek to produce visually literate professionals who know how to use images responsibly and well. This emphasis on the visual will lead to common vocab- ulary and ideas used to discuss the aspects of visual literacy thus enhancing the conversa- tion and students’ understanding of the concept. The field of visual rhetoric is a constantly changing discipline. To be visually literate means to keep up with the current trends and ideas concerning visuals and to critically evaluate their effectiveness and meaning. By do- ing this and enabling others to do so, students are empowered to use the visual to the high- est degree of effectiveness and persuasiveness. Recommendations First, in order for universities to make an effective decision about including a visual rheto- ric course in their professional writing program, they need to understand what is currently taught in the present classes. They need research that shows what areas of visual rhetoric are already included in the present classes and what areas are lacking. Based on the areas that are lacking, universities can conclude what topics they should cover in a standard vis- ual rhetoric course. Second, I recommend that scholars research and rate potential topics for a visual rhetoric course. Instructors need to know what is most important for them to teach. Digging a little deeper into this subject, research on the best way to teach the important topics to students would help instructors do their jobs more effectively. Third, we need further research concerning the long-term upkeep of a visual rhetoric course in a world of constantly changing ideas and trends with the visual. Researchers should discover how much instructors should focus on the visual in history versus the vis- ual in the present.