ABSTRACT
The internet era has changed radically the literacy repertoire used to communicate and represent the world. This phenomenon has likewise extended into schools and universities, where the use of multimodal texts as objects of analysis and means of representation is steadily gaining ground. In the Philippines, although teachers use multimodal texts as resources for teaching and learning, assessment of students’ multimodal designs grounded on the principles of multimodality has not been extensively practised or studied. This chapter responds to the increasing call for literacy experts to develop a metalanguage for teaching and assessing multimodal compositions. The chapter proposes an assessment tool for teachers to evaluate students’ digital compositions. After distinguishing between cohesion and tension in multimodal texts drawing on various theoretical perspectives, the chapter presents an assessment tool used to evaluate the presence and appropriate use of the elements of cohesion and tension in digital compositions produced by tertiary students enrolled in two English for Academic Purposes classes in a university in the Philippines. Based on the findings of the analysis, implications for teaching and assessing multimodal compositions in tertiary settings are discussed.
