{{neologism, date=June 2019 A reading path is a term used by

Gunther Kress Gunther Rolf Kress MBE (26 November 1940 – 20 June 2019) was a linguist and semiotician. He is considered one of the leading theorists in critical discourse analysis, social semiotics and multimodality, particularly in relation to their educat ...

in ''Literacy in the New Media Age'' (2003). According to Kress, a professor of English Education at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, a reading path is the way that the

text Text may refer to: Written word * Text (literary theory), any object that can be read, including: **Religious text, a writing that a religious tradition considers to be sacred **Text, a verse or passage from scripture used in expository preachin ...

, or text plus other features, can determine or order the way that we read it. In a

linear Linearity is the property of a mathematical relationship (''function'') that can be graphically represented as a straight line. Linearity is closely related to '' proportionality''. Examples in physics include rectilinear motion, the linear r ...

, written text, the reader makes sense of the text according to the arrangement of the words, both grammatically and syntactically. In such a reading path, there is a sequential time to the text. In contrast, with

non-linear In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathematicians, and many other ...

text, such as the text found when

reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

a computer screen, where text is often combined with visual elements, the reading path is non-linear and non-sequential. Kress suggests that reading paths that contain visual images are more open to interpretation and the reader's construction of meaning. This is part of the "

semiotic Semiotics (also called semiotic studies) is the systematic study of sign processes ( semiosis) and meaning making. Semiosis is any activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, where a sign is defined as anything that communicates something ...

work" that we do as a reader. Kress, G. (2003). Literacy in the new media age. New York: Routledge. page 57

Linear reading path

An example of a linear reading path might be a textbook, with pictures, or paragraphs where the reader is led to assume cause-and-effect sequences, for example. Speech is also a linear path because the path is more "set".Kress, G. (2003). Literacy in the new media age. New York: Routledge. page 4 according to Kress.

Non-linear reading path

An example of a non-linear reading path might be a text that has images alongside it. Kress argues that this different mode yields a different

affordance Affordance is what the environment offers the individual. American psychologist James J. Gibson coined the term in his 1966 book, ''The Senses Considered as Perceptual Systems'', and it occurs in many of his earlier essays. However, his best-know ...

; the visual image allows for open interpretation. A concrete example on paper might be a diagram such as a

flow chart A flowchart is a type of diagram that represents a workflow or process. A flowchart can also be defined as a diagrammatic representation of an algorithm, a step-by-step approach to solving a task. The flowchart shows the steps as boxes of va ...

or graphic organizers. In such multi-modal texts, the reading path is much less linear and more open to the reader's interpretation. The idea that reading paths differ according to evolving, emerging, multi-modal texts, are part of the New literacy studies,

visual rhetoric Visual rhetoric is the art of effective communication through visual elements such as images, typography, and texts. Visual rhetoric encompasses the skill of visual literacy and the ability to analyze images for their form and meaning. Drawing on ...

, and the concept of multiliteracies.

References

* Kress, G. (2003). Literacy in the new media age. New York: Routledge.

External links

Reading Images, Multimodality, Representation, and New MediaMultiliteracies for online learningScanning the Front Pages
Human–computer interaction