Table of Contents

AI, Ethics & Human Agency

Citation

Collaboration

Genre

Information Literacy

Mindset

Research

Rhetoric

Style

Writing Process

Writing Commons > Design – The Visual Language That Shapes Our World > Elements of Art – How to Leverage the Power of Art to Make Visually Compelling Documents > Shape

Shape

Shape is a design element that can be used in texts/compositions for rhetorical purposes.

pic of Cancer-Detecting Nanoparticles
Cancer-Detecting Nanoparticles

What is Shape?

Shape, from the perspective of Writing Studies, is

Related Concepts: Data Visualization; Gestalt, Gestalt Theory; Semiotics; Space; Visual Language

Shape is the structure of content.

As humans, we draw on our remarkable pattern-recognition competencies to interpret signs.

In a blink, somehow, we capture the whole, the gestalt. And to capture the whole, to understand a message or to compose a reader-based text, we use shapes:

  • the shape of letter in alphabets
  • the shape of a line and its direction
  • the shape of the anthropocene
  • the shape of the planet, the universe

Read More:

Brevity - Say More with Less
Brevity - Say More with Less
Clarity (in Speech and Writing)
Clarity (in Speech and Writing)
Coherence - How to Achieve Coherence in Writing
Coherence - How to Achieve Coherence in Writing
Diction
Diction
Flow - How to Create Flow in Writing
Flow - How to Create Flow in Writing
Inclusivity - Inclusive Language
Inclusivity - Inclusive Language
Simplicity
Simplicity
The Elements of Style - The DNA of Powerful Writing
The Elements of Style - The DNA of Powerful Writing
Unity
Unity

Other Topics:

Citation - Definition - Introduction to Citation in Academic & Professional Writing

Citation - Definition - Introduction to Citation in Academic & Professional Writing

Explore the different ways to cite sources in academic and professional writing, including in-text (Parenthetical), numerical, and note citations.

Collaboration - What is the Role of Collaboration in Academic & Professional Writing?

Collaboration - What is the Role of Collaboration in Academic & Professional Writing?

Collaboration refers to the act of working with others or AI to solve problems, coauthor texts, and develop products and services. Collaboration is a highly prized workplace competency in academic...

Genre

Genre

Genre may reference a type of writing, art, or musical composition; socially-agreed upon expectations about how writers and speakers should respond to particular rhetorical situations; the cultural values; the epistemological assumptions...

Grammar

Grammar

Grammar refers to the rules that inform how people and discourse communities use language (e.g., written or spoken English, body language, or visual language) to communicate. Learn about the rhetorical...

Information Literacy - Discerning Quality Information from Noise

Information Literacy - Discerning Quality Information from Noise

Information Literacy refers to the competencies associated with locating, evaluating, using, and archiving information. In order to thrive, much less survive in a global information economy — an economy where information functions as a...

Mindset

Mindset

Mindset refers to a person or community’s way of feeling, thinking, and acting about a topic. The mindsets you hold, consciously or subconsciously, shape how you feel, think, and act–and...

Rhetoric: Exploring Its Definition and Impact on Modern Communication

Rhetoric: Exploring Its Definition and Impact on Modern Communication

Learn about rhetoric and rhetorical practices (e.g., rhetorical analysis, rhetorical reasoning,  rhetorical situation, and rhetorical stance) so that you can strategically manage how you compose and subsequently produce a text...

Style

Style

Style, most simply, refers to how you say something as opposed to what you say. The style of your writing matters because audiences are unlikely to read your work or...

The Writing Process - Research on Composing

The Writing Process - Research on Composing

The writing process refers to everything you do in order to complete a writing project. Over the last six decades, researchers have studied and theorized about how writers go about...

Writing Studies

Writing Studies

Writing studies refers to an interdisciplinary community of scholars and researchers who study writing. Writing studies also refers to an academic, interdisciplinary discipline – a subject of study. Students in...