This article explores the pedagogical implications of translingualism by offering writing theory cartoon as a pedagogical tool to support basic writers' development of translingual dispositions. In a curriculum that challenges the supremacy of standard English over other languages and modalities, this assignment supports basic, multilingual writers' representation of and inquiry into their own language practices. Drawing on analysis of interviews, student-generated writing theory cartoons, and written reflections, I discuss how such a pedagogical approach shifts our attention away from textual evidence of translanguaging to surfacing basic writers' struggles and triumphs in negotiating linguistic, rhetorical and cultural differences, thereby complicating our understanding of translingualism.