Cracking an Academic Code: Rhetorical Strategies for Composition is a worktext designed for composition students to apply rhetorical theory in their writing.The exercises interconnect rhetorical skill work for students to practice "thinking on paper" in style, language, and conventions.

Laura Wilder fills a gap in the scholarship on writing in the disciplines and writing across the curriculum with this thorough study of the intersections between scholarly literary criticism and undergraduate writing in introductory literature courses. Rhetorical Strategies and Genre Conventions in Literary Studies is the first examination of rhetorical practice in the research and teaching of literary study and a detailed assessment of the ethics and efficacy of explicit instruction in the rhetorical strategies and genre conventions of the discipline. Using rhetorical analysis, ethnographic observation, and individual interviews, Wilder demonstrates how rhetorical conventions play a central, although largely tacit, role in the teaching of literature and the evaluation of student writing. Wilder follows a group of literature majors and details their experiences. Some students received experimental, explicit instruction in the special topoi, while others received more traditional, implicit instruction. Arguing explicit instruction in disciplinary conventions has the potential to help underprepared students, Wilder explores how this kind of instruction may be incorporated into literature courses without being overly reductive. Taking into consideration student perspectives, Wilder makes a bold case for expanding the focus of research in writing in the disciplines and writing across the curriculum in order to grasp the full complexity of disciplinary discourse.

"Help students shine on the written portion of any standardized test by teaching the skills they need to craft powerful, compelling arguments using rhetorical devices. Students will learn to accurately identify and evaluate the effectiveness of rhetorical devices in not only famous speeches, advertisements, political campaigns, and literature, but also in the blog, newspaper, and magazine entries they read in their daily lives. Students will then improve their own writing strategy, style, and organization by correctly and skillfully using the devices they have learned. Each device is illustrated with clear, real-life examples to promote proper usage and followed up with meaningful exercises to maximize understanding. Pointers are provided throughout this book to help your students develop a unique writing style, and cumulative exercises will help students retain what they have learned."--

An advanced composition book and true rhetoric, places the process of writing in its social context. Rather than promoting a particular method, form, or style, it teaches the entire range of stylistic options available to writers, explaining the advantages and drawbacks of various styles. The book enables writers to make informed decisions about presenting ideas in discourse, and incorporates the best of contemporary research into the wider rhetorical tradition. Principles from classical and philosophical rhetoric as well as literary criticism are incorporated fully, and a complete understanding of stylistic values is fostered.

Rhetorical Strategies is a worktext for composition students to apply rhetorical theory in their writing. The exercises interconnect rhetorical skill work for students to practice “thinking on paper” in style (rhetorical figures, emphasis, arrangement); language (audience appropriate, diction, syntax); and conventions (MLA style, format, source handling). Content includes: Aristotle’s Six Parts of an Argument, Rhetorical Situations, Appeals and Fallacies, Thesis Statements, Topic Sentences, Voice, Stylistics, Revision, Documenting Sources, Grammar/Punctuation/Usage, and Visual Arguments. All skills are reflected in a sample student research paper. Content is relevant for AP Composition and Language courses as well as college composition and seminar courses with an emphasis on rhetorical principles.

Eminent scholars discuss the politics and practices of generating scholarship in rhetoric and composition studies. Publishing in Rhetoric and Composition is a collection of essays about the politics and practices of generating scholarship in rhetoric and composition. The contributors to this book, many of whom are current or past editors of the discipline's most prestigious scholarly journals, undoubtedly have their finger on the pulse of composition's most current scholarship and offer invaluable insight into the production and publication of original research. They discuss publishing articles and reviews, as well as book-length projects, including scholarly monographs, edited collections, and textbooks. They also address such topics as how composition research is valued in English departments, recent developments in electronic publishing, the work habits of successful academic writers, and the complications of mentoring graduate students in a publish-or-perish profession. An inviting and helpful tone makes this an ideal textbook for research methodology and professional writing courses.