Rhetoric and Composition Commons^™

Writing For The Social Sciences, Maria L. Plochocki

Open Educational Resources

The attached syllabus was used in the course, ENGL 21002 - R: Writing for the Social Sciences. It serves as a schedule and guide to the course, covering reading assignments, deadlines, course policies, and other essential information.

Metacognition? Never Heard Of Her, Brigid A. Cavins

WRIT: Journal of First-Year Writing

No abstract provided.

Portrait Of The L2 Writer As A Writing Center Visitor, Vicki Kennell, Molly Rentscher

Purdue Writing Lab/Purdue OWL Presentations

This presentation shares results of IRB-approved, cross-institutional survey research studying the role of writing centers in L2 writers' development as writers. Data showed that writers share some similarities across institutions (such as in their understanding of tutor and writer roles), but they also differ (such as in the number of appointments made in one year). Results are discussed in the context of helping writing centers use data like this to think about how they work with L2 writers and how assumptions can contribute to tutoring difficulties.

Final Ma Portfolio, Muhammed Saadiq

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

In this MA Portfolio, the author showcases four of his most substantial works that were created throughout the pursuit of his MA in Writing and Rhetoric. He was able to blend his previous specializations with the current ones; specifically English as a Second Language (ESL) and English education with writing and rhetoric. To briefly highlight the works: research and analysis was conducted on the usage of English in the technical communication field in China, Muslims in a post-9/11 atmosphere in mass media, ESL and Generation 1.5 writing students in secondary and post secondary classrooms, and a teacher’s manual was created …

The Logical Fallacies In Political Discourse, Zilin Cidre Zhou

Summer Research Program

I examined the use of logical fallacies in political discourse. Logical fallacies are fraudulent tricks people use in their argument to make it sound more credible while what they really do is to fool the audience. Out of more than 300 kinds of fallacies, I focused on 18 common ones by analyzing their use in debates about political issues. During conducting my research, I noted that being aware of my mental state is very important if I want to accurately detect the fallacies. Furthermore, while watching two sides debating, being impartial is as significant as staying calm. I also need …

Uncertain Certainties: An Analysis Of The American Response To The 2014-2016 West African Ebola Epidemic., Kelly Carty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project examines the construction of scientific facts surrounding the 2014-2016 West African Ebola outbreak as well as the subsequent uptake and transformation of those facts by the United States government. While the Ebolavirus ravaged the communities of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea, the incidence of the virus in other countries was very low. Nonetheless, the United States spent $576 million on domestic preparedness and response. This study addresses this mismatch in the context of the reinvigorated interest among rhetoricians into writing and science. Applying and expanding the methodology of Jeanne Fahnestock, this study analyzes Ebola-related statements in scientific articles, …

Unraveling Identity Signifier Literacy: A Case Study Of First-Year Composition Students' Communication Practices, Bailey Mcalister

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

Identity signifier literacy is defined as one’s ability to accurately read – via personal interactions or via visual, verbal, written, or digital communication – the signifiers others display in direct and indirect ways and interpret these signifiers to gain understanding of others’ identities. In this study, 22 first-year composition students were surveyed about their communication practices in order to see how their identity signifier literacies influence and are influenced by digital environments and composition. These results are meant to improve first-year composition pedagogy by making connections between students’ informal composition practices and their academic composition courses.

Sustainable Stewardship: A Collaborative Model For Engaged Oral History Pedagogy, Community Partnership, And Archival Growth, Janice W. Fernheimer, Douglas A. Boyd, Beth L. Goldstein, Sarah Dorpinghaus

Library Faculty and Staff Publications

Our University of Kentucky team of professors, archivists, and oral historians have collaborated since 2013 to develop pedagogy that enables students to encounter and engage oral history, archival materials, and local community in meaningful ways. Through the impetus of the Jewish Kentucky Oral History Project and several semesters of collaboration and iterative syllabus design, we developed “sustainable stewardship” as a replicable model for course and project design to engage undergraduates in original knowledge production while simultaneously fostering archival access and growth. In this article we trace the evolving pedagogical conversations inspired by the classroom introduction of OHMS (Oral History Metadata …

Somebody Has To Pay Rent: The Critical Autoethnography Of A Low Income Student, Shelbi M. Schadendorf

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Conducted through the qualitative research method of autoethnography, and presented through the lens of critical analysis, this study explores the oppressive experience as a low income student in an institute of higher education. Written as an attempt to make the struggle as a low income students more visible, the focus of this study is both an exploration into the commodification of higher education and the culture surrounding how we treat, or don’t acknowledge, low income students.

Through the presentation of the author’s experience as an autoethnography, the insight gained from first hand experience can be shared through an accessible, but …

Empoword: A Student-Centered Anthology & Handbook For College Writers, Shane Abrams

PDXOpen: Open Educational Resources

EmpoWord is a reader and rhetoric that champions the possibilities of student writing. The textbook uses actual student writing to exemplify effective writing strategies, celebrating dedicated college writing students to encourage and instruct their successors: the students in your class.

Through both creative and traditional activities, readers are encouraged to explore a variety of rhetorical situations to become more critical agents of reading, writing, speaking, and listening in all facets of their lives. Straightforward and readable instruction sections introduce key vocabulary, concepts, and strategies. Three culminating assignments (Descriptive Personal Narrative; Text-Wrestling Analysis; Persuasive Research Essay) give students a chance to …

English Composition I & Ii, Tiffani Reardon, Patrice Brown, Bridget Doss, Amelia Lewis, Laura Howard

English Grants Collections

This Grants Collection for English Composition I & II was created under a Round Nine ALG Textbook Transformation Grant.

Affordable Learning Georgia Grants Collections are intended to provide faculty with the frameworks to quickly implement or revise the same materials as a Textbook Transformation Grants team, along with the aims and lessons learned from project teams during the implementation process.

Documents are in .pdf format, with a separate .docx (Word) version available for download. Each collection contains the following materials:

• Linked Syllabus
• Initial Proposal
• Final Report

Subjectivity And Methodology In The Arch‘I’Ve, Elizabeth J. Vincelette

disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory

This article explores methodologies from the fields of library archival science, human geography, composition and rhetoric, and established editorial practices in English studies. By elaborating on the role of a researcher’s subjectivity in archival creation, this work expands the conversation regarding methodology and archives, especially how archives present us with new ways of seeing and making narratives during the editorial decision-making involved in their creation. Writing about my own experience, I privilege the researcher’s point of view with a narrative about my construction of a digital archive. With archival research, we should promote the revelation of methods and methodology to …

Constructing An Early Modern Queen: Posturing, Mimicry, And The Rhetoric Of Authority, Megan K. Mize

English Theses & Dissertations

As the illegitimate daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, a woman executed for treason, Elizabeth Tudor stood at the center of discourses that often sought to contain or even destroy her. Early on, Elizabeth understood that constant re-invention, performance, and mimicry were key strategies for survival. When she finally ascended the throne in 1558, Elizabeth continued to use these rhetorical methods to retain her autonomy, as far as possible, garnering public support and the loyalty of her court. Although Elizabeth has long been acknowledged as a historical icon and has received considerable scholarly attention, particularly from feminist and feminist-leaning …

A Literary Argument Developed With Scholarly Research For Eng102 [Composition], Robin Bromley

Open Educational Resources

This assignment was developed in the context of CTL sponsored Learning Matters Mini-grant awarded to the English Department. The primary purpose was to assist full-time and part-time faculty in the Department with revising ENG 102 course materials to align with the Inquiry and Problem Solving (IPS) Core Competency and Written ability. This goal was achieved through several workshops, a programmatic benchmark reading, and a departmental review process that prepared assignments to be submitted for the CTL Assignment Library. The assignment underwent a two-phase review process. In the first round, the grant leader, Dr. Anita Baksh, suggested feedback for revision. Then, …

Critical Research Paper: Using Literature To Explore Deindustrialization In The American Rust Belt [Composition], Jacqueline Jones

Open Educational Resources

This ENG 102 assignment was developed in the context of CTL sponsored Learning Matters Mini-grant awarded to the English Department. The primary purpose was to assist full-time and part-time faculty in the Department with revising ENG 102 course materials to align with the Inquiry and Problem Solving (IPS) Core Competency and Written Communication Ability. This goal was achieved through several workshops, a programmatic benchmark reading, and a two-phase departmental review process that prepared assignments to be submitted to the Learning Matters Assignment Library. The mini-grant has been invaluable in helping to bring both full-time and adjunct faculty into departmental conversations …

Subjectivity And Methodology In The Arch'i'Ve, Elizabeth J. Vincelette

English Faculty Publications

This article explores methodologies from the fields of library archival science, human geography, composition and rhetoric, and established editorial practices in English studies. By elaborating on the role of a researcher’s subjectivity in archival creation, this work expands the conversation regarding methodology and archives, especially how archives present us with new ways of seeing and making narratives during the editorial decision-making involved in their creation. Writing about my own experience, I privilege the researcher’s point of view with a narrative about my construction of a digital archive. With archival research, we should promote the revelation of methods and methodology to …

Trauma And The Credibility Economy: An Analysis Of Epistemic Violence And Its Traumatic Functions, Gina Stinnett

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I argue that the work done in philosophy on epistemic injustice can put pressure on the assumptions driving the work of both trauma theory and rhetorical theory. In addition to arguing how epistemic injustice can reinforce trauma, I argue that epistemic injustice has its own power to traumatize. I refer to this as “epistemic trauma,” or a trauma to one’s ability to know their experience and to make a claim based on this knowledge. Research on epistemic injustice states that when one encounters repeated epistemic injustice, they become less likely to share their experiences at all—they fall …

Applying The Instructional Beliefs Model To Training And Development Research And Practice, Nicholas T. Tatum, Seth S. Frei

Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD

In 2011, Weber, Martin, and Myers introduced an innovative instructional model to more fully understand student outcomes within the classroom: the Instructional Beliefs Model (IBM). Results from this seminal article provided support to suggest that the IBM was a better predictor of student outcomes than previous models. Since its inception, this model has guided and informed subsequent instructional research (e.g., Goodboy & Frisby, 2014; Johnson & LaBelle, 2015; LaBelle, Martin, & Weber, 2013). While clearly applicable in the university classroom, the theoretical relationships outlined by the IBM offer transferability to additional instructional contexts: namely, training and development. Notably, there is …

The Media Ecology Of Etienne Gilson: Mediation In St. Augustine’S City Of God, Brian Gilchrist

Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD

Media ecology represents a vibrant, interdisciplinary area of research that considers the relationships among human beings, language, technology, and both real and virtual environments. The following question serves as a hermeneutic entrance for this article: how might Etienne Gilson’s approach to mediation invite further discussion about the relationship between media ecology and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition (CIT)? First, Gilson’s approach to mediation is analyzed, which explores how Neo-Thomism functions as a form of media. Second, Gilson’s analysis of St. Augustine’s City of God is explicated, which evaluates how Gilson mediated this significant religious text through CIT. Third, Gilson’s mediation of …

Family Size Decreases Conversation Orientation And Increases Conformity Orientation, Jenn Anderson, Laura Dirks, Natalie Graesser, Paige Block

Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD

The family is a critical context for the development and maintenance of communication patterns and relationships. Family’s communication patterns are derived from two orientations: conversation and conformity. Family members also use relational maintenance strategies to sustain their relationships. Previous research has established the association between communication orientations and relational maintenance strategies, but has not explored how family size (i.e., number of siblings) may impact these variables. This study reports on results from an online survey of N = 784 participants. Our results indicate that number of siblings negatively predicted conversation orientation, but positively predicted conformity orientation. In addition, conversation orientation …