Directly engaging students with rhetorical reading and writing can increase self-awareness about writing, improve reading abilities and confidence, and raise awareness of research writing as conversation. In this article, the authors describe several assignments and activities that engage students with the rhetorical situation toward the aim of improving disciplinary literacy. When instructors include the structured, deliberate asking of rhetorical reading/writing questions with their students, include rhetorical analysis essays as part of their core writing assignments, and utilize workshops that emphasize students reading like a writer, the rhetorical situation becomes part of the context of the educational experience.