This piece continues the work of scholars in the field who look to uncover the ideological and textual practices of our dependence on the construct of "race" through racialized metaphors. Analyzing the rhetoric of race in "College Composition and Communication" and "College English" since 1990, I assert that our categorization of what "race" is…

Argues that the principles of stasis and kairos belie the reputation of classical rhetoric as obsessively individualistic and that they point toward a social constructionist foundation for classical rhetoric. These principles are strikingly similar; both act as controlling principles of rhetoric and determine both the generation and aim of…

Discusses writing of United States Navy personnel to support the wide usefulness of the rhetorical concept of ethos. Shows how the concept is applied within a variety of naval contexts, from naval personnel evaluations to ship-repair reports. Discusses the Tailhook episode to show how lack of understanding of ethos can have adverse effects on the…

Addresses the argument that private writing is not really private. Explores the role of empirical evidence. Offers arguments that acknowledge private writing as different from public or social writing. Discusses methods of researching private writing. (CR)

Responds to an article by Ellen Barton against negative argumentation in a prior issue of this journal. Examines how the debate on empirical versus non-empirical research is a product of different, but not mutually exclusive, historical narratives of research in and around composition. Includes a reply from Barton. (SR)

Argues against the use of negative arguments about methodological approaches in the field of composition. Suggests negative argumentation exacerbates the tension concerning the place and value of empirical studies in research; it potentially limits the field's ability to ask certain kinds of research questions; and it risks impoverishing the…

While "internationalization" has become a buzzword in composition scholarship and teaching, our discourses tend toward fuzzy uses and understandings of the term and its multiple implications. We tend to focus on how our U.S. experience is being internationalized: how English and its teaching are spreading; how other countries, different…

This paper discusses self-reference in the text, in order to examine its rhetorical intentions, and the writing strategies it offers an author. Following a brief introduction, the first section deals with definitions, and classifies self-reference "markers." The second section discusses intentions and self-reference, while the third…

Describes a study designed to identify indices of writers' varying conceptions of self, audience, and rhetorical situation in an evolving context. Concludes that older writers used situational strategies based on relationships, and younger writers used assertive strategies based on position. (JAD)

Presents writing as a form of dialog and the paragraph as a unit of implied dialog. (MM)

In the last few years, the focus has evolved from considering an "ethic of research" in composition studies to an "ethic of representation" in person-based research. One of the dominant questions that emerged from this shift is how researchers represent their students and their writings in composition research. What does the…

Reviews recent trends in composition research. Suggests that the apparently divergent directions of study reflect a new interest in writing as a process rather than as a product, and in reading as a response to or re-creation of the text rather than a passive acceptance of textual information. (MM)

Scrutinizes the Conference on College Composition and Communication ethics committee's adoption of the rhetoric of ethics to discuss a research situation comparable to one formerly standard in anthropology and psychology, which professional committees in both fields now consider unethical. Suggests that the use of students as the object of…

Describes a study of the differences between eight experienced writers who describe themselves as either one- or multi-draft writers. Considers advantages and disadvantages of their differences, including the point at which they begin writing, option-exploring behavior, attitudes toward closure, and writer-based versus reader-based early drafts.…

Collects several examples of technical and creative writing to examine whether the differences which have been assumed to exist between the two genres do in fact exist. Finds that their material causes--the tropes and devices of description--are the same and that their differences and similarities are governed by Aristotle's "final cause" (telos).…