"Dust Tracks on a Road," author Zora Neale Hurston's autobiography, is not a typical black autobiography. Hurston is a complex woman and author who addresses both black and white audiences, shifting the cadences of her voice to invoke a readership that can hear the textures of many voices and respond to an underlying call to a world…

Aristotle's "Rhetoric" is divided into three books which describe the stages of preparing a public address. Book One establishes the philosophical position of rhetoric to logic. It also establishes four purposes of rhetoric and discusses three types of proof. Aristotle defines rhetoric as a faculty for providing two modes of…

A speechwriter who prepares a text for public address should first consider whether he or she is going to deliver the speech personally and should be careful to select a topic which the potential audience will not strongly oppose. From the introduction of a speech to its conclusion, a speechwriter should have definite goals, present an appropriate…

In most traditional introductory college composition courses students are generally advised to address the teachers or some other authoritative figure as their primary audience. To supplement this traditional approach, students should also direct their discourse to audiences who are not projected as superior critics. One paper assignment that can…

Draws on a research project involving argumentative writing to contend that some student writing problems result not from a lack of familiarity with the academic discourse community but from certain audience postures that were positively correlated with the levels of socio-cognitive development as assessed by the Perry scheme. (RS)

Suggests that audience analysis, contextual and conventional "register," and the interplay between audience and convention are all tools needed to teach students how to write effectively and appropriately. Draws attention to the many features and types of conventional registers and underscores their relationship to audience…

This paper is concerned with the history of the attempt of progressive-era students at Bryn Mawr College to explore their interest in social-reform work through the writing that they did in required composition courses. In particular, the paper focuses on how these women attempted to fashion a public voice for themselves that could articulate…

Comprehensive and logically sequenced, this guide seeks to helps educators publish on topics such as classroom experience, conference presentations, or research projects. Included in the guide are practical strategies, concrete examples, recommended resources, and advice from experts. The guide focuses on writing and how it is approached and…

"Inkshedding" grew out of a process of trying to make "freewriting" into something dialogically transactional. The idea was to give writing a social role in a classroom, and thus to create a situation in which the writing was read by real readers, to understand and respond to what was said rather than to evaluate and "help" with the writing. In…

A presentation is a way of communicating information to an audience. A presentation can be a speech, a panel discussion, a debate, a skit, a display, a demonstration, or even a dramatic or musical performance. For example, by telling the audience about particular crime prevention techniques or subjects, the presenter equips them with the tools to…

Explores whether individuals have implicit theories of persuasion. Examines how persuasive strategies are cognitively represented--identifies types of tactics in attitude change and social acceptability of persuasive strategies. Finds implicit theories of persuasion reflect the audience's familiarity with the topic. Finds also that implicit…

Investigates how a speaker's expectations about the audience can influence public speaking anxiety and willingness to speak. Indicates that audience characteristics interact with speaking contexts in complex ways but that, in general, audience pleasantness exerts a stronger influence than audience familiarity, with pleasant friends the most…

Recounts the life and times of a pioneer children's theater playwright and fiction author, Nora Tully MacAlvay (1900-86). Points out that her interest in children's theater and children's literature was lifelong and intense. (PA)

Examines what caused the decline and demise of the Dallas Motion Picture Classification Board (which rated films as to objectionable content) and with it the idea of the public ordering of motion picture content. Uses "Viva Maria" and "The Front Page" as case studies. (PA)

Describes how a "virtual reality" production by the University of Kansas Theatre for Young People provided the opportunity to garner the perceptions and responses of child audiences as a descriptive study. Discusses students' perceptions of results. Provides little evidence of a "videocy" dimension of perceived reality, for it…