Visual Culture 1: Gateways to Art and Culture
Course guide
References for Rhetoric and the Art of Writing
Rhetoric (or the art of communicating effectively) is a critical component of good writing. This involves elements like sentence structure (syntax), vocabulary, grammar, and organization or arrangement of the ideas and concepts included in your paper.
The sources featured below focus on the topic of rhetoric or writing more broadly:
- The Forest of Rhetoric
This online rhetoric, provided by Dr. Gideon Burton of BYU, is a guide to the terms of classical and renaissance rhetoric. Sometimes it is difficult to see the forest (the big picture) of rhetoric because of the trees (the hundreds of Greek and Latin terms naming figures of speech, etc.) within rhetoric.
This site is intended to help beginners, as well as experts, make sense of rhetoric, both on the small scale (definitions and examples of specific terms) and on the large scale (the purposes of rhetoric, the patterns into which it has fallen historically as it has been taught and practiced for 2000+ years).
The Writer's Style by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781607328094Designed to help all writers learn to use style as a rhetorical tool, taking into account audience, purpose, context, and occasion.... In a departure from the deficiency model associated with other commonly used style guides, author Paul Butler encourages writers to see style as a malleable device to use for their own purposes rather than a domain of rules or privilege.…Though designed for use in first-year composition courses in which students are learning to write for various audiences, purposes, and contexts, The Writer's Style is a richly layered work that will serve anyone considering how style applies to their professional, personal, creative, or academic writing.
Researching and Writing in History by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780520306875Publication Date: 1974/2023Much agony over writing research papers originates in the failure of the academic system to teach students how to use the library and how to write formally structured English. This handbook is intended to aid the student in learning these skills. It provides a step-by-step guide to preparation of a research paper, from selecting a working topic to editing the final draft…. [McCoy] traces one research topic through from the beginning to end, showing how to use library reference materials, how to outline the paper, how to prepare emotionally for the act of writing, how to achieve clear, easily read yet formally structured English, and how to edit the finished paper for the errors most irritating to professors.
Figuratively Speaking by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781849667555Publication Date: 2013Although rhetoric is a term often associated with lies, this book takes a polemical look at rhetoric as a purveyor of truth. Its purpose is to focus on one aspect of rhetoric, figurative speech, and to demonstrate how the treatment of figures of speech provides a common denominator among western cultures from Cicero to the present. The central idea is that, in the western tradition, figurative speech - using language to do more than name - provides the fundamental way for language to articulate concerns central to each cultural moment. In this study, Sarah Spence identifies the embedded tropes for four periods in Western culture: Roman antiquity, the High Middle Ages, the Age of Montaigne, and our present, post-9/11 moment. In so doing, she reasserts the fundamental importance of rhetoric, the art of speaking well.
Humanities Insights by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781847600240Publication Date: 2007This study guide gives students a handy reference to the background knowledge of rhetorical terms demanded of them by critical and theoretical texts in the humanities.
Rhetoric by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780470777213Publication Date: 2008This introduction to the art of rhetoric analyzes rhetorical concepts, problems, and methods and teaches practical inquiry through a series of classic rhetorical texts. An introduction to the art of rhetoric for those who are unacquainted with it and an argument about invention and tradition suitable for specialists Texts range from Cicero's De oratore and Augustine's On Christian Doctrine to Jane Austen's Persuasion and Stephen Greenblatt's Marvellous Possessions Texts serve simultaneously as works of persuasion and considerations of how rhetoric works Engages readers in using rhetoric to deliberate about challenging issues.
Understanding Rhetoric by Call Number: PE1408 L694 2014ISBN: 9780312640965This comics-style collaboration between rhetoricians Elizabeth Losh and Jonathan Alexander and illustrator team Big Time Attic presents the content of the composition course in a form designed to draw students in. Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing covers what first-year college writers need to know -- the writing process, critical analysis, argument, research, revision, and presentation -- in a visual format that brings rhetorical concepts to life through examples ranging from Aristotle to YouTube.
The Elements of Style Illustrated by Call Number: PE1408 S772 2005ISBN: 1594200696The Elements of Style (also called Strunk & White) is a style guide for formal grammar used in American English writing. The first publishing was written by William Strunk Jr. in 1918 and has continued to be updated since. This much-loved classic, now in its fourth edition, will forever be the go-to guide when in need of a hint to make a turn of phrase clearer or a reminder on how to enliven prose with the active voice.
The Importance of Editing and Drafting
Revising and editing your writing will make it better. Aim to give yourself enough time to step away from your project and return with a fresh perspective, as this can make any errors or strange phrasings more readily apparent.
Drafting is an important part of good writing. Like any kind of art and design making, no one is really satisfied with their first attempt. Everyone wants good feedback, suggestions for improvement, glaring errors or omissions pointed out. The same is true for writing. Good writers are not born, they are the result of practice, drafting and feedback. Getting feedback on your drafts will definitely improve the quality of your written communication, critical thinking, and information literacy.
While it is useful and important to re-read your own work, we also have tools and resources geared towards helping you learn to improve your writing. For more, see below:
- Grammarly This link opens in a new window
Grammarly for Education is a grammar check tool to help you check and correct mistakes in your writing.
Sign up with your Otis email at Grammarly.com/EDU. For assistance, contact the Library or Student Learning Center!
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