Recently in 105 - Research Category

Barton, Ellen. "Further Contributions from the Ethical Turn in Composition/Rhetoric: Analyzing Ethics in Interaction." CCC 59.4 (2008): 596-632.

Abstract:

In this essay, I propose that the field of composition/rhetoric can make important contributions to the understanding of ethics based on our critical perspective on language as interactional and rhetorical. The actual language of decision making with ethical dimensions has rarely been studied directly in the literature, a crucial gap our field can usefully fill. To illustrate this approach, I analyze the language of research recruitment in two biomedical and behavioral studies, arguing that different ethical frameworks-- a principle-based ethics of rights and a context-based ethic of care--license different kinds of interaction and rhetorical persuasion. The findings identify and complicate certain concepts and assumptions within these ethical frameworks, with implications for the context of regulated research in the university.

McKee, Heidi and James E. Porter. The Ethics of Digital Writing Research: A Rhetorical Approach. CCC 59.4 (2008): 711-749.

Abstract:

The study of writers and writing in digital environments raises distinct and complex ethical issues for researchers. Rhetoric theory and casuistic ethics, working in tandem, provide a theoretical framework for addressing such issues. A casuistic heuristic grounded in rhetorical principles can help digital writing researchers critically interrogate their research designs, carefully examine their relationships with research participants, and make sound ethical judgments.

Lunsford, Andrea A. and Karen J. Lunsford. "Mistakes Are a Fact of Life": A National Comparative Study. CCC 59.4 (2008): 781-806.

Abstract:

This essay reports on a study of first-year student writing. Based on a stratified national sample, the study attempts to replicate research conducted twenty-two years ago and to chart the changes that have taken place in student writing since then. The findings suggest that papers are longer, employ different genres, and contain new error patterns.

Ortmeier-Hooper, Christina. "English May Be My Second Language, but I'm Not 'ESL'". CCC 59.3 (2008): 389-419.

Abstract:

In this essay, I present three case studies of immigrant, first-year students, as they negotiate their identities as second language writers in mainstream composition classrooms. I argue that such terms as "ESL" and "Generation 1.5" are often problematic for students and mask a wide range of student experiences and expectations.

Price, Margaret. "Accessing Disability: A Nondisabled Student Works the Hyphen." CCC 59.1 (2007): 53-76.

Abstract:

This article challenges current assumptions about the teaching and assessment of critical thinking in the composition classroom, particularly the practice of measuring critical thinking through individual written texts. Drawing on a case study of a class that incorporated disability studies discourse, and applying discourse analysis to student work, "Accessing Disability" argues that critical thinking can be taught more effectively through multi-modal methods and a de-emphasis on the linear progress narrative.

Hammill, Bobbi Ann. "Teaching and Parenting: Who Are the Members of Our Profession?" CCC 59.1 (2007): 98-124.

Abstract:

This qualitative investigation explores the perceptions of four women compositionists regarding mothers, teaching, and scholarship in the field of composition. I examine narrative case studies about four women who have PhDs in composition from the same doctoral program. Findings indicate that each of these four women perceives her mother as a literacy sponsor and sees her father as a literacy doer. Participants reveal that their mothers supported their educational decisions and encouraged them to gain more education than they themselves had. Participants pursued a doctorate for practical reasons such as proximity, cost, job security, promotion, and tenure as well as knowing someone else who had done it. In addition, each of the four participants identifies as a teacher first and scholar second, and each also expresses self-doubt regarding her ability to write and publish academic discourse. Participants view teaching as an ethical responsibility much like mothering and protect the memory of their mothers in various ways. Although participants separated from their mothers in order to pursue higher education, they still exemplified rhetorical ties to them.

Schneider, Barbara. "Ethical Research and Pedagogical Gaps." CCC 58.1 (2006): 70-88.

Abstract:

"Guidelines for the Ethical Treatment of Students and Student Writing in Composition Studies" signals our increased awareness of the ethical obligations that attend our scholarship and research. Our adoption of research methods from other fields, particularly the social sciences, has heightened that concern. We must now consider the ethical obligations we assume when we teach those methods to students at the beginning of their academic careers.

Fishman, Jenn, et al. "Performing Writing, Performing Literacy." CCC 57.2 (2005): 224-252.

Abstract:

This essay reports on the first two years of the Stanford Study of Writing, a five-year longitudinal study aimed at describing as accurately as possible all the kinds of writing students perform during their college years. Based on an early finding about the importance students attach to their out-of-class or self-sponsored writing and subsequent interviews with study participants, we argue that student writing is increasingly linked to theories and practices of performance. To illustrate the complex relationships between early college writing and performance, we explore the work of two study participants who are also coauthors of this essay.

Companion Videos

Beth McGregor (2.8 MB)	Mark Otuteye (1) (2.4 MB)	Mark Otuteye (2) (2.6 MB)
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You, Xiaoye. "Ideology, Textbooks, and the Rhetoric of Production in China." CCC 56.4 (2005): 632-53.

Abstract

This article examines a writing textbook published in the People's Republic of China over two editions. I will argue that competing ideologies have constantly and in multifold manners dictated the ways this textbook was produced, disseminated, consumed, and reproduced: the rhetoric for a textbook's production and existence.

Micciche, Laura R. "Making a Case for Rhetorical Grammar." CCC. 55.4 (2004): 716-737.

Abstract:

Rhetorical grammar analysis encourages students to view writing as a material social practice in which meaning is actively made, rather than passively relayed or effortlessly produced. The study of rhetorical grammar can demonstrate to students that language does purposeful, consequential work in the world: work that can be learned and applied.