The unresolved nineteenth-century debate--"is rhetoric an art or a science?"--hashindered our attempt to establish an inclusive research paradigm for rhetoric and composition. The newly dominant paradigm is quickly narrowing to prefer the qualitative designs that suit our literary ideals, relieve our math and statistics anxiety, and fulfill political ideologies. Such qualitative work has given us great insight into the mind of the researcher, a stronger voice to the individual, and a powerful tool for groups traditionally oppressed by our field.At the same time, however, our field needs quantitative research that examines the scope of certain issues or that tests the effectiveness of solutions to problems, and we should remain prepared to understand such research from other fields. But the quantitative/qualitative division in composition cannot be healed through "methodological pluralism" or by examining the epistemologies governing those methodological choices.A Contextualist Theory of Epistemic Justification (Annis, 1978) provides a new lens through which we may recontextualize the competing epistemologies our field has outlined, providing a new decision-making framework through which we may appreciate the intersection of research issues (issue/question, purpose, method, and publication) and rhetorical issues (writer, audience, and subject) that form the varied contexts for our work: contexts highlighted in a matrix of questions representing a Contextualist Research Paradigm for Rhetoric and Composition.To illustrate such a paradigm, Eileen Oliver's (1995) "The Writing Quality of Seventh, Ninth, and Eleventh Graders, and College Freshmen: Does Rhetorical Specification in Writing Prompts Make a Difference?" is reprinted with an interview with Oliver, in which she detailed the context for her study. To further demonstrate a Contextualist Paradigm at work, my own study--"Red Ink / Blue Ink: Does it Really Make a Difference?"--responds to the largely untested anecdotal evidence that discourages writing teachers' use of red pens.A Contextualist Research Paradigm is necessary for composition to heal the artificial divisions between qualitative and quantitative research, to direct our attention fully to context rather than politics, form, and numbers, and to conduct not only the research we like, but also the research we and our students need. / Department of English

Typescript (photocopy) / Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1979. / Bibliography: leaves 195-197. / x, 197 leaves, bound 29 cm

Typescript. / Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1986. / Bibliography: 149-156. / xi, 156 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

This action research study aimed to improve teaching and learning of argumentative writing through a process-genre approach. Learners were carefully guided through the processes of writing the argumentative genre, with the focus being on teaching of the genre and on the structural conventions of writing arguments. Participants were a class of grade nine learners who speak English as a first language. They were chosen for this study as Grade Nine is a crucial year for writing development before learners enter the senior phase and are met with heightened expectations in the curriculum, that often they struggle to meet, as their writing has not been sufficiently developed to an academic level. The focus of writing in Grade Nine is on narrative and prose, so this writing intervention, in which a teaching module was developed in collaboration with the 1eamers, aimed to broaden their writing skills and provide them with a head start in leaming the fine art of argumentation, as this is a useful skill to acquire for purposes even beyond the classroom. Genre theorists advocate the importance of teaching genres to leamers at a young age, as it allows them access into different communities of discourse, as they become aware and understand the conventions held by a patiicular community, and realize the purpose of different styles of writing for effectively communicating, which prepares them to meet the expectations of their audience. Teaching the structures of different genres therefore allows the writer, and the audience, a framework for understanding the text. The process approach has been widely used by educators as it focuses on explicit teaching of writing processes that are fundamental to leamers' development in writing. Learners need to be carefully guided from the initial stages, to the more complex stages (especially in argumentative writing which has been deemed the most complex genre for learners to master) in order to understand the complexities of constructing an essay in a cohesive way, as they need to consider multiple aspects of writing, such as the linguistic features, rhetorical features and structural features of the genre and unify them into a sound argument. This takes time, practice and revision, and extensive feedback is required. The process-genre approach proved to be successful in this study, as leamers showed remarkable improvements in their writing from the initial stages of writing to the final drafts of their essays. The findings revealed that explicit teaching of genres and structural elements of writing is vital for ensuring learners' development. Learners require modelling of the genre, scaffolding and careful guidance through step-by-step processes in order to build confidence and express their ideas effectively in written text. The findings indicate the relevance of using the process-genre approach for teaching and learning and that teaching and learning writing is indeed a process that needs more time and practice that is cUiTently allocated in the curriculum.

Freshman composition instructors at Christian institutions face a disturbing predicament: competing pedagogies, administrative pressure to prove freshman composition’s merit, public clamoring for greater return on the college investment, technology redefining what “writing” is, a postmodern audience, and most concerning, the challenge to find an instructional model in a sea of pedagogies void of Christian ideology. The field of composition and rhetoric, unlike literature and other disciplines, does not have a pedagogy that successfully reconciles faith and scholarship. The purpose of this Doctor of Education thesis is to ignite a conversation among Christian composition faculty by introducing a prototype Christian freshman composition pedagogy built on a Christian theological, philosophical, and educational foundation rather than maintaining the common practice of overlaying Christian ideas on secular pedagogies. The proposed writing pedagogy is beyond a perfunctory skills and service course because communication through writing is not only divinely modeled, it is essential for human flourishing. The structure of this Trinitarian writing theory is dually aimed at both the writing pedagogue, by providing the resources from which the teacher can develop an instructional pathway, and the student writer, by providing the resources from which the learner develops functional writing strategies encased within a biblically-grounded motivation for writing. Rooted in Kevin Vanhoozer’s Trinitarian Theology of Communication, this Christian writing pedagogical theory unfolds through a series of similarly-shaped triune-based structures that move from theological formation to methodological practice. Chapter 1 argues that composition pedagogy is in crisis, not only at Christian colleges and universities, but secular institutions as well. Providing a context for the aforementioned crisis, chapter 2 historically traces composition instruction trends in America. While Christian scholars have proposed ways to apply faith and learning in other academic fields, no thoroughly Christian writing pedagogy has yet been created. Chapter 3 overviews secular strategies developed in response to the composition instruction crisis and those strategies’ lack of effectiveness. Chapter 4 serves to build the theological and philosophical foundation of a new instructional design theory. Chapters 5-9 provide a detailed progression of the new writing theory from its theological inception to the methodological and practical culmination as an act of worship for the student writer. Craig Bartholomew’s Tree of Knowledge provides the systematic method this project uses to rebuild composition theory; Kevin Vanhoozer's Trinitarian Theology of Communication model is the theological base that provides the key theoretical categories of the new writing pedagogy. Chapters 10-12 examine how the theory’s biblically-based distinctives translate to the classroom.

The purpose of this study was to identify and compare the specific writing assignments provided in the five basal readers, grades one through eight, adopted by the state of Texas. These seventy-eight basal reader's guides were first analyzed for statements indicating specific writing assignments. The total number of writing assignments in each of the teacher's guides were totaled for each publisher. The location of each writing assignment which supported the TABS categories was recorded. The writing assignments which did not support the TABS categories were assigned appropriate categories and recorded on a table. Another table compared the five publishers and the total number of writing assignments supporting the TABS categories. A fifth table compared the five publishers and the total number of writing assignments found in other categories not supporting the TABS categories.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This thesis was a critical analysis of students academic second language writing at Sokoine University of Agriculture. Student writing in English as a second language in higher education has excited much interest in the English as a Second Language writing research and discussion in Tanzania. The interest was motivated by frequent criticisms from examiners regarding students literacy performance in the English as a Second Language writing in the post primary and higher education where the language of instruction is English as is configured in the Tanzanian language policy. / South Africa

South Africa‟s racialised history dates back to a colonial period where South Africans were separated by race, language and laws which prevented people of colour from mixing with those who were termed White. 22 years after the end of apartheid, race and language remain a painful part of history and a topic which is always visible in our private and public discourses. Students, as of recent, have pointed to the challenges and legacies of apartheid they face in higher education and broader society. The lack of broader transformation and racial prejudice leave a great divide amongst different groups of students. Given this background, this study sought to examine how students were making sense of themselves and others. The participants of this study included 50 second year students from the Department of Language Studies at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth. This research study focused on the identity development of students and how these factors impacted their identities taking into account aspects of race, language, sense of agency and those impacting their sense of agency and sense of self. This study used a qualitative research method which involves an interpretive approach to research as this method was best suited for this study‟s analysis of student narratives. This study is a case study of the single case of second year students. The research, furthermore, used a Poststructuralist approach as theoretical underpinning and Critical Discourse Analysis for analysis of the data. Relevant literature were read and reviewed to determine what studies were saying about factors impacting on youth identity. Student narratives were analysed in order to determine which factors impacted on their identity formation, as well as the perceptions of their own identities and those of others. The results of the findings showed that students‟ identity development was affected by factors such as cultural background, parents, death of loved ones, aesthetic interest, race and language. Socio-economic inequalities in South Africa, race and language strongly defined student identities. Identities were found to be multiple and dynamic. The impact on student agency was as a result of the influences of their parents but also because of the inequalities in society. The only commonality students identified as having with other students was study. Students revealed that they did not cross racial or language boundaries to socialise with other students. There were students who indicated that they resisted racial categorisations and spoke of the celebration of diversity in South Africa but these were in the minority. Unlike previous studies that showed students wanting to move on to a new unified South Africa while simultaneously using old apartheid discourses, this study showed that students remained rooted in these discourses but reverted to these discourses because of societal inequalities. They did not foresee any moves to a new unified South Africa if inequalities not addressed. They were more radical about what a new future looks like with the battle against privilege won. Language was identified as a barrier and the fallacies of English being linked to superior intelligence was pointed out. The divides between White and Black students were apparent in the data. The study therefore recommended that curriculation of modules be undertaken with teaching of fluidity of identities and providing of critical tools for students to deconstruct race and language. The South African context should be foregrounded in all faculty study areas so that students work to a public good that seeks to eradicate inequalities. Safe spaces need to be provided for debating of these issues as well as social spaces for interaction across racial divides.

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