The experience of teaching informal logic (sometimes called practical logic) at the introductory level over the last fifteen years has allowed the author the opportunity to identify some interesting problems. These problems have been encountered by students attempting to understand some of the ideas presented in the informal logic course and by…

A three-part study of the forms of rhetorical criticism is offered. Part one reviews the nature of genre criticism, enumerates several concepts of form and the types of genre criticism they produce, and discusses the implications of this relationship between form and genre. Part two is an essay on the methodological implications of form-grounded…

Investigates the potential control strategies a persuader may use and the impact of situational differences on a persuader's strategic choice. (MH)

To develop a taxonomy of Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) critics, a study associated professed judging philosophy and responses to survey questions with ballot behavior and elaborated judging profiles. Subjects were debate critics who judged rounds at CEDA tournaments in the Northeast during the Spring 1989 season. In all, 13 critics…

Proposes an inductively derived taxonomy as a more valid and reliable classification scheme of compliance-gaining strategies. Compares the taxonomy with a multidimensional scaling representation of college students' perceptions of persuasive messages. Concludes that the taxonomy has a high degree of representational validity. (PD)