The third of three studies involving a comparative analysis of transactional and narrative writing of selected samples of students in two Ontario districts, this study addressed questions arising from the earlier studies and examined the writing skills of students in grades 5, 8, and 12. Writing samples were examined for conformity to the norms of…

The 18 essays in this journal issue provide insight into the theory, issues and practice of forensics. They consider the following topics: an agenda for forensics education; problems of forensics in the United States today; improvement of debate practice and teaching; rhetorical dimensions of argumentation; use of speeches as an instructional…

A study was conducted to see if there was a developmental progression in the type of persuasive appeals selected by children; that is, whether the appeals could be ordered in terms of the degree to which the children accommodated the views of others. The subjects, 211 kindergarten through twelfth grade students, selected one of four messages they…

A review of the literature reveals that three writing skills have been of particular interest to writing researchers recently. First, work on planning the rhetorical strategy recognizes three components of the planning process: prewriting, pausing, and reviewing what has been written. Second, research on audience analysis indicates that maturity…

Teaching composition in a prison is different from teaching composition in a traditional freshman composition classroom. Since most prison inmates have a high school equivalency degree earned while in prison, a developmental writing course offered prior to the standard freshman composition sequence is probably necessary. Such a class may include a…

A study investigated whether older persons as a group are generally more persuaded by high authority figures than are younger persons. The study employed a design that allowed for extensive comparisons among subjects of different ages in terms of their willingness to be persuaded by physicians in interpersonal situations. One hundred-twenty…

This index to journals in communication studies published through 1979 is divided into three sections. The first section lists the major articles appearing in 14 journals: (1) "The Quarterly Journal of Speech," (2) "Communication Monographs," (3) "Communication Education," (4) "Southern Speech Communication…

A model of conversational distance violations that claims that these violations mediate communication outcomes such as source credibility, source attraction, and learning was examined in a study involving 136 undergraduate students. The students were tested in small group settings using eight confederates, four rated highly and four lowly in…

To widen the concept of justificatory rhetoric (which has previously been considered as a presidential rhetorical form delivered in a context of foreign policy emergency) and to show some of its inherent hazards, this paper analyzes a 1978 address by Governor James Hunt of North Carolina, in which he justified his decision not to pardon the…

This monograph examines the way in which ideas emerged and grew in the rhetorical process of creating an American people, and the ways in which the ideas were transformed into fundamental symbols that have exerted their influence throughout United States history. The first chapter analyzes certain discourses of the American Revolution to show the…

Recent research on the role of personal space has demonstrated the effects of violating or not violating a spatial norm on the perceived persuasiveness, credibility, and attractiveness of the message source. The persuasive impact of personal space violations has been difficult to interpret because of the failure to effectively manipulate source…

A model for assessing student writing achievement uses sets of criteria to chart students' writing progress that are based on a study of exemplary samples of student writing produced at various stages of development. The model provides a viable alternative to assessment methods that call for students to produce lengthy essays on preselected topics…

The nature and scope of eighteenth century rhetoric were defined by three dominant taxonomies of knowledge. In the oldest taxonomy, which clung to the liberal arts tradition, rhetoric was seen as a means of achieving social dominance, and its distinctive characteristic was the exercise of control through persuasion. Treatises representing this…

In order to determine the effects of writing for different audiences and in different modes of discourse on the syntactic complexity of compositions written by sixth and tenth grade students, 240 students were asked to write in three different modes (argumentive, descriptive, and narrative) to be read by a teacher and a best friend. There was a…

The nonverbal components of dramatic art, namely costuming, setting, atmosphere, lighting, and blocking, can work as rhetorical determinants in the conversion process of the Unification Church in that they alter the frame of reference (the body of settled convictions, attitudes, and values) of certain individuals. The clean-cut costuming of church…