User:Icecream209/Visual rhetoric and composition/Bibliography

Rhetoric, as a large literary umbrella, is about the study of strategic choices a writer chooses to make. This strategy of reading is a process of trying to understand the objective truth that lies in the author's writing. Reading rhetorically is just as important as understanding the historical nature behind it and how it was derived from the art of persuasion. Isocrates’ contribution to rhetoric and education through his teachings and written works have become more relevant with time and serves as a foundation for the academic reading and writing methods that are applied in school curriculums today. Influential Greek Rhetoricians and other scholars work to understand and contribute their own ideas about how rhetorical education is able to point to common universal ideals, which at the same time rely on a particular way of life and a particular culture. In a sense, this field of study is crucial in keeping these human ideals alive and from becoming disconnected with time.

Visual rhetoric suggests that one’s upbringing and current beliefs and ideologies impact the way in which one composes and interprets a certain text. This is true and is apparent in every genre of writing that someone may come across. A general method to go about analyzing a body of writing without any arising biases is to read it in a conversational perspective. Approaching a text from a broader lens can be beneficial in seeing the entirety of a scholarly conversation and how an author may agree, disagree, or build off of one’s existing contribution. This method goes beyond academic pieces of writing and can be of great benefit to the majority of careers that utilize writing as their main form of communication. Literary topics that encourage these rhetorical methods and are common writing elements in writing academia include rhetorical situations, collaboration, documentation styles, weblogs, invention, writing assignment interpretation, reading critically, information literacy, ethnography, interviewing, argument, document design, and source integration.

Reading and writing go hand in hand. The process of reading rhetorically is not only strengthening one's ability to recognize strategic choices, but it’s also expanding their writing abilities that can aid them in any career path they wish to pursue. Instructors are looking to develop their course approaches based on the subject matter, rhetoric, to attempt in supporting and enhancing writing instruction in the classroom setting. Having students form analytic thesis’ or questions is a great first step.