Subject Guide for Rhetoric and Writing Studies
Contents
- Introduction
- Contact Information
- Reference Books
- Online Catalog (the PAC)
- Periodicals
- World Wide Web Resources
Introduction
Rhetoric is defined most generally as the art of effective writing and/or speaking, and, as an academic discipline, it has been around at least since the ancient Greeks. Its role in the academic world has expanded in recent years, as the emphasis on rhetorical skills across all areas of knowledge has assumed greater prominence. The resources listed on this Web page are comprised of those which address rhetorical concerns directly, that is, without regard to other disciplines within which one might build a rhetorical construct. In practice, rhetorical constructs may be assembled for any topic within any academic discipline. Researchers interested in the topical matter of other disciplines may want to look at one of the research guides available here. The resources on this page are focused topically on rhetoric.[Top of page]
Contact Information
Please direct questions about this page and/or about conducting SDSU research on topics in Rhetoric and Writing Studies to:
Markel Tumlin
mtumlin@rohan.sdsu.edu
619-594-6875
[Top of page]
Reference Books
The purpose of reference books might best be understood by considering the first five letters of the word reference. These books are not designed to be read in a linear fashion or in their entirety the way that one might read a novel or a history book, but are generally intended to be referred to on an as-needed basis. Many of these, such as the ones on the following list, are housed in the Reference Division on the library's first floor and can't be checked out. Keep in mind that this list is not exhaustive.Sloane, Thomas, ed. Encyclopedia of Rhetoric.
PN 172 .E52 2001 Ref
This alphabetically arranged, one-volume work provides short definitions where possible and longer explanations where necessary of rhetorical concepts. Included are classical and historical definitions, while more recent trends and developments are also recognized.
Enos, Theresa (ed.). Encyclopedia of Rhetoric and Composition: Communication from Ancient Times to the Information Age.
PN 172 .E53 1996 Ref
This alphabetically arranged, one-volume book "provides an introduction to rhetoric, including the major periods and personages, concepts and applications." While the interdisciplinary nature of rhetoric is addressed, this resource also takes into account the work of theorists who are "reconceptualizing rhetoric in its own terms."
Lanham, Richard A. A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms.PE 1445 .A2 L3 1991 Ref
In providing an alphabetically arranged list that defines and explains rhetorical terms, this work strives to be useful to researchers engaged in "rhetorical and stylistic inquiry of all sorts."
Jasinski, James. Sourcebook on Rhetoric: Key Concepts in Contemporary Rhetorical Studies.PN 172 .J37 2001 Ref
This one-volume work describes itself as "a highly textured introduction to contemporary rhetorical theory, one that sacrifices comprehensiveness for depth over the limited array of key concepts that it covers."
Strunk, Jr., William, and E. B. White. The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition.PE 1408 .S772 2000 Ref
One of the most influential stylebooks for writers ever produced, this slender volume presents elementary principles for writing in a clear and concise fashion. Originally produced at by William Strunk, Jr. for his students at Cornell University, the book was prepared for publication during the 1950s by Charlotte's Web author E. B. White, who writes in the introduction that Strunk's purpose in preparing the volume was "to cut the vast tangle of English rhetoric down to size and write its rules and principles on the head of a pin."
Random House English Language Desk Reference.PE 1112 .R36 1995 Ref
This handy, one-volume guide is divided into six sections: 1.) Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation, 2.) Vocabulary Builder, 3.) Thesaurus of Synonyms and Antonyms, 4.) Rhyming Dictionary, 5.) Desk Dictionary, and 6.) Ready Reference Guide.
The Oxford English Dictionary.PE 1625 .O87 1989 Ref
One of the greatest reference achievements ever, this twenty-volume set is the most complete dictionary of the English language ever compiled. According to the preface, "The aim of this Dictionary is to present in alphabetical series the words that have formed the English vocabulary from the time of the earliest records down to the present day, with all the relevant facts concerning their form, sense-history, pronunciation, and etymology." Many examples of word usage from history and literature are provided. An online version of this resource is available here.
Spears, Richard A. NTC's American Idioms Dictionary.PE 2839 .S64 2000 Ref
Spears, Richard A. and Betty Kirkpatrick. NTC's English Idioms Dictionary.PE 1460 .S693 1993 Ref
These two companion volumes focus on those "phrases or sentences that cannot be understood literally." Included are proverbs, cliches, slang phrases, etc.
Spears, Richard A. NTC's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions.PE 2846 .S64 2000 Ref
This book contains around 10,000 slang and colloquialisms common to the United States. It identifies the source of these expressions as "sex, scatology, rudeness, and clever wordplay." Hot Ziggety!!
Lovinger, Paul W. The Penguin Dictionary of American English Usage and StylePE 1464 .L68 2000 Ref
Arranged alphabetically, this one-volume dictionary identifies "some 2000 quoted examples of misusage and questionable usage" of English words as used in America. Drawing upon examples from the press and other media, this book identifies many of the problematic points of language and meaning that may torment both speakers and writers of American English. Many common usage difficulties are addressed and explained.
Cassidy, Frederic G. Dictionary of American Regional EnglishPE 2843 .D52 1985 Ref
Ambitious in its aims and scope, this multi-volume resource identifies non-national idiosyncrasies of English language usage in the United States.
Weiner, E. S. C., and Andrew Delahunty (Compilers). The Oxford Guide to English Usage.PE 1091 .W44 1993 Ref
Divided into four main sections (Word Formation, Pronunciation, Vocabulary, and Grammar) with related appendices, this one-volume guide seeks to clarify those matters of English usage "about which there arise uncertainty, difficulty, or disagreement."
Quirk, Randolph, et al. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English LanguagePE 1106 .C65 1985 Ref
At nearly 1800 pages, this book provides a very thorough explanation of the rules governing the English language.
Chalker, Sylvia, and Edmund Weiner. The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar.PE 1097 C47 1994 Ref
This is not a grammar book, but rather a book that strives to enhance the understanding of grammatical discourse. Recognizing that grammatical constructs can be described in multiple ways, this alphabetically arranged volume seeks "to indicate the range and variety of meanings that may lie behind a single term."
Rawson, Hugh. Rawson's Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other Doubletalk.PE 1449 .R34 1995 Ref
This informative and entertaining guide considers both positive and negative euphemisms. Alphabetically arranged, most entries come with at least one example of usage.
Maggio, Rosalie. Talking About People: A Guide to Fair and Accurate Language.P 301 .M33 1997 Ref
The first part of this book provides "writing guidelines" to using non-offensive language and is followed by an alphabetical list (which makes up the bulk of the volume) of terms designed to help writers and speakers in their quest for fair and accurate representations of people.
Wales, Katie. A Dictionary of Stylistics.P 301 .W35 1989 Ref
This one-volume, alphabetically arranged book might be of interest to a wide range of writers and scholars. Wales states in the Introduction that the book was the result of feeling "overwhelmed by the proliferation of terms that has inevitably accompanied the development of stylistics and other disciplines of relevance to textual analysis since the 1960s." As such, it seeks "not only to explain the meaning of terms, but also to give a general picture of the nature and aims of stylisticsÇ"
Dupriez, Bernard. A Dictionary of Literary Devices Gradus, A-Z. (Translated and Adapted by Albert W. Halsall)PN 172 .B8813 1991 Ref
A useful guide to students of literature and rhetoric, this single volume guide seeks to "encourage the personal involvement that readers achieve with literary texts by increasing their understanding of rhetorical forms." The bulk of the volume is arranged alphabetically, although this is complemented by a lengthy bibliography, and the index makes this book quite user-friendly.
Online Catalog (the PAC)
The SDSU library provides an online catalog (the PAC) for locating materials in its collection.
Materials can be accessed in a variety of ways, including by title, author, subject, or word. The PAC will also tell you whether or not the
library owns a periodical, but it doesn't index the individual articles in those periodicals. For information on how to access those articles,
please see the section on periodicals. Subject Headings used in the PAC are defined in the Library of Congress Subject
Headings books located near the General Reference Desk on the first floor.
Periodicals
Periodicals are publications that are produced and published at regular intervals on an ongoing basis. Examples of periodicals include newspapers, newsletters, magazines, and journals. Many periodical publications are now being published on the World Wide Web; this includes some titles that have paper equivalents and some that are published exclusively in an electronic format. The SDSU library subscribes to a variety of periodicals of interest to rhetoric scholars. In addition, the SDSU Department of Rhetoric and Writing Studies has compiled a list of pertinent periodicals (including links to the electronic ones) located here.However, in order to conduct research on a specific topic in periodicals, it would be very time-consuming and unproductive to simply look through the tables of contents of periodicals for relevant articles. In order to make periodical articles more accessible to our users, the library has made a variety of periodical indexes available. (For more information on conducting research in periodicals, please see How to Find Periodicals.) Some periodical Indexes that may be of particular interest to students of rhetoric and writing include the following:
Academic Search Premier - This database provides indexing and some full-text articles from a variety of disciplines back to 1990. While far from comprehensive, indexing is available for over 3000 key titles, with 1200 including full-text articles. Academic Search Premier is accessible to on-campus users and to off-campus users with ID-based access from this page.
ProQUEST Research Library - Like EBSCOHost, this database is interdisciplinary, with over 2200 titles being indexed and full-text availability for about 1400. Unlike Academic Search Premier, users can choose to search only within a specific academic discipline. The earliest indexing is 1973; the earliest full-text is 1986. ProQUEST is accessible to on-campus users and to off-campus users with ID-based access from this page.
ComAbstracts - Produced by the Communication Institute for Online Scholarship, this database contains bibliographic records and abstracts for articles published in professional communications journals from the late 1980s to the present. ComAbstracts is accessible to on-campus users and to off-campus users with ID-based access from this page.
MLA Bibliography - Produced by the Modern Language Association, this large database contains the bibliographic records for articles on literary and language-related topics from about 3000 journals, as well as from books, dissertations, and conference proceedings. Coverage goes back to 1963. MLA Bibliography is accessible to on-campus users and to off-campus users with ID-based access from this page.
Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts - This database, produced by Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, provides bibliographic records and descriptive abstracts from about 2000 journals, as well as books and dissertations. Linguistics, language, and speech are the primary foci of this database, whose coverage goes back to 1973. LLBA is accessible to on-campus users and to off-campus users with ID-based access from this page.
ERIC - This extensive database is produced by the Educational Resources Information Center, a federally-funded system that disseminates information on a variety of education-related issues. The ERIC database, which contains bibliographic records and abstracts for both educational journals and a collection of other articles, which ERIC publishes on microfiche, includes coverage back to 1966. This is an excellent place to search for articles on the teaching of writing. ERIC is accessible to on-campus users and to off-campus users with ID-based access from this page.
PsycInfo - Produced by the American Psychological Association, this database contains bibliographic records and abstracts for journals and books in psychology and some closely related fields. Coverage is available back to 1887. PsycInfo is accessible to on-campus users and to off-campus users with ID-based access from this page.
