Previous+Exams

=Previous exams= toc Roughly transcribed exam questions. Or, a webpage to invoke mind-rending terror.

January 2011
I. Choose one of the following (1 hour) A. A key notion in current comp theory is that typified rhetorical situations recur. Please explore that idea in at least two ways: Among the works you've read, you might consider Bazerman, Bitzer, Miller, Prior, and Waver.
 * 1) What is most problematic about the idea that rhetorical situations can be usefully "typified" and, therefore, "recur"?
 * 2) If we accept the notion of typification and recurrence, at what level of specificity are these situations best viewed and why?

B. Aristotle attempts to defend rhetoric and systematize it by demonstrating how to bring it as close to dialectic as possible. This is a two-part questions.
 * 1) Please discuss in adequate detail the differences between rhetoric (the "open hand," using the best "available means of persuasion") and dialectic (the "closed fist," disputation, demonstrative logic). You might want to refer to Aristotle and Plato both. What are the implications of this approach for teaching rhetoric and comp?
 * 2) How does the "New Rhetoric" portrayed by 20th century writers compare to Aristotle's in terms of such concepts as dogma, meaning, relativism, address, assent, identification, context, and practical reasoning? Among the works you've read, you might consider Perelman, Burke, Richards, and Booth. What, again, are the implications for teaching rhet and comp?

II. Choose one of the following (1 hour) A. Walter Ong coined the phrase

January 2010
Part I: Chose A or B (one hour) A. Cicero believes that a skilled orator should be able to speak well on any subject.

B. Aristotle sees metaphor and figurative langauge as a matter of talent or "genius."

August 2009
A. Choose one of the following questions and answer it in a coherent essay (1 hour) 1. Rhetorical theory -- and in fact, the design of some university programs in rhetoric -- has been profoundly influenced by the study of culture rhetorics that historically repressed or underrepresented groups that have developed.

2. Many texts on the reading list deal with various surveys of the history of rhetoric (e.g., Corbett, Kennedy, and Murphy).

January 2009
Part I: Choose A or B (one hour) A. "Rhetorical situation" is a central concept in 20th-century rhetorical studies. B. Explain genre theory to someone unfamiliar with it.

Part II: Choose A or B (one hour) A. Propoents of rhetoric have argues that rhetorical theory provides an ideal basis for teaching technical communication since it describes and analyzes straegies that writers use to persuade a variety of audiences. B. Using at least four of the works on the reading list, discuss the ways in which rhetorical theory has been applied to writing instruction from ancient to modern times.

Part III: Choose A or B (one hour) A. Many of the more modern works you've read focus at least to some extent upon the importance of rhetoric to literary study. B. If another graduate student asked you what rhetorical studies involved, what ten to twelve key concepts or terms would you recommend that she learn first?

January 2008
Answer 1 of the following (1 hour) Answer 1 of the following (1 hour): Answer 1 of the following (1hour)
 * 1) If all philosphy is footnotes to Plato, it may wqually be said that all rhetoric is footnotes to Aristotle. Choose any three of the following modern rhetoricians and indicate how they either follow or oppose Aristotelian rhetoric: Kenneth Burke, Richard Weaver, George Whatley, Chaim Perleman, I.A. Richards, Judith Butler.
 * 2) Although rhetoricians have not always thought of genre as a problematic term, Peter Medway ( 2002) has suggested that "perhaps the notion of genre needs to be fuzzy" (141). Beginning with Aristotle and Quintilian and including Bazerman, Miller, and other authors of your choice in your discussion, describe the role the concept of genre has played within rhetoric. Please include the advantages and disadvantages of thinking of genre as "fuzzy."
 * 1) Drawing on at least four rhetoricians or scholars of rhetoric, discuss some of th ways rhetoric both shapes and is shaped by its users.
 * 2) Drawing upon your reading of Ong, Butler, Glenn, and others, briefly outline the major gender issues that have drawn the attention of rhetoric scholars. Where possible, include an account of the various sides of disputed ideas.
 * 1) Some scholars have suggested that first-year composition ---although required in most post-secondary institutions -- is a course without content. Drawing on your readins of at least four rhetoricians you've read, defend or disagree with this statement.
 * 2) Cherly Glenn's project sets out to "reclaim" women rhetors in the history of rhetoric. Summarize how "rhetorical situations" have been theorized, from classical times to Campbell, Blair, And Whatley, considering, as Glenn puts it, "who can speak, who must reamin silent, who listens, and what those listeners do." Identify and disucss four current rhetoricians you think contribute most substantially to this history, either by "reclaiming" under-represented rhetors or by amplifying our understanding of rhetorical theory and practice. And yes, you may include Glenn.

January 2007
Choose one of the following (1 hour) Choose one of the following (1 hour) Choose one of the following (1 hour):
 * 1) Choose three of the follwoing modern theorists and discuss how they agreee with, deny, or negotiate thier way through or around Plato's attach on the Sophists in the Gorgias and Paedrus: IA Richards, Richard Weaver, Walter Ong, Wayne Booth, Judith Butler.
 * 2) Write an essay explaining and either agreeing or disagreeing with the following statement: " In the history of rhetoric, 'persuasion' occupies a middle ground between 'communication' and 'argument."" Illustrate your reflections with references to any texts on the reading list.
 * 1) The concept of "literacy" is widely discussed in scholarship in the field of rhetoric and composition. Until near the close of the twentieth century, the word literacy seemed to refer to a very specific set of skills involved in understanding the printed word. Based on the readings on your list, discuss the potential implications of the introduction of new communication technologies for the traditional concept of literacy. Assert a stance in which you articulate a relationship between technology and writing.
 * 2) Lakoff and Johnson argue that metaphor is fundamental to thought. IA Richards suppors this view: "As philosophy grows more abstract we think increasingly bye means of metaphors that we preofess not to be relying on." Is metaphor (and its extensions: models, analogies, worldviews, paradigms) the basis for creating new knowledge? Expalin. What are th eimplikcations of your answer for the study of rhetoric?
 * 1) Aristotle defines rhetoric as the "available means of persuasion." Lloyd Bitzer rests his idea of the rhetorical situation on what he calls exigence. Obviously, these two definition have markedly ifferent consequneces for what can be seen as rhetorical and for how we teach rhetorical communicaiton. Citing relevan commentatorss from your reading list, write an essayt that discusses the consequences of these two definitions of rhetoric particularly with respect to their application to writing.
 * 2) In the past couple of decades, rhetoric and composition studies has taken what has been called a "social turn." Perhaps no concept has changed as a consequence more than genre. Citing appropriate commentators from your list, write an essay that explains the possible ways current notions of genre may disrupt lingstanding ideas about writing and rhetoric. In your essay, give your assessment of the value of current views on genre, voth whre they seem to enhance our undrestanding of writing and rhetoric and where they may lead us astray.

August 2004
Choose one of the following (1 hour): Choose one of the following (1 hour): Choose one of the following (1 hour):
 * 1) Richard Weaver discusses some of the ultimate trems of his time -- e.g., "progress," "fact," "freedom" -- that may remain imporant today, though not necessarily in the same ways. Discuss the rhetorical function and import of Waver's terms (and perhaps others as well) from a variety of perspectives--- that is,a s they might be discussed by four or five of the authors represented on the PhD rhetoric list. Make specific references to authors and works. Make clear your own perspective.
 * 2) Please write and essay arguing the affirmative of the following proposition: Resolved: Public rhetoric in the United States shows, beyond Plato's worst imaginings, that rhetoric is a poor substitute for truth seeking and that major rhetorical theorists -- classical to modern -- have presented at best an idealized notion of what rhetoric can do. Your essay should include significant discussion of at least five major works from the PhD rhetoric list.
 * 1) From late antiquity through the Renaissance writing was primarily seen as help to developing public speaking skills. Then from teh 18th-century onwards writing was viewed as rhetoric on paper. Recently scholars have challenged the assumption that classical rhetoric, developed as an art of speaking, can simply be transferred to the art of written composition. Outline the major conflicts in this controversy, indicating the alternatives to classical rhetoric that have been developed by composition theorists who see themselves as outside of, and alternatives to, the rhetorical tradition.
 * 2) Walter Ong coined the phrase "secondary orality," by which he meant that electronic media had returned comtemporary society to a form of orality previously experienced by non literate societies. First, briefly reveiw the qualities of an oral society, then write and essay describing how secondary orality might rquire a revision of the teaching of writing. Include discussions of the role of media, new genres of writin, etc. Be sure to include a discussion of wheterh "secondary orality" favors a return to classical, speech-based rhetoric, or whether secondary orality call for some new theory or synthesis of theories for tthe teaching of writing.
 * 1) Since ancient times, shcolars have been concerned with the bad reputation accorded the term "rhetoric." Why has rhetoric had a negative connotation at various times in history, and what does that negative connotation tell us about the relationship of rhetoric to concepts such as "goodness," "truth," and "morality?" What creative solutions to this problem have modern rhetorical scholars come up with? Your essay should contain substantive discussion of at least five works from the PhD rhetoric list.
 * 2) In recent years, traditional rhetoric has come undre fire for its emphasis upon sometimes manipulative and one-sided notions of argument and persuasion. To help us see rhetorical relationships in new ways, several modern rhetoricians have advanced new theories abou the power dynamics between writers and audiences. Using at least five works from the PhD rhetoric list, describe several of these new theories of rhetoric and show how at least two of these theories inform new approaches to teaching composition.