Contrastive Rhetoric: Extracting Practical Pedagogy from Theory

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Contrastive Rhetoric Extracting Practical
Pedagogy from Theory

• Lauren A. Boone
• Auburn University
• SE TESOL 2004
• Contact boonela_at_auburn.edu

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Contrastive Rhetoric

• Compares the writing of students and accomplished
  writers from different linguistic and cultural
  backgrounds. (from Connor, Ulla, and Janice
  Lauer. Cross-Cultural Variation in Persuasive
  Student Writing. Writing Across Languages and
  Cultures Issues in Contrastive Rhetoric. Ed.
  Alan C. Purves. Newbury Park, CA Sage
  Publications, 1988. 138-159.)
• Examines the writing strategies writers use
  across discourse communities.
• Is not replacive of native language/culture
  strategies, but additive. (from Kaplan, Robert B.
  Foreword. Contrastive Rhetoric Revisited and
  Redefined. Ed. Clayann Gilliam Panetta. Mahwah,
  NJ Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001. vii-xx.)

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The Role of Grammar

• ESL writers are likely to use
• simpler sentence constructions
• less clauses
• less passive constructions
• less prepositional phrases
• less subordination
• vaguer words
• more elementary grammatical structures
• However, these areas are likely to improve with
  writing, and rewriting usually improves
  mechanics.
• (from Silva, Tony. Differences in ESL and
  Native-English-Speaker Writing The Research and
  Its Implications. Writing in Multicultural
  Settings. Ed. Carol Severino, Juan C. Guerra, and
  Johnnella E. Butler. New York Modern Language
  Association of America, 1997. 209-219.)

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The Role of Culture

• Kamimura Oi (1994) study
• Students who were the most proficient and also
  had the most cultural awareness of the U.S. wrote
  in a style closest to that of a native speaker.
• From Kamimura, Taeko, and Kyoko Oi. The Role of
  Cultural Awareness in Contrastive
• Rhetoric. Annual Meeting of the International
  Conference on Pragmatics and Language Learning.
  Urbana University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign,
  1994. ERIC ED 377 684.

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Kaplans Suggestions for ESL Composition Teachers

• Use instruction that teaches the process approach
  to writinggo through the steps of prewriting,
  revising, peer editing, etc.
• Use exercises in which the students
• identify parts of a real text
• provide information in blocked structures
• reorganize authentic texts
• choose an appropriate thesis statement
• sort details by the topic they support
• From Grabe, William, and Robert B. Kaplan.
  Writing in a Second Language Contrastive
  Rhetoric. Richness in Writing Empowering ESL
  Students. Ed. Donna M. Johnson and Duane H. Roen.
  New York Longman, 1989. 263-283.

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Other Suggestions for ESL Composition

• Have composition classes specifically for ESL
  students. These classes
• should be staffed by ESL professionals
  knowledgeable about rhetorical differences.
• should be smaller than a typical writing class.
• should include fewer assignments.
• should devote more time to planning,
  organizing, revising, cohesion, and sentence
  structure.

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Kaplans 5 Questions

• Kaplan believes second language learners must
  answer these five questions in order to write in
  a SASE setting
• What may be discussed?
• Who has the authority to speak/write?
• What form(s) may the writing take?
• What is evidence?
• What arrangement of evidence is likely to appeal
  to readers?
• Students should also ask, Who is my audience?
  What do they expect of my writing?
• From Kaplan, Robert B. Foreword. Contrastive
  Rhetoric Revisited and Redefined. Ed. Clayann
  Gilliam Panetta. Mahwah, NJ Lawrence Erlbaum
  Associates, 2001. vii-xx.

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Question 4 What is evidence?

• Toulmins diagram
• Support Cigarettes are Claim Advertising
• harmful to our health. of cigarettes should
• be banned.
• Warrant Advertising of things harmful to
• our health should be banned.
• From Rottenberg, Annette T. Elements of
  Argument.(7th ed.) Boston Bedford/St. Martins,
  2003. pps. 290-291

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Criticisms and Response

• CriticismsContrastive Rhetoric
• Priviledged the American writing system.
• Ignored individual cultures by consolidating them
  in large groups.
• Ignored other educational factors.
• Considered L1 transfer negative.
• Shifts the burden to the learner.
• Expects learners to live up to an idealized
  (unrealistic) writing style.
• Shuts out individual voices.
• From Kachru, Yamuna. Contrastive Rhetoric in
  World Englishes. English Today 11 (1995)
  21-31.
• Leki, Ilona. Cross-Talk ESL Issues and
  Contrastive Rhetoric. Writing in Multicultural
  Settings. Ed. Carol Severino, Juan C. Guerra, and
  Johnnella E. Butler. New York Modern Language
  Association of America, 1997. 234-244.

• ResponseKaplan
• Admits he might have overstated his case
  initially, but doesnt back down from his
  original theory that composition teachers can
  help international students by looking at
  rhetorical differences.
• Silva CR can contribute to a new writing
  modelone less narrow, less monolingual, less
  ethnocentric and more valid and inclusive.
• From Grabe, William, and Robert B. Kaplan.
  Writing in a Second Language Contrastive
  Rhetoric. Richness in Writing Empowering ESL
  Students. Ed. Donna M. Johnson and Duane H. Roen.
  New York Longman, 1989. 263-283.
• Silva, Tony. Differences in ESL and
  Native-English-Speaker Writing The Research and
  Its Implications. Writing in Multicultural
  Settings. Ed. Carol Severino, Juan C. Guerra, and
  Johnnella E. Butler. New York Modern Language
  Association of America, 1997. 209-219.

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1. Bliss, Anne. Rhetorical Structures for
Multilingual and Multicultural Students.
Contrastive Rhetoric Revisited and Redefined.
Ed. Clayann Gilliam Panetta. Mahwah, NJ Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates, 2001. 15-30. 2. Carlson,
Sybil B. Cultural Differences in Writing and
Reasoning Skills. Writing Across Languages and
Cultures Issues in Contrastive Rhetoric. Ed.
Alan C. Purves. Newbury Park, CA Sage
Publications, 1988. 227-260. 3. Connor, Ulla.
Argumentative Patterns in Student Essays
Cross-Cultural Differences. Writing Across
Languages Analysis of L2 Text. Ed. Ulla Connor
and Robert B. Kaplan. Reading, MA
Addison-Wesley, 1987. 57-71. 4. ---. Contrastive
Rhetoric Cross-Cultural Aspects of
Second-Language Writing. New York Cambridge UP,
1996. 5. Connor, Ulla, and Janice Lauer.
Cross-Cultural Variation in Persuasive Student
Writing. Writing Across Languages and Cultures
Issues in Contrastive Rhetoric. Ed. Alan C.
Purves. Newbury Park, CA Sage Publications,
1988. 138-159. 6. Foss, Sonja K., Karen A. Foss,
and Robert Trapp. Contemporary Perspectives on
Rhetoric. 3rd ed. Prospect Heights, IL Waveland
Press, 2002. 7. Grabe, William, and Robert B.
Kaplan. Writing in a Second Language
Contrastive Rhetoric. Richness in Writing
Empowering ESL Students. Ed. Donna M. Johnson and
Duane H. Roen. New York Longman, 1989.
263-283. 8. Gungle, Bruce W., and Victoria
Taylor. Writing Apprehension and Second Language
Writers. Richness in Writing Empowering ESL
Students. Ed. Donna M. Johnson and Duane H. Roen.
New York Longman, 1989. 235-248. 9. Hinds,
John. Reader Versus Writer Responsibility A New
Typology. Writing Across Languages Analysis of
L2 Text. Ed. Ulla Connor and Robert B. Kaplan.
Reading, MA Addison-Wesley, 1987. 141-152. 10.
Johnstone, Barbara. Arguments with Khomeini.
Text 6 (2) (1986) 171-187. 11. Kachru, Yamuna.
Contrastive Rhetoric in World Englishes.
English Today 11 (1995) 21-31. 12. ---.
Writers in Hindi and English. Writing Across
Languages and Cultures Issues in Contrastive
Rhetoric. Ed. Alan C. Purves. Newbury Park, CA
Sage Publications, 1988. 109-137. 13. Kamimura,
Taeko, and Kyoko Oi. The Role of Cultural
Awareness in ContrastiveRhetoric. Annual Meeting
of the International Conference on Pragmatics and
Language Learning. Urbana University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign., 1994. ERIC ED 377 684. 14.
Kaplan, Robert B. Contrastive Rhetoric and
Second Language Learning Notes Towardsa Theory
of Contrastive Rhetoric. Writing Across
Languages and Cultures Issues in Contrastive
Rhetoric. Ed. Alan C. Purves. Newbury Park, CA
Sage Publications, 1988. 275-304. 15. ---.
Cultural Thought Patterns Revisited. Writing
Across Languages Analysis of L2 Text. Ed. Ulla
Connor and Robert B. Kaplan. Reading, MA
Addison-Wesley, 1987. 9-21. 16. ---. Foreword.
Contrastive Rhetoric Revisited and Redefined. Ed.
Clayann Gilliam Panetta. Mahwah, NJ Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates, 2001. vii-xx. 17. Leki,
Ilona. Cross-Talk ESL Issues and Contrastive
Rhetoric. Writing in Multicultural Settings. Ed.
Carol Severino, Juan C. Guerra, and Johnnella E.
Butler. New York Modern Language Association of
America, 1997. 234-244. 18. Mauranen, Anna.
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Panetta. Mahwah, NJ Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,
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Donna M. Johnson. Comparative Rhetoric An
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Differences in ESL and Native-English-Speaker
Writing The Research and Its Implications.
Writing in Multicultural Settings. Ed. Carol
Severino, Juan C. Guerra, and Johnnella E.
Butler. New York Modern Language Association of
America, 1997. 209-219. 23. Soter, Anna. The
Second Language Learner and Cultural Transfer in
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Cultures Issues in Contrastive Rhetoric. Ed.
Alan C. Purves. Newbury Park, CA Sage
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