Understanding the Rhetoric of Research

Related Resources
Print-Friendly Page
Authors & Contributors

The fourth journal we chose to follow is College Composition and Communication (CCC). It began in 1950 and posits that it should be seen as a compliment to the work shown in College English. CCC's original policy was to "provide a forum in which controversial issues can be thrashed out" (Volume 1.3). "Thrashed out" is definitely a good way to describe the writing styles found in the first issues of the journal. Writer's respond to each others' views with words like, "The article....by ...Knickerbocker is an expression at the very least of a frivolous obscurantism, or at the most of a vigorously cultivated ignorance..." (Lloyd 1950) and "...the sentiments expressed in Mr. Lloyd's article .. have been reiterated so often, so righteously, and at such tedious length... I wish I could be as shocked by his article as he is by Mr. Kenneth L. Knickerbocker's, but I cannot: the best that I can manage is exasperation" (Steinmann 1950).

In the early 1970s we see a broader range of the types of accepted articles in CCC. Reports of research and linguistic studies are welcome along with theory and poetry. Due to this, a wide range of rhetorical conventions may be seen in the journal: algebraic-like linguistic formulas occupy some pages, while descriptive narratives of classroom practices and heated comments on class and racial bias in our schools occupy others. However, these broad approaches have narrowed down considerably in recent years.

In the 1995 CCC we see no empirical research reports or complicated linguistic models. CCC is largely focused on theory, and the Guidelines for Writers encourage submitters to "blur genres and mix discourses, to cut across and make connections among a range of intellectual and professional issues." Even more so than College English, CCC appears to encourage progressive and new ideas from wide ranging perspectives. The guidelines also state that, "Pieces that simply restate or apply familiar work in writing or teaching do not merit publication in CCC. The goal of writers for CCC should rather be to add to, extend, inflect, or revise current work on composition and its teaching" (1995). Though some articles focus directly on teaching practices, many deal strictly with theory. The policy also states clearly that "CCC does not publish articles written in the form of a research study or report. Most pieces take a more discursive form that allows the writer to argue for a point as well as to present the results of research" (1995).

The May 1996 issue includes articles mainly dealing with theory, with an interesting "disruptive" text on the "Postings on a Genre of Email" in which the authors speak back and forth in an Email-type dialog. True to the journal's original goals, "Counterpostings on a Genre of Email" are also included.

Just as English studies appear to welcome many ideas from other disciplines, so do the journals offer many possibilities for publishing different types of reports and articles. As a writer and researcher in the field of English it is essential to be aware of and understand the varied means of communication available to you. Your audience considerations may need to include the policies of journals to which you plan to submit your work.