Contrastive Rhetoric: (Cambridge Applied Linguistics)

This volume explores the field of contrastive rhetoric, the study of how a person's first language and culture influence his or her writing in a second language. It presents a comprehensive view of the research in this field, emphasizing the connections between contrastive rhetoric and the related disciplines of composition studies, cultural anthropology, translation studies, and text linguistics. Connor draws on this research to provide sound advice for dealing with cross-cultural issues in a variety of second language writing contexts. Her goal is to make teachers aware of the many factors influencing their students' attempts to compose effective texts and to help teachers draw on the resources individual learners bring to the writing task. It is a solid reference for researchers and teachers in the field of second language writing.

Table of Contents:
PART 1 PRELIMINARIES: EARLY PHASES OF THE FIELD; 1 Toward an extended definition of contrastive rhetoric; 2 Contrastive rhetoric studies in applied linguistics; 3 Historical evaluation of contrastive rhetoric: from Kaplan's 1966 study to diversification in languages, genres, and authors; PART 2 INTERFACES WITH OTHER DISCIPLINES; 4 Contrastive rhetoric and the field of rhetoric and composition; 5 Contrastive rhetoric and text linguistics; 6 Writing as an activity embedded in a culture; 7 Contrastive rhetoric and translation studies; 8 Genre-specific studies in contrastive rhetoric; PART 3 IMPLICATIONS OF CONTRASTIVE RHETORIC; 9 Methods of research in contrastive rhetoric; 10 Conclusion: Implications and research directions

Review :
'This is a welcome and readable addition to the literature. It will be of use to anyone concerned with genre analysis, text studies, EAP or process writing.' Teacher Development, No.35, 1997 '... this book provides excellent insights into the cultural differences that many students bring to their writing in English. These differences are clearly described in a way that makes them accesible to both teachers and learners themselves (at least those whose English is at Intermediate - advanced level) and should prove useful to teachers working with students who know that their writing in English is not as communicatively effective as they would wish it to be and want to learn why.' ESL, 1997 'Like other titles in the Cambridge Applied Linguistic series, Contrastive Rhetoric is clearly organised to allow both the lay teacher and the specialist in second language writing ease of access to specific information whilst also being a satisfying cover to cover read.' VATME Newsletter No 73, 1997