Primary Research and Writing ─ People, Places, and Spaces

This text responds to the increasing emphasis on community in composition coursework, emphasizing the rhetorical situation (and its components) in the context of community and public issues, in addition to a strong focus on primary research. This text’s approach addresses the need for "transferability" of skills acquired in a learning environment based on civic rhetoric, and reflects the current political climate, with the bipartisan call for community engagement.

Developed for young academic writers, Primary Research and Writing will also help advanced rhetoric/composition students, and those studying in other disciplines – e.g., history, communication – who are conducting archival research and/or community engagement, as it emphasizes archival research methods throughout.

Lynee Lewis Gaillet is Professor of English at Georgia State University where she directs the Writing Studio and Lower Division Studies. She is author of numerous articles addressing Scottish rhetoric, writing program administration, and composition/rhetoric pedagogy. She is editor of Scottish Rhetoric and Its Influences (1998), Stories of Mentoring (2008), and The Present State of the History of Rhetoric (2010).

Michelle F. Eble is associate professor of rhetoric and professional communication at East Carolina University where she serves as Director of Graduate Studies. She has published in Computers and Composition, Technical Communication, and Technical Communication Quarterly on professional writing theory and practice, especially as it relates to rhetorical engagement, technology, and design. She is the co-editor of Stories on Mentoring: Theory and Praxis (2008).