Rhetorical Knowledge

Rhetorical knowledge is how a student identifies and applies reading strategies across many texts
as well as writing. Using their own style, writers intentionally incorporate all rhetorical concepts
when analyzing a text.
By the end of FYW, students should be able to:
Using many technologies and all rhetorical concepts, review and create a variety of texts
Understand how different genres are molded by readers and writers
Be able to use different mediums and tones to adapt to different situations in writing
Critical Reading
Critical reading is the ability to dig deep into a text and determine the themes and main ideas. It
is a foundational concept for advanced writing and allows the reader/writer to find underlying
assumptions and patterns.
By the end of FYW, students should be able to:
Use reading to question and learn
Use critical reading to analyze their own work as well as others then explain rhetorical
devices in writing
Find and analyze primary and secondary sources and use them to conduct research
Use many different texts attending especially to relationships between assertion and
evidence, to patterns of organization, to the interplay between verbal and nonverbal
elements, and to how these features function for different audiences and situations
Composing Processes
Writers use many composing processes to create a piece of writing. Composing processes are
usually not straightforward. Successful writers adapt their composing processes to different
situations.
By the end of FYW, students should be able to:
Demonstrate versatility in using all composing processes
Use social methods such as brainstorming to create a composition
Use their writing process to gain a deeper understanding with source material and the
ideas of other writers

Knowledge of Conventions
Conventions are what defines genres and shape what is valid and invalid in a writers mind.
Conventions influence all composing processes including organization, mechanics, and spelling.
By the end of FYW, students should be able to:
Show how to utilize differences in conventions by genre
Learn why genre conventions for composing processes vary
Use intellectual property to practice citation conventions in their own work
Develop skills with grammar, punctuation, and spelling
Critical Reflection
Critical reflection is a writers ability to put what theyre thinking into words. This also entails
describing ones thought process behind their writing.
By the end of FYW, students should be able to:
Demonstrate reflecting on their writing in various rhetorical situations
Use writing as a means for reflection
Convey awareness of their writing process and conventions
Know that reflection is necessary in learning, thinking, and communicating