LibGuides: Writing Resources: Rhetoric and Writing Style

Rhetoric and Writing Style

Beyond the essentials of writing mechanics, writing style, or rhetoric, is the choice of words, sentence structure, and paragraph structure used to convey the writer's meaning effectively. While following the rules drawn from established English usage, a writer has great flexibility in how to express concepts.

The resources on the right are arranged by type: eBooks, journal articles, videos, and websites. They all relate to written rhetoric in some way, though individual resources may cover other aspects of writing style.

Quick Links

NoodleTools This link opens in a new window
An online research management platform including a bibliography composer and note-taking features.
What is it?
NoodleTools is a resource that allows students to evaluate resources, build accurate citations, archive source material, take notes, outline topics, and prepare to write. it generates accurate MLA, APA, and Chicago/Turabian references with options to annotate and archive lists of documents. It offers a visual 'tabletop' to manipulate, tag and pile notecards, then connect them in outlines to prepare for writing.
Why use it?
Use this resource if you are looking for an all-in-one resource to assist with note-taking, citations, and pre-writing projects.

Writing Center

Rhetoric and Writing Style

100 tips to avoid mistakes in academic writing and presenting by Wallwork, A., & Southern, A.
ISBN: 9783030442132
Publication Date: 2020
Ebooks in EBSCOhost
Business writing style guide by Morris, J., & Zwart, J.
Publication Date: 2020
Open Textbook Library
How to write a good scientific paper by Mack, C. A.
ISBN: 9781510619142
Publication Date: 2018
SPIE Digital Library
Mind your writing: How to be a professional academic writer by Wymann, C.
ISBN: 9783847424598
Publication Date: 2021
Ebooks in EBSCOhost
Processes: Writing across academic careers by Iverson, C., & Ehrenfeld, D.
ISBN: 9781942341918
Publication Date: 2023
Open Textbook Library
Style guide for business writing by Thomsett, M. C.
ISBN: 9781547416189
Publication Date: 2018
Ebooks in EBSCOhost
Writing, redefined: Broadening our ideas of what it means to compose by Coppola, S.
ISBN: 9781032683348
Publication Date: 2020
Ebooks in EBSCOhost
Writing and publishing scientific papers: A primer for the non-English speaker by Lövei, G. L.
ISBN: 9781800640917
Publication Date: 2021
ProQuest Ebook Central
Writing differently by Pullen, A., Helin, J., & Harding, N.
ISBN: 9781838673383
Publication Date: 2020
Ebooks in EBSCOhost
Writing guide with handbook by Bachelor Robinson, M., Jerskey, M., & Fulwiller, T.
ISBN: 9781951693473
Publication Date: 2021
Open Textbook Library

The development of academic vocabulary in international foundation students' assessed academic writing by Therova, D.
Journal of International Students, (2022), 12(1), 123-140.
Disciplinary lifecycling: A generative framework for career trajectories in rhetoric, composition, and writing studies by Pinkert, L. A. & Bowen, L. M.
Composition Studies, (2021), 49(1), 16-41.
Feeling it: Toward style as culturally structured intuition by Rhodes, K.
College Composition and Communication, (2019, December), 71(2), 241-267.
Insights into the writing attitudes of college level students by Chai, H., et al.
College Student Journal, (2021, June), 55(2), 175-181.
I will write about: Investigating multiword expressions in prospective students' argumentative writing by Nam, D., & Park, K.
PLoS One, (2020, December 3), 15(12), e0242843.
On writing and academic conventions by Waisbord, S.
International Journal of Communication, (2020), Vol. 14, 419-421.
Practicing invention and style: Writing a persuasive résumé profile summary (like a Wikipedia entry) by Engstrom, C. L.
Communication Teacher, (2019, April 1), 33(2), 139-144.
Provocations of virtue: Rhetoric, ethics, and the teaching of writing by Twal, E. C.
Community Literacy Journal, (2019, September 1), 14(1), 116-120.
Sentence openers in academic writing: A comparison between seminar texts and students' reflective writing papers by Deveci, T.
Journal of Language & Linguistics Studies, (2019, January 1), 15(1), 247-261.
Styling writing and being styled in university literacy practices by Henderson, J.
Teaching in Higher Education, (2020, January), 25(1), 1-17.
Teaching academic writing: A shift towards intercultural rhetoric by Chuikova, E. S.
TLC Journal, (2020, January 1), 4(1), 22-32.

Legal writing: Just the facts
Alexander Street Video - 11:00
Of all the skills that are necessary for a paralegal to master perhaps none is more important than the ability to write clear, concise, and accurate communications. Whether writing a memo to a colleague, a brief for a partner in a firm, or a document that may be presented in court, good writing shows how one thinks, the standards one sets, and overall competence.
On writing: What illuminates a story?
ProQuest Video: 8:28
When it comes to writing a story, it's important to find a way to have an experience that will illuminate the narrative for readers — that is, an experience that fills you, the writer, with wonder and gives you a fresh take on things.
Secrets, confession, and a writer's voice
Kanopy - 28:00
One of the most remarkable consequences of essay writing is the illuminating insights you discover about yourself. The nature of the essay doesn't allow for plot building or outlines--you simply sit and write, which means the story takes its own direction.
Theme: The writer's workshop
Films on Demand - 15:39
This program looks at theme from the authors’ perspective as Australian authors Amra Pajalic, Angela Savage, Gabrielle Wang and Tony Wilson share how they work with theme during the writing process.
Writing inch by inch: From draft to polish
Kanopy - 30:00
Professor Cognard-Black guides you through Aristotle's process of inventio or invention, which is that period of discovery as you write your first draft. You’ll examine openings from a number of published works, gaining a powerful toolkit that can help you craft the first sentence of your first draft. From there, Professor Cognard-Black provides a multitude of invaluable tools for revising, editing, and reviewing your writing until you’ve reached your final draft.

87 advanced business writing tips [that actually work]
(Instructional Solutions) I'm excited to share these top 87 business writing tips with you... My hope is these tips help you enjoy writing, better communicate at work, get ahead in your career, and grow your business!
Four key features of academic style
(The University of Melbourne) Academic writing in English has a distinctive style – it is formal and uses particular language norms that you need to learn.
How does college writing differ from workplace writing?
(University of Maryland Global Campus) Many students begin their college careers with an arsenal of writing skills already. However, not all those skills will transfer to an academic setting. Even highly skilled writers might need to adjust their style and tone so that the writing is suitable for a target audience of academics.
The internet writing journal
(Writers Write) Welcome to the homepage of the The Internet Writing Journal, an online magazine from Writers Write covering literature and writing. The IWJ is home to articles, book reviews, author interviews, literary features and more.
Meredith Sue Willis writing exercises
(Meredith Sue Willis Author and Teacher) I am a veteran teacher of writing from university level to little kids. I offer these exercises for fiction writing and other kinds of prose narrative as part of a community of sharing and exchange.
Purdue OWL - Academic writing
(Purdue University) These OWL resources will help you with the types of writing you may encounter while in college. The OWL resources range from rhetorical approaches for writing, to document organization, to sentence level work, such as clarity.
Purdue OWL - The writing process
(Purdue University) These OWL resources will help you with the writing process: pre-writing (invention), developing research questions and outlines, composing thesis statements, and proofreading. While the writing process may be different for each person and for each particular assignment, the resources contained in this section follow the general work flow of pre-writing, organizing, and revising.
Purdue OWL - What is style?
(Purdue University) Style refers to how someone expresses themselves in writing—in other words, what makes their writing sound like them.
Rhetoric
(George Mason University) Rhetoric is the study of how writers use language to influence an audience. When we do a rhetorical analysis, we analyze how the writer communicates an argument (instead of what the writer argues).
Writing guides
(Colorado State University) This site likes to call this page on the writing process an "online textbook," but that simplifies a cool interactive interface helping you get to the facts you need quickly.

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Writing Resources: Rhetoric and Writing Style

Rhetoric and Writing Style

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Rhetoric and Writing Style

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