Rhetoric Followers Want “New Rhetoric” – NewView Options Provides the “Rhetoric of Newness”
By Press Release - Feb 02 , 2010
Many major scholars of Rhetoric have been calling for a “New Rhetoric” for years because Rhetoric hasn’t panned out well, especially as applied to writing. NewView Options claims to have created an effective “Rhetoric of Newness” to replace the old, ineffective Rhetoric of forms handed down from ancient Greece.
Provo, UT – January 26, 2010 (PressReleasePivot) – Since the 1850s, there have been many complaints in educational circles about the teaching of writing. In 1936, an internationally regarded British authority on communications, I. A. Richards, indicated that colleges should “dismiss . . . to Limbo” the teaching of Rhetorical writing in freshman English.
In 1921, 1939, and 1959, distinguished members of the National Council of the Teachers of English also recommended the abolition of writing in Freshman English. And in 2003, the National Commission on Writing (NCW) called “for a writing revolution because there’s a crisis in the teaching of writing in American schools—far too many of our students write too poorly to do college work.”
We asked Bill Drew, CEO of NewView Options, a company involved with teaching writing, what he thinks of the crisis that the NCW is worried about. “Sure, there’s a real crisis. But then, what do you expect when you keep trying to force an ancient system of speaking, communication, and writing on modern people, a system that should have died when the ancient Greek empire died about 2,000 years ago?”
And what system is that, Mr. Drew? “Rhetoric, of course. In the first place, Rhetoric was intended as a system for teaching Greeks to speak—not write—before huge juries of over 1,000 jury members. And the crisis is not recent—it keeps popping up, as scholar Robert J. Connors explained in his 1994 article, ‘Crisis and Panacea in Composition Studies: A History’ (http://wrt-howard.syr.edu/Bibs/Crises.htm ). That’s the whole history of teaching writing: a crisis, a quick fix panacea, and then sweep it under the rug until someone hollers Crisis! again.
“Doesn’t anyone know about the December 8,1975, Newsweek cover article, ‘Why Johnny Can’t Write’? Same thing happened then—people got upset and excited, authorities vowed they would do whatever it takes to solve the problem, and then it was forgotten—until a new crisis raised its head in 2003 and authorities made the exact same promises. Seven years later, now, the crisis is being ignored and we’re back to schooling as usual, with Rhetoric leading the way down the steepening decline. The ‘crisis’ will be worse next time, unless we trash Rhetoric.”
Trash Rhetoric? It seems you are a lone voice in demanding the demolishing of Rhetoric, Mr. Drew. “Actually, for years, now, many authorities on Rhetoric have been calling for a ‘New Rhetoric’ to replace the Old Rhetoric (http://www.jstor.org/pss/357749 ). I won’t cite their credentials, but here’s a sampling of authorities in the field of Rhetoric and Composition who have been demanding a ‘New Rhetoric’ for many years, now: I. A. Richards, Kenneth Burke, Wayne C. Booth, W. R. Winterowd, Francis Christensen, James L. Kinneavy, E. D. Hirsch Jr., Andrea Lunsford, Lisa Ede, Richard Lanham, Reed Way Dasenbrock, C.H. Knoblauch, and Lil Brannon.”
What exactly is wrong with Rhetoric that so many authorities want to replace it? “Well, Rhetoric focuses on forms, completely ignoring content. Rhetoric is inflexible, and doesn’t take into account the major principle of my NewView system: What’s new to the reader. My NewView system provides a true Rhetoric of Newness—instead of a New Rhetoric—with a breakthrough set of concepts that focus on generating newness of content for readers. I introduced NewView to the world at large in my new e-book, The Secret DNA of Writing Essays—And Everything Else, on December 31, 2009. My company, NewView Options, has also released a computer program that helps students create their NewView Thesis statements, which is THE fundamental building block for essays.”
Drew’s e-book, ‘The Secret DNA of Writing Essays – And Everything Else’, is available now online at http://bit.ly/BuySecretDNABook for $12.50. It is also available on Amazon.com as a Kindle e-book for $9.50. The companion software, NewView Essay Services, which automates the thesis-making process in the e-book, is available at http://bit.ly/SecretDNASoftware on a subscription basis for 3-, 6-, and 12-month terms ($15.50, $20.50, $30.50).
About NewView Options:
Founded in 2008, NewView Options is a Provo, UT, firm specializing in the teaching and training of writing, for both beginners and the more advanced. The company is focused on promoting its propriety NewView approach to writing, communications, and teaching. NewView Options provides Education Discount rates for school districts. Call 1-801-373-0447, visit http://secretdnaofwritingessays.com/, or e-mail billdrew@richcontent.com.
