Rhetorician/Theorist: Elaine B.Richardson
Principles
What the Rhetorician Says
provide paraphrases and/or
quotations
 identify as theory or example
 provide page numbers
What the Theory Me
Rewrite the poin
column in your o
they make sense
Explain why this
the principle
Ethos (appeal to reputation, rhetor)
1. My analysis and interpretation of the
students’ texts and contexts is informed by
African American-centered language,
rhetoric, and composition theory. (pg. 160)
The foundation of Ric
conclusions center of
Americans speak, rea
achievement, empow
This passage establis
credibility by convinc
her research is relativ
2. My work extends previous work on
AAVE discourse patterns because it
analyzes students’ “ways with words,” as a
means of figuring out how to use Black
discourses more forcefully and powerfully,
to help students to acquire vernacular
discourses of the Black literacy tradition
that helped to change this nation, and to
develop Blackademic writing. (pg. 162)
1. Although it is a fact that many people of
African ancestry do not identify with
African American culture, hardly any of us
can escape the aura of race and class issues
since they are interwoven into the culture
fabric of or society. (pg. 155)
2. Here, the author ex
in African American V
and how it deals with
speech that is linked
African American lite
specific writing. Agai
showing her credenti
has done her homewo
new ground, in this a
1. One may be African
American, but he or s
Africa; the individual
has never stepped foo
this is true, society fo
otherwise and we fall
and beliefs of others.
stereotypes begin to f
2. Another important theme circulating in
various stories about literacy in American
culture is reflected in a well-known
childhood Black folk rhyme that sums up a
truth that critical race theorists and others
are paid great sums to stretch out into
lengthy texts and speeches:
2. This saying echoes
African American lite
in America. America
divide, and Richardso
emotional button wit
illuminating how the
different races are vie
with the mainstream
respect to true literac
Pathos (appeal to emotion, audience)
If you black, get back
If you brown, stick around
If you yellow, you mellow
If you white, you right (pg. 156)
3. Stucky (1991) makes a critical point
when she asks if the possibility exists that
the same tool (literacy) that has been used
3. Regardless of past
America can possibly
using literacy to help
Style (presentation of communication)
to oppress can be used to empower? To
heal the scars of slavery, the silencing, the
othering, the devoicing, the unnecessary
cultural erasure of African American
students, we must begin writing new
stories of African American literacy and
rhetorical education. (pg. 159)
instead of to exploit a
Richardson is appeal
help revitalize African
and rhetoric educatio
4. In reflecting on the work he put in his
paper and the 2.0 grade he got, Mickey
says, “She said [the instructor] it wasn’t
clear. But I mean how could it be when it
was deep? That’s something I don’t
understand.” Mickey’s words point to the
complexity of living in a society struggling
to balance the scales. The scales contain
life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness (or
the distribution of wealth and resources)
on one side, and race/culture, gender, and
class on the other. (pg. 165)
4. One of the student
interviewed talked ab
his paper due to erro
clarity. However, the
the content should ha
over any cosmetic de
the story to illustrate
society that is still sep
views. The author m
putting a face and fee
1. Music, such as the blues, jazz, and Hip
Hop, represents forms of creativity within
free yet definite patterns that transmit
meaning through sound. (pg. 158)
1. Instead of just wor
added, or a tune. Ima
commercial as if som
the words/script to y
entertaining or the po
across to you because
simply turn the chann
own style; bottom lin
across.
2. What I am referring to here as “closet
speaking/writing” is equivalent to
“fronting.” A related if not similar strategy
is “racelessness.” Fordham defines this
strategy as one that high-achieving
students use as a survival strategy in
environments that are based in dominant
monocultural ideologies. (pg. 160)
2. Here the individua
would say that there
portrayed. One is onl
please society by choo
acceptable to society.
choosing the safe/har
3. Once students realize that writing their
words is not acceptable, stereotype threat
sets in and they get caught between two
worlds, writing something that is neither
AAVE nor academic English but
something else, referred to by
3. When one begins t
cannot write what the
“cramps” their style.
one wants to give in t
therefore one finds th
caught between the tw
Arrangement (how to structure)
Delivery (message transmission)
interlanguage. (pg. 163)
caught w/in the two,
created.
4. Mickey tries to validate his ideas and
perspective by incorporating language
from the register of research in his use of
the terms data and found, terms
associated with objectivity and credibility.
He mixes the Black style with the research
register in this way because use of the
Black style is usually elevated as
“emotionality” rather than “rationality.”
(pg. 165)
4. He searches for an
stating his point. He
w/society’s style with
make his paper seem
balanced/collected an
1. There is a lot to be said about an
academic system that encourages
instructors to reward structure over
originality. In the Black rhetorical
tradition, students are challenged to do
they own thang with the form. (pg. 167)
1. Most schools would
done the correct way
Arranging things you
best way to get an “A
feel as if doing things
them a better chance
persuasive.
2. After students were trained to recognize
two mainstream patterns of text
organization and two vernacular-based
organization patterns, students preferred
vernacular-based organization patterns
(narrative interspersion and
circumlocution) in both academic and
conversational tasks. (pg. 162)
2. After being introdu
would rather use a di
common and everyda
along with the attitud
others. When being v
little thought, you can
the flow. The student
approach.
1. In fact, literacy stories permeate the
history of Black people in the twentieth
century. In the enslavement era, those
stories concerned laws against Africans
learning to read and write, and they were
transmitted by word of mouth and through
enslavement narratives. (pg. 156)
1. During slavery, Afr
stories orally, sideste
teaching slaves to rea
American literacy sto
early form of delivery
and printed word you
2. The experiences of slavery and
oppression and retention and
reinterpretation of African cultural forms
in the American context influence these
orientations. One example of a distinct
African orientation to knowledge can be
found in sound culture. … Pleas conveyed
through sound span the entire spectrum of
African American experience. Specific
examples can be found in Black discourse
practices such as tonal semantics. (pg. 158)
2. Another way to del
African American cul
music. Song became
expressing culture. T
music), for example,
discourse in our time
Logos (appeal to logic)
Invention (creation of knowledge)
1. I do not mean here to suggest that White
teachers who practice bashing Black
cultural learning styles damage Black
students. I mean that all teachers who
have not had training in linguistic diversity
and literacy education lack the skills
necessary to support culturally relevant
learning. (pg. 158)
1. The author pretty m
teachers don’t have a
or African American
they will logically fall
Black students. This h
the argument for som
who wanted to includ
language curriculums
2. With respect to language education,
Woodson held that omitting the linguistic
history of “the broken-down African
tongue” (i.e., AAVE) from the curriculum
teaches the African American to despise
her mother tongue. Furthermore, Black
students were directly taught to hate Black
speech, which indirectly taught them to
hate themselves. Thus, the African
American-centered approach to literacy
research and education seeks to advise and
revise the story of miseducation in Black
students’ literacy education. (pg. 161)
2. Traditionally, Afric
Whites who wanted B
into the mainstream
speech in favor of the
white society. Unfort
self-hate did more to
esteem than uplift. To
integrating AAVE int
respects the culture a
student.
3. As the old folks say, “Ain’t nothing new
under the sun. Everything you did has
already been done.” What I am calling
African American-centered literacy
practice is really nothing more than
bringing to the center that which has been
common knowledge in traditional African
American ways of knowing but not in
mainstream classrooms. Many African
Americans exploit the tradition of
Nommo, power of the word, the
connection among language use, rhetorical
posture, and ideological stance. Of course,
everyday folk don’t call it by all these
academic names. (pg. 169)
1. While one of the goals of the study
presented here was to make visible
vernacular discourse/rhetorical patterns
and strategies in students’ texts, the scope
of identified strategies and policies is
broader. …this essay focuses attention on
the academic personas acquired by two
African American students. (pg. 155)
3. Culturally, African
the power of storytell
speech from Africa. T
toward African Amer
means of “going back
recognize African tra
literacy and writing t
understand how it is
of the African Americ
often missing from m
1. The author’s resear
beyond highlighting t
of African American s
literacy. She wants to
inclusion and exclusi
versus cultural specif
method of research e
usefulness of the kno
fresh and particular t
Other
2. The two students discussed here are a
male and female, Mickey and Rhonda
(pseudonyms). They were selected from
demographic surveys distributed to a
beginning writing class that had as its
focus the literatures of many ethnic groups
… I interviewed the students twice
individually and once together. All
sessions were tape recorded. I asked both
participants the same set of questions but
left them free to change topics … I
observed their classes over the semester
and analyzed pieces of their writing.
(pg. 159)
2. Richardson was ca
research thorough an
for scientific selection
involved but offering
resp0nses. Her audie
conclusions because
to conduct unbiased
3. A fundamental aspect of [African
American rhetorics and AAVE-oriented]
research has been to identify and define
Black discourse styles or Black rhetorical
patterns as these manifest themselves in
AAVE speaking students’ texts. Most of
this research has sought to explore and
expand the literacies of AAVE-oriented
students by having a deeper
understanding of what informs the
students’ approaches to literacy. (pg. 161)
3. Researchers like R
sought information c
specific Black speech
usually focus on acad
Ultimately, this resea
AAVE literacy by iden
motivates African Am
when they engage in
Richardson not only
she researched but sh
This helps her reader
point of view.