A Need for Rhetoric

If you were going to cook a meal, you'd want to have accumulated techniques that would let you pull off the recipes. To build a house, you must learn to properly measure, cut, and use tools. You can't make your own clothes if you haven't learned the basics of sewing.

When it comes to writing, I've found that many writers concentrate on external stylistic issues. But strong writing is based on strong thinking. In non-fiction you are revealing information, using a whole array of approaches to assembling and relating information. But you are also constructing arguments to make points. To do that, you need a formal grasp of logic and what passes for reasoning that actually isn't. Many years ago, rhetoric was a topic that all children had to study. I think it's well worth brushing up on for a professional writer. Not only does it keep you from making gross errors in your own work, but it helps enormously when sources are trying to twist things to support their own points.

If you'd like a quick review, here's a pithy primer from a Purdue instructor that is worth a read.