College Composition and Communication Sep 2001

Ethos and Error: How Business People React to Errors

Larry Beason

Abstract

Errors seem to bother nonacademic readers as well as teachers. But what does it mean to be “bothered” by errors? Questions such as this help transform the study of error from mere textual issues to larger rhetorical matters of constructing meaning. Although this study of fourteen business people indicates a range of reactions to errors, the findings also reveal patterns of qualitative agreement—certain ways in which these readers constructed a negative ethos of the writer.

Journal
College Composition and Communication
Published
2001-09-01
DOI
10.58680/ccc20011441
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism argument
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

  1. Baker et al. (2025)
    Business Communication and Editing Students’ Evaluations of Written Error: An E…
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  2. McDonough et al. (2021)
    Instructor Evaluation of Business Student Writing: Does Language Play a Role?
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  3. Xie (2019)
    Error analysis and diagnosis of ESL linguistic accuracy: Construct specificatio…
    Assessing Writing
  4. Coffelt et al. (2016)
    Business Communication Practices From Employers’ Perspectives
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly

References (0)

No references on file for this article.

CrossRef global citation count: 90 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Res Rhetorica Apr 2026
    Logos in ancient Greek discourse on rhetoric: An overview ↗
    Arkadiusz Sokolnicki
    classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument
  2. Rhetoric of Health and Medicine Apr 2026
    Psyche or Soma?: An Analysis of the Medical Debates Over the Diagnosis and Treatment of “Transsexualism” ↗
    Samantha Rippetoe
    rhetorical criticism argument archival research
  3. Argumentation Mar 2026
    (Mis)representing the Opposition and Rhetorical Success: Experimental Evidence on Faithful and Inaccurate Reformulations ↗
    Ramy Younis
    rhetorical criticism argument
  4. Poroi Feb 2026
    Using Stasis Theory as a Heuristic for Examining Epistemological Dilemmas in a Post-Truth Landscape ↗
    Bruce Bowles
    classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument
  5. Rhetoric of Health and Medicine Feb 2026
    Making Amends to the Dead: Reparative Ethos in Veteran Expressions of Survivor’s Guilt ↗
    Kayla Rhidenour; Robert Mack; Kristen Cole
    rhetorical criticism argument