Written Communication Jan 2010

The Common Topoi of STEM Discourse: An Apologia and Methodological Proposal, With Pilot Survey

Lynda Walsh University of Nevada, Reno

Abstract

In this article, the author proposes a methodology for the rhetorical analysis of scientific, technical, mathematical, and engineering (STEM) discourse based on the common topics (topoi) of this discourse. Beginning with work by Miller, Prelli, and other rhetoricians of STEM discourse—but factoring in related studies in cognitive linguistics—she argues for a reimagining of topoi as basic schema that interrelate texts, objects, and writers in STEM communities. Then, she proposes a topical method as a stable, broadly applicable heuristic that may help fit the rhetorical dynamics of the much-studied research article (RA) into the wider context of written technical discourse—exactly the type of improvement that Gross, Fahnestock, and others have proposed. Finally, as an illustration of this argument, the author performs a pilot topical survey of 18 RAs representing six STEM disciplines. This survey yields a set of 30 topoi used samplewide that can form a starting point for future surveys. She answers challenges to the significance and relevance of a topical method and finishes by sketching some future applications of the method that can move rhetoric of science beyond the RA.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
2010-01-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088309353501
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism discourse analysis
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (13)

  1. Tham (2026)
    Exploring the Rhetorical and Agentive Functions of Scholarly Biosketches in Aca…
    Rhetoric Review
  2. Fahnestock (2025)
    The Controversy behind the Controversies: Scientific Discourse in the Twenty-Fi…
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  3. DeJeu (2024)
    Topoi of Nonprofit Proposal Writing
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  4. Carter (2023)
    Identifying Specific Arguments in Discussion Sections of Science Research Artic…
    Rhetoric Review
  5. DeJeu (2023)
    The Topoi of Small Business Entrepreneurship
    Written Communication
Show all 13 →
  1. Lambrecht (2023)
    Working to Resonate: Rhetorical Mapping of Disciplinary Stances about Technolog…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Banting (2023)
    Humanistic Knowledge-Making and the Rhetoric of Literary Criticism: Special Top…
    Written Communication
  3. Carter (2021)
    The Construction of Value in Science Research Articles: A Quantitative Study of…
    Written Communication
  4. Mehlenbacher (2019)
    Registered Reports: Genre Evolution and the Research Article
    Written Communication
  5. Reid (2019)
    Compressing, Expanding, and Attending to Scientific Meaning: Writing the Semiot…
    Written Communication
  6. Walsh (2018)
    Visual Invention and the Composition of Scientific Research Graphics: A Topolog…
    Written Communication
  7. Ross (2013)
    Common Topics and Commonplaces of Environmental Rhetoric
    Written Communication
  8. Walker et al. (2012)
    “No One Yet Knows What the Ultimate Consequences May Be”: How Rachel Carson Tra…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication

References (56) · 12 in this index

  1. Aristotle (1960)
    Topica. (E. S. Forster, trans.) Loeb Classical Library
  2. Asher, N. (2003)
    Logics of conversation
  3. Atkinson, D. (1999)
    Scientific discourse in sociohistorical context
  4. Bazerman, C. (1988)
    Shaping written knowledge
  5. Bazerman, C. ( 1997). Reporting the experiment: The changing account of scientific doings in the philosophica…
Show all 56 →
  1. Berkenkotter, C. & Huckin, T. ( 1995). News value. In Genre Knowledge in Disciplinary Communication (pp. 27-4…
  2. Berkenkotter, C., Huckin, T.N. & Ackerman, J. ( 1990). Social context and socially constructed texts: The ini…
  3. Blakeslee, A. (2001)
    Interacting with audiences: Social influences on the production of scientific writing
  4. Burke, K. (1984). Attitudes toward history. Berkeley: University of California Press. Fleck, L. (1981). Genes…
  5. Gadamer, H.G. (1989)
    Truth and method (2nd rev
  6. Gilbert, G.N. (1984)
    Opening pandora’s box: A sociological analysis of scientific discourse
  7. Golden, J. L. (1990)
    The rhetoric of Blair, Campbell, and Whitely
  8. FAHNESTOCK (1986)
    Accommodating Science: The Rhetorical Life of Scientific Facts
    Written Communication
  9. Fahnestock, J. (1999)
    Rhetorical figures in science
     ↗
  10. Fahnestock (2005)
    Rhetoric of Science: Enriching the Discipline
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  11. Fahnestock, J. & Secor, M. ( 1991). The rhetoric of literary criticism. In C. Bazerman & J. Paradis (Eds.), D…
  12. FAHNESTOCK et al. (1988)
    The Stases in Scientific and Literary Argument
    Written Communication
  13. Galison, P. (2008). Ten problems in history and philosophy of science. Isis, 99, 111-124. Gaonkar, D. P. (199…
     ↗
  14. Gross, A.G. (1990)
    The rhetoric of science
  15. Gross, A.G. (2002)
    Communicating science: The scientific article from the 17th century to the present
     ↗
  16. Grosz, B. (1974)
    The Structure of Task-Oriented Dialogs. IEEE Symposium on Speech Recognition, Contributed…
  17. Halliday, M.A.K. (1976)
    Cohesion in English
  18. Halliday, M.A.K. (1993)
    Writing science. Literacy and discursive power
  19. Henze (2004)
    Emergent Genres in Young Disciplines: The Case of Ethnological Science
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  20. Hobbs, J.R. (1985)
    On the coherence and structure of discourse (No. CSLI-85-37)
  21. 10.1016/S0271-5309(96)00023-7
     ↗
  22. Kain (2005)
    Constructing Genre: A Threefold Typology
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  23. Kamp, H. (1993)
    From discourse to logic: Introduction to model-theoretic semantics of natural language, f…
  24. Kaufer, D.S. (1993)
    Communication at a distance
  25. Laudan, L. (1984)
    Science and Values
  26. Leff (1983)
    The Topics of Argumentative Invention in Latin Rhetorical Theory from Cicero to…
    Rhetorica
  27. Leff (2006)
    Up from Theory: Or I Fought the Topoi and the Topoi Won
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  28. 10.2307/412701
     ↗
  29. 10.1515/9783112329924
     ↗
  30. MacDonald, S.P. (1994)
    Professional academic writing in the humanities and social sciences
  31. 10.1080/01638538609544632
     ↗
  32. Merton, R.K. ( 1973). The normative structure of science. In N. W. Storer (Ed.), The sociology of science (pp…
  33. Miller (1987)
    Aristotle's “special topics”; in rhetorical practice and pedagogy
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  34. Miller, C.R. & Selzer, J. ( 1985). Special topics of argument in engineering reports. In L. Odell & D. Goswam…
  35. MYERS (1985)
    The Social Construction of Two Biologists' Proposals
    Written Communication
  36. Myers, G. (1990)
    Writing biology: Texts in the social construction of scientific knowledge
  37. Olman, L.C. (1998)
    Evidence for Iconicity: The instance relation in informational exposition. M.A. Thesis
  38. Penrose, A.M.
    Conference on College Composition and Communication
  39. Perelman, C. (1969)
    The new rhetoric: A treatise on argumentation (J. Wilkinson & P. Weaver
  40. Prelli, L.J. (1989)
    A rhetoric of science: Inventing scientific discourse
  41. Prelli, L.J. ( 1997). The rhetorical construction of scientific ethos. In R. A. Harris (Ed.), Landmark studie…
  42. Rymer, J. ( 1988). Scientific composing processes: How eminent scientists write journal articles. In D. Jolli…
  43. 10.1177/030631284014004001
     ↗
  44. Swales, J. ( 1990). Research articles in English. In Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Setting…
  45. 10.1080/10350330802469961
     ↗
  46. 10.1080/00335637209383137
     ↗
  47. Warnke, G. (1987)
    Gadamer: Hermeneutics, tradition, and reason
  48. Wilder (2002)
    “Get Comfortable With Uncertainty”: A Study of the Conventional Values of Liter…
    Written Communication
  49. Wilder (2005)
    “The Rhetoric of Literary Criticism” Revisited: Mistaken Critics, Complex Conte…
    Written Communication
  50. Winterowd (1973)
    "Topics" and Levels in the Composing Process
    College English
  51. 10.1080/09500690500336601
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 26 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
    What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Constructing Risk at Advanced Maternal Age ↗
    Melissa Carrion
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis
  3. Poroi Feb 2026
    Multi-Methodological, Multiply Ontological: Pivoting Methodologies in Rhetorical Analysis of Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) ↗
    Paige Welsh; S. Scott Graham
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis
  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. Written Communication Feb 2026
    Rhetoric and Affect: The Role of Faith in Student Writers’ Wayfinding ↗
    Amy D. Williams; Jonathan Ostenson
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis empirical research affect and writing