Epideictic Rhetoric Born Digital — Rhetoric & Composition

Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jan 2018

Epideictic Rhetoric Born Digital

Elizabeth Tomlinson West Virginia University ; Sara Newman Kent State University

Abstract

The letter of recommendation (LOR) plays a significant role in the application process for many professional positions, offering descriptive rather than quantitative information from a third party about an individual’s potential fit within the hiring organization. Such letters, however, increasingly appear online, emphasizing existing problems within the genre and creating others involving trust, reliability, and confidentiality. Typically, the response has been that such digitization of the LOR minimizes its significance or standardizes it. This article analyzes the digital LOR genre as an exemplar of epideictic rhetoric situated within a Perelmanian framework and demonstrates how the digital LOR operates rhetorically, enhancing the adherence between candidate, writer, audience, and institutional values and providing a means of evaluating candidate fit. The article also offers a rhetorical heuristic that captures how audiences can more fruitfully read the epideictic, digital LOR, thereby demonstrating how to optimize the digital platform’s benefits and still use the LOR to its best rhetorical advantage.

Journal: Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published: 2018-01-01
DOI: 10.1177/1050651917729862
Open Access: Closed
Topics: rhetorical theory

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

Tuckley et al. (2024)

Situating Evaluation and Authority: Direct Sponsorship in Letters of Recommendation

Written Communication
Wright (2019)

“The Caprices of an Undisciplined Fancy”: Using Blame to Negotiate the “between…

Rhetoric Review
Sharp (2019)

Agency, Authority, and Epideictic Rhetoric: A Case Study of Bottom-Up Organizat…

Journal of Business and Technical Communication

Cites in this index (4)

Bruland (2009)

Rhetorical Cues and Cultural Clues: An Analysis of the Recommendation Letter in…

Rhetoric Review
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Rhetorical Hiccups: Disability Disclosure in Letters of Recommendation

Rhetoric Review
Agnew (2008)

“The Day Belongs to the Students”: Expanding Epideictic's Civic Function

Rhetoric Review
SULLIVAN (1991)

The Epideictic Rhetoric of Science

Journal of Business and Technical Communication

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