We argue that intellectual risk-taking offers unacknowledged potential for the writing classroom. But in order to incorporate intellectual risk into the RCWS classroom, we need a theory of its role and pedagogical practices to operationalize it. Our article puts forth a theory of intellectual risk-taking as a rhetorical, deliberative activity and offers six pedagogical topoi (emerging from survey data) where instructors and students are likely to encounter risks in their writing process. The topoi serve as inventional prompts for students, instructors, and programs interested in helping students to cultivate rhetorical capabilities as writers.

Given decades of stalemate, one could be forgiven for thinking plagiarism is best left an agree-to-disagree issue, best handled by in-house amelioration. Yet, one facet of plagiarism appears intriguing and overlooked: the arguments that surround public figures charged with plagiarism. Such debates bring to light the often invisible commonplaces about writing.