Most cited in this index

What does the field treat as foundational — and is that different from what we assume? These rankings reflect citation counts within the discipline's own journals, not Google Scholar's cross-disciplinary totals. An article cited 200 times across CCC, College English, and Written Communication tells a different story than one cited 200 times from linguistics or education. This is the field citing itself — the closest approximation we have to what rhetoric and composition actually considers essential reading.

Full citation data available
JournalArticlesWith referencesCoverage
College Composition and Communication69376937100.0%
College English1067010670100.0%
Community Literacy Journal465465100.0%
Computers and Composition16491649100.0%
Journal of Business and Technical Communication10491049100.0%
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication15311531100.0%
Pedagogy11411141100.0%
Philosophy & Rhetoric691691100.0%
Poroi259259100.0%
Research in the Teaching of English16781678100.0%
Rhetoric & Public Affairs733733100.0%
Rhetoric Review13871387100.0%
Teaching English in the Two-Year College15131513100.0%
Technical Communication Quarterly11101110100.0%
Written Communication895895100.0%
Rhetoric Society Quarterly1764176399.9%
No DOIs (web-only journals)
JournalArticlesWith referencesCoverage
Basic Writing e-Journal5600
Composition Forum480
Composition Studies3250
Enculturation1650
Journal of Multimodal Rhetorics550
KB Journal: The Journal of the Kenneth Burke Society3390
Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy630
Literacy in Composition Studies1910
Praxis: A Writing Center Journal1990
Present Tense: A Journal of Rhetoric in Society2410
Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric5530
The Peer Review260
Writing Center Journal1310
Writing Lab Newsletter3540

Citation data comes from CrossRef, which aggregates reference lists deposited by publishers. Some publishers in the index — particularly Sage and Taylor & Francis — deposit complete reference lists for their journals. Others, including some open-access and society-published journals, deposit DOIs but not reference lists. Web-only journals without DOIs cannot contribute citation data at all, though they can still appear as cited works when other journals reference them. The citation network and 'Most Cited' rankings therefore reflect a partial picture, weighted toward journals whose publishers participate fully in CrossRef's reference deposit system. This is a limitation of the available infrastructure, not a judgment about the value of any journal's scholarship.

Journal: Topic: Years:
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  1. 1
Written Communication
  1. 1
    1997 Cited by 108
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
    2012 Cited by 99
College English
  1. 1
    1984 Cited by 95
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  1. 1
    2016 Cited by 93
Written Communication
  1. 1
    1993 Cited by 72
  2. 2
    1986 Cited by 71
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
    1993 Cited by 64
  2. 2
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
Written Communication
  1. 1
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  1. 1
Written Communication
  1. 1
    1992 Cited by 54
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
    2006 Cited by 53
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  1. 1
    2007 Cited by 50
Written Communication
  1. 1
    1986 Cited by 47
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  1. 1
    1982 Cited by 47
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
Computers and Composition
  1. 1
    2009 Cited by 43
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
Research in the Teaching of English
  1. 1
College Composition and Communication
  1. 1
Written Communication
  1. 1
    2005 Cited by 41
  2. 2
    1990 Cited by 41
College Composition and Communication
  1. 1
    2011 Cited by 40
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
Written Communication
  1. 1
    1984 Cited by 40
Research in the Teaching of English
  1. 1
Written Communication
  1. 1
    1994 Cited by 39
Research in the Teaching of English
  1. 1
Written Communication
  1. 1
Rhetoric Review
  1. 1
    1986 Cited by 38
Computers and Composition
  1. 1
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
    2001 Cited by 37
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  1. 1
    2016 Cited by 35
College English
  1. 1
Computers and Composition
  1. 1
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
College Composition and Communication
  1. 1
    2005 Cited by 34
  2. 2
Rhetoric Review
  1. 1
    1984 Cited by 34
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
    2005 Cited by 32
Written Communication
  1. 1
    2005 Cited by 32
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
Rhetoric Review
  1. 1
Written Communication
  1. 1
    1988 Cited by 32
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  1. 1
    2016 Cited by 31
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
    2019 Cited by 30
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  1. 1
Computers and Composition
  1. 1
College Composition and Communication
  1. 1
Computers and Composition
  1. 1
    2007 Cited by 30
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
    2001 Cited by 30
Written Communication
  1. 1
    1999 Cited by 30
  2. 2
    1993 Cited by 30
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
  2. 2
    2008 Cited by 29
College Composition and Communication
  1. 1
Written Communication
  1. 1
    2001 Cited by 29
Philosophy & Rhetoric
  1. 1
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
Written Communication
  1. 1
    1994 Cited by 28
Computers and Composition
  1. 1
Rhetoric Review
  1. 1
Computers and Composition
  1. 1
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
Computers and Composition
  1. 1
    2003 Cited by 27
Rhetoric Review
  1. 1
    1988 Cited by 27
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
    2017 Cited by 26
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
  2. 2
Research in the Teaching of English
  1. 1
    1982 Cited by 26
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
    2017 Cited by 25
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
  2. 2
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
    2009 Cited by 25
College Composition and Communication
  1. 1
    2007 Cited by 25
  2. 2
    1999 Cited by 25
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
    1993 Cited by 25
Written Communication
  1. 1
    1989 Cited by 25
Computers and Composition
  1. 1
    2017 Cited by 24
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  1. 1
    2016 Cited by 24
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
    2012 Cited by 24
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
College Composition and Communication
  1. 1
    1989 Cited by 24
Written Communication
  1. 1
Rhetoric Review
  1. 1
    2018 Cited by 23
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
College Composition and Communication
  1. 1
    2011 Cited by 23
College Composition and Communication
  1. 1
  2. 2
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
    2000 Cited by 23
Computers and Composition
  1. 1
  2. 2
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
Computers and Composition
  1. 1
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
    1993 Cited by 23
Research in the Teaching of English
  1. 1
College Composition and Communication
  1. 1
    1981 Cited by 23
  2. 2
  3. 3
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
Computers and Composition
  1. 1
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
    2004 Cited by 22
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
    2001 Cited by 22
College Composition and Communication
  1. 1
Research in the Teaching of English
  1. 1
Rhetoric Review
  1. 1
    1985 Cited by 22
College Composition and Communication
  1. 1
    1983 Cited by 22
College English
  1. 1
    1982 Cited by 22
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
Research in the Teaching of English
  1. 1
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  1. 1
Computers and Composition
  1. 1
    2004 Cited by 21
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
Pedagogy
  1. 1
    2001 Cited by 21
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
  2. 2
    1993 Cited by 21
Written Communication
  1. 1
    1991 Cited by 21
Computers and Composition
  1. 1
    1988 Cited by 21
Written Communication
  1. 1
    1987 Cited by 21
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  1. 1
    2018 Cited by 20
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
    2014 Cited by 20
College Composition and Communication
  1. 1
    2014 Cited by 20
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  1. 1
    2014 Cited by 20
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
    2012 Cited by 20
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  1. 1
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
    2002 Cited by 20
  2. 2
    2001 Cited by 20
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  1. 1
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
    1996 Cited by 20
Written Communication
  1. 1
    1994 Cited by 20
Research in the Teaching of English
  1. 1
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  1. 1
    2017 Cited by 19
Computers and Composition
  1. 1
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
College Composition and Communication
  1. 1
College Composition and Communication
  1. 1
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
Written Communication
  1. 1
  2. 2
    2008 Cited by 19
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  1. 1
    2002 Cited by 19
Written Communication
  1. 1
    1998 Cited by 19
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  1. 1
    1997 Cited by 19
Written Communication
  1. 1
    1989 Cited by 19
College Composition and Communication
  1. 1
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  1. 1
    2018 Cited by 18
Computers and Composition
  1. 1
  2. 2
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
    2014 Cited by 18
College Composition and Communication
  1. 1
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
College Composition and Communication
  1. 1
    2004 Cited by 18
Technical Communication Quarterly
  1. 1
Written Communication
  1. 1
    2000 Cited by 18
Computers and Composition
  1. 1
Written Communication
  1. 1
    1998 Cited by 18