I designed this primarily for graduate students, though undergraduates in rhetoric classes might find some of it useful, particularly the sections on archival resources and library databases.
Doing research in rhetoric, composition, and writing studies can be challenging, since there is no single index that fully covers the field and much of the work is interdisciplinary, drawing from education, history, communication, linguistics, philosophy, cognitive science, political science, and cultural, race, and gender studies. Indeed, “rhetoric and composition” is itself a kind of scholarly portmanteau, representing the intersection of common interests between two fields with increasingly independent disciplinary identities. Any research you do, therefore, should include multiple databases, bibliographies, and journals. The following list is by no means complete, but should get you started.
Annotated Bibliographies of Research in the Teaching of English
Excellent annual bibliography from the journal RTE. (Scroll down to bottom of page for archived yearly list.)
CompPile
Curated database of rhetoric and writing research, with broad journal coverage, 1939-present. Contribute and make it stronger.
Silva Rhetoricae
Useful online lexicon of rhetorical terms. Compiled by Gideon O. Burton at Brigham Young University.
The following collections offer useful introductory overviews to various areas of research in rhetoric, composition, and writing studies.
Adler-Kassner, Linda, and Elizabeth Wardle, eds. Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of Writing Studies. UP of Colorado, 2015. (UM)
Gaillet, Lynee Lewis, and Winifred Bryan Horner, eds. The Present State of Scholarship in the History of Rhetoric: A Twenty-First Century Guide. U of Missouri P, 2010. (UM)
MacArthur, Charles A., Steve Graham, and Jill Fitzgerald, eds. Handbook of Writing Research. 2nd ed. Guilford, 2016. (UM)
Murphy, James J., and Christopher Thais, eds. A Short History of Writing Instruction: From Ancient Greece to the Contemporary United States. 4th ed., Routledge, 2020. (UM)
Ritter, Kelly, and Paul Matsuda, eds., Exploring Composition Studies: Sites, Issues, Perspectives. UP of Colorado, 2012. (UM)
It is always worth browsing the current catalogues (and getting on the mailing lists) of leading academic presses; among those with strengths in various areas of rhetoric, composition, and writing are Southern Illinois University, the University of Pittsburgh, the State University of New York, the University of South Carolina, the University of Alabama, Utah State University/University of Colorado, and the University of Michigan. Also worth examining are the CCCC Studies in Writing and Rhetoric Series, the WAC Clearinghouse (free open access!) SAGE Publications, Parlor Press, Routledge, and Oxford University Press.
Excellent way of discovering topics of recent interest or finding potential research partners.
Rhetoric Society of America: Program Archives, 2004-present
Conference on College Composition and Communication: 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2019 | 2018
I recommend browsing recent issues whenever possible, as this will often turn up valuable sources a keyword search might not. It’s also never too early to begin subscribing to key journals in your core areas of research or to sign up for new-issue alerts.
Argumentation and Advocacy | Home | @UM
Emphasis on theoretical and pedagogical issues in argumentation studies. Published by the American Forensic Association.
College Composition and Communication | Home | @UM
Leading journal in rhetoric and composition studies, with broad coverage of research in theory and practice. Published by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
College English | Home | @UM
Leading journal emphasizing pedagogical issues within the field of English studies, broadly defined. Published by the NCTE.
Composition Studies | Home | @UM
Emphasis on pedagogy and professional issues.
Composition Forum | Home
Long-established online journal focused on writing pedagogy.
Computers and Composition | Home | @UM
Emphasis on intersections between technology and writing.
enculturation | Home
Online journal “devoted to contemporary theories of rhetoric, writing, and culture”
English Education | Home | @UM
NCTE journal aimed at English Language Arts teacher education
English Journal | Home | @UM
Emphasis on teaching high-school and middle-school English.
JAC | Home | @UM
Emphasis on rhetorical and cultural theory.
Journal of Basic Writing | Home | @UM
The term “basic” has become somewhat problematic and contested within composition studies (see Kelly Ritter’s excellent overview), but many scholars still find it useful for focusing attention on students seen as institutionally underprepared, at-risk, or marginalized.
Journal of Business and Technical Communication | Home | @UM
A key journal in professional writing, emphasizing communication in a broad range of professional and academic contexts.
Journal of Writing Assessment | Home | @UM
Multidisciplinary journal treating writing assessment theory and practice
Journal of Writing Research | Home
Emphasis on empirical studies of writing processes and pedagogy
Kairos | Home
A key journal exploring composing in digital environments.
Literacy in Composition Studies | Home
Online journal “devoted to contemporary theories of rhetoric, writing, and culture”
New Media & Society | Home | @UM
A key new media journal, often treating issues of interest to writing studies and literacy scholars.
Pedagogy | Home | @UM
Emphasis on teaching within English studies, including classroom and professional issues.
Peitho | Home
Journal of the Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric and Composition.
Philosophy and Rhetoric | Home | @UM
Interdisciplinary journal emphasizing intersections between philosophy and rhetoric.
Quarterly Journal of Speech | Home | @UM
Emphasis on intersections between rhetoric and communication. Published by the National Communication Association.
Research in the Teaching of English | Home | @UM
Emphasis on empirical research in English education. Published by the NCTE.
Rhetoric and Public Affairs | Home | @UM
Emphasis on intersections between rhetoric and public discourse.
Rhetoric Review | Home | @UM
Interdisciplinary rhetoric and writing journal with broad coverage of theoretical, pedagogical, and professional issues.
Rhetoric Society Quarterly | Home | @UM
Journal of the Rhetoric Society of America. Broad coverage in theory, history, rhetorical criticism, and writing pedagogy.
Rhetorica | Home | @UM
International, multilingual journal on historical theory and practice. Published by the International Society for the History of Rhetoric.
Teaching English in the Two-Year College | Home | @UM
Emphasis on pedagogical issues in composition studies. Published by the NCTE.
Technical Communication Quarterly | Home | @UM
A key journal in professional writing studies, covering technical communication in a broad range of professional, academic and social contexts. Published by the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing.
Written Communication | Home | @UM
Emphasis on empirical research within writing studies.
Please note that this list is not complete. You might also find useful the UM library’s resources in Education, Communication, English, and Women’s and Gender Studies; the WAC Clearinghouse’s list of journals in writing studies, and the list of journals published by the National Council of Teachers of English and the National Communication Association.
U Michigan students should click on the @UM link for off-campus access. Some of these, where noted, offer public access, though features may not be as robust as through campus login and full-text resources might not be available.
EBSCO Communication & Mass Media Complete | Info | @UM
Major communication index with full-text coverage. Includes rhetoric-related journals such as Quarterly Journal of Speech, Argumentation and Advocacy, and Philosophy and Rhetoric.
ERIC | Public | @UM
Major education index with bibliographic and full-text coverage. Includes resources on the teaching of reading and writing not always available in standard rhet/comp journals. Coverage includes English Education, TESOL Quarterly, the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, the Journal of Second Language Writing, and Reading Research Quarterly.
JSTOR | Public | @UM
A valuable historical database with full-text coverage often extending back to a journal’s origin date, though there may be a delay or “moving wall” for indexing of more recent issues. Coverage includes College Composition and Communication, College English, Rhetoric and Public Affairs, Rhetoric Review, Rhetoric Society Quarterly, and Rhetorica.
MLA Bibliography | Info | @UM
Traditionally limited in rhetoric, composition, and writing studies, but improving. Indexed journals now include Rhetoric Review, Rhetoric Society Quarterly, College English, Composition Studies, College Composition and Communication, and Pedagogy, though full-text coverage may be better elsewhere.
MLA Directory of Periodicals | Info | @UM
Provides background publishing information (scope, contact info, acceptance rates, etc.) on various journals.
SAGE Journals | Info | @UM
Publishes a number of communication and education journals of interest to writing scholars, the American Educational Research Journal, the Journal of Literacy Research, New Media & Society, Social Media + Society, and Written Communication.
Taylor & Francis Online Journals | Info | @UM
Publishes a number of communication and education journals of interest to writing scholars, including Advances in the History of Rhetoric, Argumentation and Advocacy, Technical Communication Quarterly, Rhetoric Review and the Quarterly Journal of Speech.
WorldCat | Public | @UM
Comprehensive catalogue of world-wide research library holdings; starting here for book searches will allow you to find items not in the UM library. The subset Dissertations and Theses database might also be useful.
ARCHIVAL AND PRIMARY-SOURCE RESOURCES
Digital Collections, Library of Congress
Extensive archive of materials; see, e.g., Historic American Newspapers.
Archive Finder | Home | @UM
Directory of primary-source and manuscript holdings in the US and UK.
Documenting the American South
Collection of primary-source texts related to Southern culture.
Internet Archive
Collection of digitized material from university libraries, archives, Google, and other sources.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers | Info | @UM
Robust database includes coverage of major US metropolitan, African American, and international newspapers.
Readers’ Guide Retrospective, 1890-1982 | Info | @UM
Bibliographic index of popular periodicals.
UM Library
UM is home to an impressive array of archival materials; see in particular the holdings of Special Collections and the Bentley Historical Library.