Rhetoric and Composition Rhetoric is the study of the grammar and philosophy of verbal discourse, both oral and written.
Composition is the pedagogy of written discourse.
The Libraries' collections in Rhetoric and Composition primarily support the graduate concentration in Rhetoric and Composition in the English department and the area of study in the Speech Communication department in rhetoric and public address. These materials also support upper-level students, graduate students and faculty in the Classics department and other departments whose research interests include teaching writing and the rhetorical analysis of specific subjects or discourse analysis. Although most materials are collected in English, some materials are collected in Greek, Latin, German, and the Romance languages. Bibliographies, encyclopedias, indexes. All formats from monographs through audiotapes provide potential resources for rhetorical analysis.