In the process of assembling this collection, the editors quickly realized that no group of a dozen and a half articles can adequately represent the developments in modern rhetorical invention, even when the choices are restricted to articles on invention in writing. The articles selected for inclusion are probably best seen as synecdochic -- as representatives, albeit particularly notable ones, for whole categories of efforts to address particular questions associated with invention in writing. Each marks in the development of modern invention, if not the first major expression of the position, at least an especially significant moment in an on-going conceptual process. One useful way of thinking about these papers and their relationships is to see them as representing basic issues that run like motifs through the recent history of rhetorical invention, in particular invention in writing.
This collection presents a heteroglossia of perspectives on, models of, and insights into invention in writing. As such, the possible relationships among the articles that can be considered with profit are numerous and varied. The landmarks in this collection are not merely fossils nor is the inquiry into invention in writing a kind of antiquarian exercise. Each of the articles has useful things to say, stimulating discussions that are ongoing today. All combine to challenge scholars to continue what they began -- a copious, diverse, and fruitful effort to reinvent "inventio."

For the most part, those who teach writing and administer writing programs do not conduct research on writing. Perhaps more significantly, they do not often read the research done by others because effective reading of articles on empirical research requires special knowledge and abilities. By and large, those responsible for maintaining and improving writing instruction cannot -- without further training -- access work that could help them carry out their responsibilities more effectively. This book is designed as a text in graduate programs that offer instruction in rhetoric and composition. Its primary educational purposes are: * to provide models and critical methods designed to improve the reading of scientific discourse * to provide models of effective research designs and projects appropriate to those learning to do empirical research in rhetoric. Aiming to cultivate new attitudes toward empirical research, this volume encourages an appreciation of the rhetorical tradition that informs the production and critical reading of empirical studies. The book should also reinforce a slowly growing realization in English studies that empirical methods are not inherently alien to the humanities, rather that methods extend the power of humanist researchers trying to solve the problems of their discipline.