The Rhetoric Studio

Spring 2020

Faculty Consultants

Peer Consultants

Zachary Aldridge ’20: Economics Major/Rhetoric Minor. Expertise in Writing, Speaking, and Data Visualization (Excel, PowerPoint). 2^nd year Consultant.

Gray Breeden ’21: Economics Major/Rhetoric and Visual Arts Minors. Expertise in Writing, Speaking, Visual design, and PowerPoint. 2^nd year Consultant.

Kevin Canny ’21: Foreign Affairs Major and Spanish/Leadership in the Public Interest Minors. Expertise in Writing, Speaking, and Language Composition (Spanish). 2^nd year Consultant.

Cory Childress ’20: English Major/Rhetoric Minor. Expertise in Creative Writing, Speaking, PowerPoint, and some experience in Audacity (for podcasting). 3^rd year Consultant.

Ryan Clawson ’21: Business Economics Major/Rhetoric Minor. Expertise in Writing and Speaking. 1^st year Consultant.

Elijah Edwards ’22: English Major. Expertise in Writing, particularly in Close Reading and Literary & Rhetorical Analysis. 1^st year Consultant.

James Garrison ’22: Mathematics Major. Expertise in Writing, Debate, and Literary & Rhetorical Analysis. 1^st year Consultant.  

Benjamin Mogren ’20: Mathematical Economics Major/Religion and Rhetoric Minors. Expertise in Writing, Debate, and Basic knowledge of R and R Studio. 3^rd year Consultant.

Ryan Tomlin ’20: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Major. Expertise in Speaking, Writing, and PowerPoint.  3^rd year Consultant.

Jake Vail ’20: Business Economics and Spanish Majors. Expertise in Writing, Data Visualization, and Language Composition (Spanish). 3^rd year Consultant.

Zack Toney ’20: Philosophy Major. Expertise in Speaking. 3^rd year Consultant.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I do in the Rhetoric Studio?
We invite you to visit the Rhetoric Studio to work with our consultants at any stage of your paper or project. For example, you can brainstorm topics and ideas; conduct research; hone your thesis statement; outline a project, speech, or essay; draft and revise; create print and digital documents or visual aids; rehearse and record presentations or creative projects; interview and record oral histories; practice interviewing skills; and more!

Do I Need an Appointment?
We encourage it, yes! While we welcome “walk-ins,” to ensure that a consultant is available, we encourage you to make an appointment using our online scheduler.

What Should I Bring?
Please bring a copy of your assignment and any notes you have about the project. Also bring any work in progress, such as your research notes, rough drafts or outlines, data you’ve collected, ideas for visuals, etc.

What about the Honor Code?
It is not a violation of the Honor Code to work with consultants in the Rhetoric Studio! In fact, professors in various departments at the College often recommend that their students seek such assistance for written, oral, digital, and multi-modal projects. After your session, consultants will provide written feedback to you that you may share with your professors to indicate that you visited the Rhetoric Studio for assistance.

How can I use the Rhetoric Studio in my classes and co-curricular projects?

1. Require or encourage students to come to the Rhetoric Studio—early and often—to work on class or co-curricular projects. Sending us a copy of your assignment helps our consultants better assist your students.
2. Collaborate with a Faculty Consultant to design and implement an assignment or project in your curriculum.
3. Participate in Faculty Professional Development Workshops to explore the possibilities for creative, multimodal communication projects. We offer numerous workshops during the academic year.
4. Participate in the Rhetoric Studio Faculty “Innovation Fellows” Program
   1. Allows for a more sustained partnership with a Faculty Consultant. During the Fall semester RS Faculty Consultants will collaborate with RS Innovation Fellows to design a multi-modal project for a Spring semester course. In the Fall, RS Innovation Fellows will participate in a series of workshops to design their projects. Stipends are provided!
   2. The Innovation Fellow will have a consultant linked to the Spring Semester course who will collaborate with students throughout the project.
5. Schedule workshops for your students to give them the skills needed to complete your communication project. A faculty or student consultant will facilitate workshops in the Rhetoric Studio, preferably, or in your classroom if you prefer. We offer workshops in topics related to writing, presentational speaking, and digital/multimodal rhetoric.
   1. Developing and Refining a Topic
   2. Creating an Annotated Bibliography
   3. Participating in or Leading Class Discussion
   4. Building an ePortfolio
   5. Creating a Blog
   6. Integrating Visuals in Essays and Presentations
   7. Designing Research Posters
   8. Designing and Creating Infographics
   9. Speaking with Confidence
   10. Conducting an Interview
   11. Developing and Presenting a Grant Proposal, Elevator Speech, Research Brief