The Rhetoric of Explanation
- 1 January 1985
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Written Communication
- Vol. 2 (1) , 49-72
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088385002001004
Abstract
Most rhetorical history has concerned itself with the theory of argumentation discourse as it developed from classical to modern times. This article traces a parallel but much less investigated strand of rhetorical history: the theory and practice of explanation. The slow growth of a body of knowledge about how information could best be communicated without necessary reference to overt persuasion is followed from Henry Day's Art of Rhetoric through contemporary explanatory rhetoric.Keywords
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