Wolfe.+Rhetorical+Numbers+A+Case+for+Quantitative+Writing+in+the+Composition+Classroom

=Wolfe, Joanna. "Rhetorical Numbers: A Case for Quantitative Writing in the Composition Classroom".= //CCC// 61:3 (2010): 452-475. Print.

**Abstract**
Quantitative information is becoming increasingly more and more important in rhetoric, but professors are failing to see that and teach it to their students. Thus, this gives much more powerful persuasion to an argument that uses quantitative information. Both sides of the argument should use quantitative data to keep arguments fair and informative. There is a need for people to learn how to read data and to understand it.

Argument
Wolfe argues the importance of teaching quantitative writing in classrooms, and thus that the way classes are taught needs to change. I agree with her, especially because of the easy access we have to statistics. When there is such proof as statistics that can show how well something does or does not work then it would make sense to use those numbers in making arguments. Using fairly acquired statistical information to make an argument would be the best way to show why one side is wrong or not. People know how to read and understand statistical data, and then learn how to use that in an argument.

Key Passages
"If statistics can be so altered by the method of their presentation even as they continue to claim access to some sort of factual truth—aren’t we clearly in the terrain of rhetoric? and suspicious of the ability of statistics to be “cooked,” “massaged,” “spun,” or otherwise manipulated" (435).

"I argue that composition needs to develop instructional materials and, perhaps more importantly, provide instructor training that will help us teach quantitative argument alongside the other rhetorical skills and literacies we already foster" (438).

"Translating a ratio to a percentage is not just a mathematical operation, but also a rhetorical practice in which artistic appeals are manipulated.which artistic appeals are manipulated" (442).

**Selected Works Cited** Beason, Larry. “Ethos and Error: How Business People React to Errors.” //College Composition and Communication// 53.1 (2001): 33–64. Urbana: NCTE, 1996. Print.

Dossey, John A. “National Indicators of Quantitative Literacy.” //Why Numbers Count.// Ed. New York: College Entrance Examination Board, 1997. Print.

Mudraya, Olga. “Engineering English: A Lexical Frequency Instructional Model.” //English for Specific Purposes//25.2 (2006): 235–56. School Numeracy Practices. Print.

Whitin, Phyllis and David J. Whitin. “Learning to Read the Numbers: A Critical Orientation to Statistics.” //Language Arts// 85.6 (2008): 432–41. Print.