This dissertation presents an argument for using a framework of rhetorical teaching to re-invigorate invention pedagogy in First-Year Composition (FYC) courses. Rhetorical invention (the ability to imagine or create ways to write) pedagogy is discussed in the context of composition history to analyze how scholars have proposed, developed, and implemented invention-focused pedagogies. This dissertation argues that often, these pedagogies are subverted into a form of current-traditional pedagogy because the social and material conditions of the educational system de facto encourage teachers to simplify and otherwise reductively present invention to gain time and mental energy efficiency.

This analysis culminates in the presentation of a pedagogical framework called rhetorical teaching that calls for teachers to see students as stakeholders in the educational process. The students are recognized as having expectations and desires that may not align perfectly with the teacher's expectations. The teacher then anticipates these desires and expectations to alter activities in ways that respect students, while also fulfilling the teacher's goals and the institutional goals. The framework of rhetorical teaching is explained in detail through the analysis of an in-class daily writing activity called the Daily Argument (DA). The DA is a 5-minute writing activity that uses minimal-context prompts that give the student only a topic, rather than a structured response prompt, in order to encourage the student to frame the topic and the argument made. This allows instructors to more carefully gauge the student's projection of the rhetorical situation, along with the ways that the student invents writing to address that situation. Finally, this dissertation discusses considerations and suggestions for fostering invention pedagogy on the institutional level through curriculum planning, teacher training, and assessment procedures.