Advising Resources

Preliminary Exams (PE) Question Repository [VT RW Program]

This page is set up so that with each refresh, a preliminary exams question will appear for you to review, analyze, and practice with. The questions repository is a growing database including more than forty actual questions from exams completed since 2019. Each question includes a [notation] identifying the sub-list it was associated with (Foundations, Rhetoric in Society, or Studies in Writing and Communication). Some questions may include specific references to readings that happen not to be a part of your readings lists; in such cases, for practice, adapt the question so that, by way of substitution, it refers instead to a question from your list.

Practice Question

In order to better understand medicine’s humanistic aspects, scholars have long studied it as a social, cultural, and political phenomenon. More recently, though, they have also been studying it as rhetorical phenomenon. Indeed, over the past two decades or so, rhetoric and communication studies have seen a proliferation of rhetorical scholarship on the topic of medicine, the result of which has been the development of a new subfield—RHM, or the rhetoric of health and medicine. For this question, we want you to consider what makes work in this subfield distinctive. More specifically, we would like you to describe 2-3 distinctive contributions that you believe rhetoricians have made to the larger effort to understand medicine’s humanistic aspects. Draw on as many sources from your reading list as you deem necessary to describe these contributions. [Rhetoric in Society]

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Reminders about PEs

  • A written exam response to one question should be approximately 3,000 words.
    • According to the RW Handbook, written responses to the three exam questions should total about 8,000-10,000 words, or 32-40 pages of writing.
    • The scope of the literature review should be about 5,000-8,000 words, or 20-32 pages of writing.
  • Exams consist of four questions: two from Foundations (choose one), one from Rhetoric in Society, and one from Studies in Writing and Communication. During the oral exam, you may be asked about the Foundations question you opted not to answer.
  • You will receive your set of questions for the written exam when you turn in the completed literature review. The literature review is based on the specialized reading list.
  • Consult the Rhetoric & Writing Handbook for specific policies applicable to the exam process. The Common Date is announced by the RW Director in late summer; the date typically corresponds with Fall Break.

Additional Materials

Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) Software

Software applications are endlessly coming and going; the following leads may be helpful for exploring and deciding upon an appropriate application for a QDA-based study.

  • *Atlas.ti
    Robust; thick AI integration; provides use cases for interviews, survey, focus groups, lit reviews, and user research; outstanding tutorials and research guides; acquired in 2024 by Lumivero, a Denver-based company
  • Delve
    Minimalist interface, AI integration, small, New York-based company
  • MaxQDA
    Suite of visualization tools; comprehensive features (learning curve); AI integration with Tailwind
  • *NVivo
    Claims to be #1 QDA software for 30 years; qualitative and mixed methods studies; industry partners; product from Lumivero; robust training materials

Many researchers settle into a preference, a go-to application whose affinity may be sourced by the type of research they do, familiarity and fluency with the software, or affordability, including institutional or programmatic support. How, then, should you choose one if you do not already have a preference? Ask around. Talk with your faculty advisor(s), or with people in your field who have recently published QDA-based research. Try it out. After reading about the features, read or watch a tutorial. Download or activate a free trial. Devote an hour or 90 minutes to clicking through a simulation. This will inform your decision as you gain a feeling for the interface and the applications features.