Abstract
Abstract Rhetorical features of Chinese writers’ essays have been studied for decades but inconsistent interpretations of deduction and induction lead to controversial results. Taking a comparative rhetoric perspective, this paper clarifies the notions of deduction and induction and investigates what rhetorical features characterize Chinese expository paragraphs besides deduction and induction and whether Chinese EFL learners’ English paragraphs have similar features. Two kinds of data sources were used—29 full-score Chinese expositions in College Entrance Examinations and 29 English expositions written by Chinese EFL learners. The results show that deduction is preferred in both Chinese and EFL writing, and that rhetorical paragraphs and coordinate paragraphs are particular to Chinese writing while the EFL learners’ paragraphs display hybrid rhetoric such as semi-coordination. It is concluded that neither Chinese paragraphs nor EFL ones are similar to the modern English rhetorical paradigm, and English rhetoric instruction will facilitate the introspection of the two kinds of rhetoric.
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