Abstract:

The contemporary professional environment is characterized by a growing need for practically oriented education, which requires training specific skills. This paper focuses on the development of the scientific research competence with undergraduate students through teaching them rhetorical skills.

The scientific research competence (SRC) consists in the student’s ability to produce scientific knowledge. It implies the development of the following sets of skills:
(1) professional, i.e. expertise in the appropriate domain of knowledge, good command of research methodology and its application;
(2) analytical, i.e. ability to select, analyse and synthesize the research material as well as to handle information flows;
(3) logical, i.e. command of logical operations and ability to verbalize their output through speech argumentation;
(4) reflexive, i.e. self-education and self-development;
(5) axiological, i.e. knowledge of ethical norms and values inherent in the process of scientific research and disclosure of its results.

Having a long history, rhetoric dates back to Ancient Greece and Rome. The twenty-first century has seen a resurgence of interest in rhetoric as a “framework for understanding and analyzing how language functions in the construction of meaning, the negotiation of identities and the establishment of social relationships” (cit.: Soetaert and Rutten 2017, p. 340).

Teaching the student how to be a good rhetor is key in developing the scientific research competence. Rhetoric as a complex discipline lays the grounds of the SRC skills. Thus, the development of professional skills is ensured by the student’s awareness of the process of scientific knowledge formation in the context of the relevant discursive practices. The theory of rhetoric genres is instrumental in developing analytical competencies representing the student’s ability to deal with various kinds of scientific texts with the view of searching, extracting, systematizing and presenting data. As for logical skills, they are directly related to the rhetorical techniques of persuasion. The fourth set of skills aimed at boosting the student’s capacity to conduct independent research and to solve problems relies on the student’s understanding of the theory of argumentation and the mechanisms of its practical implementation. Finally, the fifth set focuses on teaching the speech culture and ethical principles of communication in the academic environment.

Keywords:

Scientiifc research competence, rhetoric, rhetorical skills.