ABSTRACT
Ever since Robert Kaplan (1966) introduced the model of contrastive rhetoric, multilingual writing scholars have focused on the comparison and contrast of Chinese and English rhetoric and how those similarities and differences influence Chinese learners’ English learning. Though the author believes that cultural patterns informing the rhetoric of different languages contribute to the different ways L1 and L2 learners write, she argues that one of the limitations of the original contrastive rhetoric hypothesis is its emphasis of culture and overlooking the intervening influences of writers’ multiple identities and personal choices on their L2 writing. She argues that writing traditions in all languages are diverse and the influences of contrastive rhetoric on individuals are not static but dynamic. Her personal literacy journey in Chinese and English traces how she selectively chose and developed a certain writing preference from an inclusive Chinese rhetori, and how she managed the tension between Chinese and English rhetoric to develop a new style of writing that accommodates personal preferences and her rich heritage literacy education.
