CHAPTER 1 Composition in the Context of Chinese as a Foreign Language 1.1 Increased Need for Composition in Chinese as a Foreign Language Program 1.2 Composition: Definition and Assumptions 1.2.1 Composition Is a Social Activity Rather Than a Solitary Act 1.2.2 Composition Is Based on a Shared Common Ground 1.2.3 Composition Is a Process of Negotiating Meaning 1.2.4 Toward a Pedagogical Model of Composition 1.3 Development of Composition Theories 1.3.1 Composition as a Product 1.3.2 Composition as a Process 1.3.3 Composition as a Social-interactive Practice 1.4 Theories of Composition in the Chinese L2 Context 1.4.1 Chinese Composition, Characters, and Shumianyu 1.4.2 Research in Chinese L2 Composition Instruction 1.5 Outline of the Book CHAPTER 2 Cultural Aspects of Persuasive Composition 2.1 Composition as a Cultural Artifact 2.2 A Culture-based View of Persuasive Composition 2.2.1 The Role of Persuasive Composition in American Culture 2.2.2 The Perception of Evidence in American Culture 2.2.3 The Role of Persuasive Composition in Chinese Culture 2.2.4 The Perception of Evidence in Chinese Culture 2.3 Persuasive Composition in a Cross-cultural Context CHAPTER 3 American Students Interpretation of Chinese Evidence 3.1 Literature Review 3.1.1 From Contrastive to Intercultural Rhetoric 3.1.2 Chinese-English Contrastive Rhetoric 3.2 Research Questions 3.3 Research Method 3.3.1 Reasons for Utilizing the Qualitative Research Method 3.3.2 Trustworthiness of the Study 3.3.3 The Setting 3.3.4 The Participants 3.3.5 Data Sources 3.3.6 Data Analysis 3.4 American Students Perceptions of Evidence in Chinese Persuasive Composition 3.4.1 Evidence in the Textbook 3.4.2 Evidence Introduced in Class 3.4.3 Students Understanding of the Concept of Evidence 3.4.4 Students Perceptions of Using Well-known Stories as Evidence 3.4.5 Students Perceptions of Using Famous Sayings as Evidence 3.4.6 Students Accounts of Legitimate Evidence 3.4.7 Students Accounts of L1 versus L2 Education 3.4.8 Summary 3.5 American Students Use of Evidence in Chinese Persuasive Compositions 3.6 Conclusions 3.6.1 Revisiting the Concept of Evidence 3.6.2 Culturally Constructed \