The Rhetorical Construction of Novelty: Presenting Claims in a Letters Forum

Abstract

Physical Review Letters has become the primary forum for the dissemination of innovative work in physics. Physicists' acceptance of this journal, and their adaptation to its requirements, show their ability to present their work in a variety of institutionally sanctioned but evolving frameworks. However, such a forum, because of its constraints on space and its emphasis on innovation, poses special problems to authors in relation to constructing their novel claims and reconstructing the consensus of their fields. In addition, itsprestige has caused the journal to acquire archivalfeatures that have slowed publication and resulted in other unintended consequences. Through an analysis of three letters published in Physical Review Letters and of a follow-up article published in Physical Review, the rhetorical features of this forum are examined as well as the problems its poses for the contextualization of novelty within relevant frameworks of accepted belief. © 1994, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.