ENG121: The Rhetorical Situation
Summary
TLDRThe video script from 'English 121' discusses the rhetorical situation, also known as the writing or rhetorical triangle, highlighting the importance of considering the writer's purpose, audience, and context when composing and analyzing texts. It emphasizes the writer's goals, the motivating exigency behind writing, and the need to understand the audience's values and knowledge. The script also touches on the significance of genre in shaping a writer's approach and the reader's expectations.
Takeaways
- 📝 The rhetorical situation encompasses various components including the writer, audience, purpose, and context of a text.
- 🖋️ The writer's purpose is central to understanding the text, as it drives the composition and the writer's goals.
- 🎯 The audience's values, assumptions, and familiarity with the subject matter significantly influence the writer's choices.
- 🔍 The concept of 'exigency' is an urgent cause that prompts a writer to begin writing, which can be internal or external.
- 📚 Writing for an academic audience involves peers with similar knowledge levels who expect originality and proper citation.
- 📈 The genre or form of a text dictates its structure, style, and design, following certain conventions that shape reader expectations.
- 🤔 Writers must consider the genre's requirements and how it affects the approach to the subject matter and document design.
- 👥 Identifying the audience is crucial for tailoring the content to their knowledge, motives, and interests.
- 🔑 Understanding the writer's relationship to the audience helps clarify the text's structure and the writer's intentions.
- 🌐 The context surrounding the text can influence its composition and reception, making it an essential part of the rhetorical situation.
- 📖 Reading critically involves considering all components of the rhetorical situation to deeply understand a text's construction and impact.
Q & A
What is the rhetorical situation?
-The rhetorical situation is a concept that encompasses the various components involved in a text, including the writer, the audience, the purpose, and the context, which need to be considered when reading and writing critically.
What is another term for the rhetorical situation?
-The rhetorical situation can also be referred to as the writing situation or the rhetorical triangle.
What should be the first consideration when analyzing a text?
-The first consideration should be the writer behind the text, who has chosen to compose it and their purpose in doing so.
What is the writer's purpose in composing a text?
-The writer's purpose is to achieve a particular rhetorical aim, such as to express, inform, explore, analyze, synthesize ideas, or persuade their audience.
Why is considering the audience important when composing a text?
-Considering the audience is important because it helps the writer to tailor their message to the readers' values, assumptions, knowledge, and beliefs, ensuring the text is effective in achieving its purpose.
What is meant by the term 'exigency' in the context of writing?
-Exigency refers to an urgent or pressing cause that requires immediate action and is the event or occasion that prompts a writer to begin writing.
How does the audience's familiarity with the subject matter affect the writing?
-The audience's familiarity with the subject matter influences the writer's choices in terms of complexity, the amount of background information provided, and the language used.
What is the difference between a general audience and a select audience?
-A general audience is large and non-specific, sharing only a few qualities, while a select audience is a smaller, more specific group of people to whom the text is directly addressed.
What is an implied audience?
-An implied audience is a hypothetical target based on the writer's assumptions about the knowledge and beliefs of their more general audience, such as moms or single parents.
Why is understanding the genre important when composing a text?
-Understanding the genre is important because it follows certain conventions of style, structure, and approach to subject matter, which create expectations within the reader and place demands on the writer.
How can a change in audience affect the content of a piece?
-A change in audience can affect the content by influencing the writer's choices in language, complexity, and the amount of background information, as well as the approach to the subject matter.
Outlines
📚 Understanding the Rhetorical Situation
This paragraph introduces the concept of the rhetorical situation, also known as the writing situation or the rhetorical triangle. It emphasizes the importance of considering the writer, audience, and context when reading and analyzing texts. The writer's purpose, the audience's characteristics, and the text's form or genre are highlighted as crucial elements that influence the composition and reception of a text. The paragraph also discusses the writer's motivations, including internal and external exigencies, and the need to understand the audience's values, knowledge, and beliefs to effectively communicate.
📖 Analyzing Audience and Genre
The second paragraph delves into the analysis of audience and genre in writing. It stresses the need to understand the audience's knowledge, motives, and relationship with the subject matter when composing a text. The paragraph discusses different types of audiences, including general, select, single, implied, and academic audiences, and how they can affect the content and approach of writing. Additionally, the concept of genre is explored, explaining how it sets expectations and demands on writers regarding style, structure, and document design. The importance of aligning with genre conventions while also considering the unique requirements of the rhetorical situation is highlighted.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Rhetorical Situation
💡Writer
💡Audience
💡Exigency
💡Purpose
💡Genre
💡Structure
💡Style
💡Document Design
💡Rhetorical Aim
💡Critical Reading
Highlights
The rhetorical situation is also known as the writing situation or the rhetorical triangle, representing the components of a text to consider when reading critically.
Consider the writer behind the text, their purpose, and the goals they aim to achieve through the text.
The audience of the text is crucial, as it influences the writer's approach and the text's reception.
The form or genre of the text is important for understanding its construction and the writer's intentions.
Context surrounding the text can influence its composition and the audience's reception.
Understanding the writer's goals helps in clarifying their relationship with the audience and the text's structure.
Exigency, an urgent cause, is what prompts a writer to begin composing a text.
For this course, students write out of external exigency due to syllabus and grading requirements.
Writers also compose texts due to an internal desire to address a rhetorical aim or an external obligation.
Identifying the audience accurately is essential for making writing choices and tailoring the text to their knowledge and beliefs.
Different types of audiences include general, select, single, and implied audiences, each requiring different assumptions and approaches.
Academic writing often targets an academic audience, which shares a similar level of knowledge and expectations with the writer.
The genre of a text sets expectations and places demands on the writer, even when conventions are deviated from.
Examples of genre types include personal, academic, pop culture, civic, professional, and literary texts.
When reading a text critically, consider the components of the rhetorical situation for a deeper understanding.
Transcripts
English 121 the rhetorical situation
from the Allen and baking guide pages 2
through 21 this is the rhetorical
situation you may have also heard it
called the writing situation or the
rhetorical triangle this is just a
visual way of representing the various
components that go into a text and that
need to be considered when you are
reading both closely and critically to
begin always consider the writer behind
the text who has chosen to compose the
text and then from there ask why what
was the writers purpose that they were
trying to achieve in composing the text
also consider the audience who is the
text geared toward and with whom is the
writer trying to achieve their goals
also consider the form or genre that the
text takes how is the text constructed
and finally what is going on in the
context surrounding the text that might
somehow influence the way it is composed
by the writer or received by the
audience always consider the purpose of
a text writers compose texts out of the
desire to achieve a particular
rhetorical aim ask yourself what am I
trying to accomplish with a text or what
was this writer trying to accomplish
what does the writer want the readers to
believe see or do texts are written
because their authors want to express to
inform to explore to analyze and
synthesize ideas to persuade their
audience to reflect on an issue and many
more different purposes understanding
the writer's goals can help you
understand the different ways that texts
are structured and developed and can
help you clarify the writer's
relationship to the audience also always
consider the motivations that a writer
has writer
composed texts because of a motivating
occasion or exigency that gets them
going exigency is an urgent or pressing
cause that requires immediate action
rhetorician x' use the term to describe
the event or occasion that causes a
writer to begin writing exigency can be
internal as when the writer feels some
stimulation or desire to address a
rhetorical aim within him or herself or
it can be external as when a writer is
for some reason obligated or promoted to
pursue a rhetorical aim for this course
you'll be writing out of external
exigency because the syllabus and
grading requirements obligate you to do
so however ideally you will also write
because you have become engaged with an
intellectual problem and want to say
something significant about it in
addition to purpose always consider the
audience of a text writers ask questions
of their audience when they sit down to
compose a text including what are my
readers values and assumptions what do
they already know or believe about my
subject and how much do they care about
it it's very important than to
accurately identify your audience what
you know about your readers including
their familiarity with your subject
matter there are reasons for reading
their closeness to you their values and
beliefs effects most of the choices you
make as a writer you must be sure of who
your audience is before you can begin to
write sometimes you will be writing for
a very general audience this is a large
non specific audience that shares just a
few qualities and comments such as the
entire United States because you can't
account for everyone in such a broad
group you'll need to make some
assumptions about their knowledge and
beliefs for example this could be a
popular audience or an academic audience
sometimes you'll be writing for a select
audience which is a small more narrow
group of people to whom a text is
addressed for example this could be a
Board of Trustees or a Neighborhood
Association and sometimes you'll be
writing for just a single audience which
is one person to whom a text is
addressed for example this could be your
professor there are also some types of
audience
that are a little bit more difficult to
identify you might have an implied
audience which is merely a stable target
based on your own assumptions about the
knowledge and beliefs of your more
general audience for example you might
assume that you're writing for moms or
other single parents in the United
States you also might have an academic
audience the most common general
audience is in academic writing is an
academic audience you want to think of
this audience as student peers who have
approximately the same level of
knowledge and expertise in the field as
you do who are engaged by the question
that you're addressing who want to read
your writing and be surprised in some
way and who maintain the same standards
of citation and originality as you and
your instructors finally once you know
who your audience is
you must analyze or make judgments about
their knowledge of the issue at hand
their motive motives are reading their
relationship to the subject matter and
their general values interests attitudes
and beliefs consider how a change in
audience can affect the content of a
piece if you're writing for example for
your friend versus if you're writing for
a professor also consider the genre
writers ask questions of their form when
they sit down to compose a text
including what kind of document am i
writing and what are its requirements
for structure style and document design
the term genre refers to categories of
writing forms that follow certain
conventions of style structure approach
to subject matter and document design
the genre of a text creates strong
expectations within the reader and
places specific demands on writers even
when writers deviate from convention
they tend to do so in a conventional way
you can see many examples of genre types
including personal writing academic
writing pop culture texts civic or
democratic texts professional texts and
even literary texts outlined in Chapter
one of the Allen and baking guide always
consider these components of the
rhetorical situation when reading a text
closely and critically
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