THE RHETORICAL SITUATION

PROFESSOR SHORT
 R H E T O R I C A L S I T U AT I O N

 The Rhetorical Situation describes the way the context of communication is nearly always created
by the relationship between a Communicator’s purpose, the needs and expectations of the
Communicator’s target Audience, and the choices made in creating a Text, including medium, genre,
and rhetorical strategies (appeals, tone, word choice)

COMMUNICATOR’S PURPOSE + AUDIENCE NEEDS/EXPECTATIONS + TEXT CHOICES

= RHETORICAL SITUATION
  
C O M M U N I C AT O R

Is motivated to communicate by a specific purpose in response to a socially created situation

• EXAMPLE: Students (the communicator’s) assigned to write an essay (the response) for class
(the socially created situation)
 AUDIENCE

•Has needs and expectations that must be considered by the communicator in order to
achieve purpose

•EXAMPLES: An instructor assigns an argumentative essay and has expectations that

the submitted paper will include: an argument, a counter-argument, and support.
  
TEXT

•Embodies medium, genre, and rhetorical strategies that should be selected to meet the needs and
expectations of the target audience

•Medium: How the writing is delivered (audio/visual- lecture, video, handout, online discussion)
•Genre: The form the writing takes (essay, report, poem, instruction manual, recipe)
•Rhetorical Strategies: Tone, Word Choice, 4 Rhetorical Appeals
 MEDIUM

• The delivery method, which varies by type of text:

• Alphabetic Text (for example, written speech, newspaper editorial, essay, passage out
of a novel, poetry)
• Images (for example, TV commercials, advertisements in magazines or on websites)
• Sound (for example, radio or TV commercials, a website advertisement, speeches)
• Multimodal texts (YouTube videos, performances, digital stories)

• Example: This presentation is combination of alphabetical text, images, and sound.

 GENRE

• A genre is a conventional response to a rhetorical situation that occurs fairly

often.
• Conventional does not necessarily mean boring. Instead, it means a
recognizable pattern for providing specific kinds of information for an
identifiable audience demanded by circumstances that come up again and
again.
• For example essays, film, television, presidential speeches, and magazine
advertisements represent different genres of rhetoric.

• What are some genres you are familiar with?

4 RHETORICAL
APPEALS

Also called “Modes of Persuasion”

 LOGOS
(APPEAL TO
LOGIC)

• Which arguments
make the most
sense?

• What evidence
does the
argument offer?
 HOW TO CREATE LOGICAL APPEALS

• Provide strong examples that are representative and that clearly support your
point
• Introduce precedents- particular examples from the past- that support your
point.
• Use narratives or stories in support of your point.
• Cite authorities and their testimony, as long as each authority is timely and is
genuinely qualified to speak on the topic.
• Establish that one event is the cause—or the effect– or another.
 PA T HOS
( A PPEA L TO
EM OT ION A ND
VA LUE S)

• What emotions does the

article evoke?
• Which group or
community does the
article appeal to?
• What shared values does
the author assume its
readers have?
• What parts of the article
seem like a call to action?
 HOW TO CREATE EMOTIONAL
APPEALS

• Introduce a powerful and credible quotation or visual that supports your point.
• Use concrete language and details to make your points more vivid.
• Use figurative language- metaphors, similes, analogies, and son on- to make
your point both lively and memorable.

• * Audiences can feel manipulated when an argument tries too hard to appeal to
emotions like pity, anger, or fear.
 ETHOS
(APPEAL TO
CHARACTER/
CREDIBILITY)

• Why should you

believe the author?
• What research has
the author done?
• What tone does
the article have,
and how does the
author create it?
 HOW TO CREATE ETHICAL APPEALS

• Demonstrate that you are knowledgeable about the issues and topic
• Show that you respect the views of your audience and have their best interests
at heart
• Demonstrate that you are fair and evenhanded by showing that you understand
alternative or opposing viewpoints and can make a reasonable and fair
counterargument.
 KAIROS
(APPEAL TO
TIMELINESS)

• Why is this topic urgent

or important?
• What happened
recently that is
connected to the
writing?
• Draw on the timely
stories and current
examples.
  
I . I N T R O D U C I N G C O M M U N I C AT O R ’ S P U R P O S E

 Write two messages (a different purpose for each) for the same person;
discuss and evaluate the way a different purpose might cause you, the
communicator, to make different decisions about the text you create
 II. INTRODUCING AUDIENCE

Write the same message for 2-3 different audiences.

For example, have them write text messages to “check-in” with

 1) a close friend
 2) a parent and
 3) a new boss they are still trying hard to impress

Discussion should show how the differing needs and expectations of each audience create opportunities for
tailoring each message for more effective tone and word choice even assuming the same basic purpose.
 III. INTRODUCING TEXT

• Discuss how the medium (email vs text vs twitter vs instagram) might alter the
way the same information is communicated to the same person/people

• Discuss differing expectations for a Youtube video vs a Hollywood blockbuster

viewed at a movie theatre
• Discuss differing expectations for Genre: Romantic Comedy vs Horror movie;
Country Song vs Heavy Metal
 I V. R E V I E W T H E WAY T H E R E L AT I O N S H I P B E T W E E N
C O M M U N I C AT O R , A U D I E N C E , A N D T E X T T O G E T H E R C R E AT E T H E
C O N T E X T F O R C O M M U N I C AT I O N ;

T H AT C O N T E X T I S T H E R H E T O R I C A L S I T U AT I O N

Reflect on and transfer the implications of the rhetorical situations you are familiar
with in current day-to-day life to academic writing situations.

Discuss and brainstorm the following:

 What do you know about the needs and expectations of academic readers?
 How might different subject areas (disciplines) shape those expectations?
 What sort of gap might there be between the way academic writing is taught in High
School and the way students will be expected to write for college? Why might this be the
case? What things did you learn in High School will probably still hold true?