Rhetorical Situations

Rhetorical situations are the key elements that help writers think carefully when writing. By definition rhetorical situations describe “the circumstances that affect writing or other communication, including purpose, audience, genre, stance, media, design and context” (Lunsford et al 1008). They act as part of the writing process that allow writers to analyze their own situations

Key Parts:

Audience

The audience is “those to whom a text is directed—the people who read it, listen to, or view the text” (Lunsford et al 986). Just as a performer has an audience that watches them perform, a writer does as well. The writer must evaluate his or her audience by asking some questions. For the particular situation you need to determine who the intended audience is. This could be anywhere from teenagers, dog owners or those who smoke. Look at your relationship with the audience to determine if they are friends, family or complete strangers. Writing considers what you want the audience to think or do while reading your paper. The audience determines how much background information is needed.

Purpose

Purpose is a “writer’s goal”. It can be to “express oneself, to entertain, to report, or to persuade” (Lunsford et al 1004). When working on purpose, think about your motivation for writing the paper. It could be for a class assignment or just for fun. There should also be a primary goal in mind. For example, the writer could teach the reader a lesson that is important in life. Once the goal is decided, look and see the influence it makes in other aspects of the rhetorical situation.

Stance

Stance is the “writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward his or her subject” (Lunsford et al 1010). This is how the writer feels about what they are writing about. For example if they were writing about the government, the paper may take a neutral stance. Tone and word choice help to convey the stance of a particular subject. Once again consider your relationship to the audience; this way you know how you want to appear to them. When you think about tone and stance, the audience may have different reactions. They could be surprised, in agreement or opposed.

Context

Context describes the “conditions that affect the subject of the paper” (Lunsford et al 990). When thinking about the context, first you want to find out what was already said about this topic. If the topic is pollution, some research would need to be done to see if that information will make the point stronger or weaker. While analyzing context, identify any constraints that this paper will have, such as a due date and how much time you have to spend on this paper. The context is also concerned with the amount of independence that the writer has. Look back on the rubric or grading criteria and write in a way that fulfills the prompt but also expresses something that is important to you as the writer. Context refers to any outside influences that may affect the writer’s work.

Applying to the Writing Process

All of the rhetorical situations when used together can be helpful in beginning the writing process. They help to fulfill a writing prompt or to stay on topic to a particular subject. When analyzing the rhetorical situations always make sure to have an ethical appeal or ethos. Ethos is “the author’s character, morals and credibility that the information provided is trustworthy” (Lunsford et al 993). Be sure to consider ethos when analyzing the rhetorical situation.

Works Cited

Lunsford, Andrea, Michal Brody, Lisa Ede, Beverly J. Moss, Carole Clark Papper, Keith Walters. Everyone’s an Author with Readings. New York: Norton, 2013.