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The Rhetorical Situation

Context, Triangle, and FrameworkAP English Language and CompositionHernandez

SubjectAudiencePurposeContextMotivation

Writing is thinking.

Rhetoric ~ Using language effectively to persuade, inform, educate, or entertain.

Rhetorical Situation ~ The circumstances in which you communicate.

What is a Rhetorical Situation?

The Rhetorical Situation

Your culture, personal characteristics and interests affect what you write about and how you write it.

The Writer

Your age Your experiences Your gender Your location Your political beliefs Your parents and peers Your education Your religion Your ethnicity

Writer: Factors which

can affect your writing

included

Purpose: Your Reason for Writing

To + VERB To inform To persuade To educate To call to action To entertain To shock

Category or type of writing Genres hinge upon purpose and the

needs/expectations of the projected audience.

Examples ~ fiction, autobiographical story, news article, review, letter to the editor/editorial, rhetorical analysis, criticism, persuasive essay

Genre

Emphasis on Author: writing for oneself in a diary or journal

Emphasis on subject: Science, journalism Emphasis on Language: Poetry Emphasis on Audience: Advertisements,

popular fiction, or movies

Different Genres

Target Audience Intended Audience Assumed Audience Implied Audience

Many of the same factors which affect the writer also affects the audience

• Age• Social class• Education• Past experience• Culture/subculture• Expectations

Audience: To Whom are you Writing?

Misunderstanding who the audience is for the document. They often confuse themselves with the reader.

Most Common Errors on Audience

May be broadened or narrowed depending on the length of your writing and your interest

Topics should be appropriate to the rhetorical situation you are in

Subject/Topic: What you will write about

Isn’t she cute?

What is the subject?What is the occasion?

Who is the audience?What is the purpose?

What is the tone?

Who is the speaker?

Does your analysis change now that you know it advertises chocolate?

What is the situation, or “back story”? What happened before the document that caused

the document to be written in the first place? The “situation” which generates the need for

writing Affected by the • Time period or timing• Location• Current events• Cultural significance

Context/Motivation

No understanding what context is Not telling the whole story Not distinguishing between “conTEXT”

and “conTENT”

Most Common Errors on Context

You need to be aware that a rhetorical situation exists EVERY TIME you write.

You need to adapt your writing depending upon your purpose and your audience.

What this means…

Work Cited

Brought to you by the Purdue University Online Writing Lab