Rhetorical paper due

THE RHETORICAL SITUATION

What is a rhetorical situation?

Generally speaking, the rhetorical situation can be understood as the circumstances under which the writer writes or speaks, including:

The nature and disposition of the audience,

The exigence that impels the writer to enter the conversation,

The writer’s goal or purpose,

Whatever else has already been said on the subject, and

The specific context of the issue at hand.

Contd.

In plain language, you are dealing with your:

Purpose

Audience, and

Context for whatever document you write.

Purpose and Context

Purpose answers the “why?” question, while context answers the question about place and time when a document will be used. Time and place are loose, remember. Time could be time of year, hour, etc. Context could also be place: country, room, office, etc.

Audience

The key rule in science writing is “know your audience.” Your goal as a writer is to facilitate some specific audience-action. Your audience is simply the person who will be reading or using your document. And, it is important to know your audience to be able to target your documents to them. A lot can go right when you know your audience, and a lot can go wrong when you don’t know your users.

Defining Your Audience

A-Analysis: Who is the audience?

U-Understanding: What is the audience’s knowledge of the subject?

D-Demographics: What is their age, gender, education background, etc?

I-Interest: Why are they reading your document?

Contd.

E-Environment: Where will the document be sent or viewed?

N-Needs: What are the audience’s needs associated with your document topic?

C-Customization: What specific needs and interests should you, the writer, address relating to the specific audience?

E-Expectations: What does the audience expect to learn from your document? The audience should walk away having their initial questions answered and explained.

How to Analyze Your Audience (Consider six factors)

The readers’ education: Think not only about the person’s degree, but also about when the person earned the degree. That makes a difference, because technology has changed the face of education.

The reader’s professional experience: A person who has been in a position for just two years may not have the same level of experience as someone who has over 5 years of experience, who has served on many committees in an organization. It is also likely that sometimes someone may have only two years of experience, but may have done a lot within that period compared to someone in another organization.

Contd.

The readers’ job responsibility: Will your document be able to help people of various job responsibilities or just specific job responsibilities?

The reader’s personal characteristics: Factors such as age, gender, disability, size, etc. can affect the way they use medical documents.

Contd.

The reader’s personal preferences: Some people are not used to some types of colors, fonts, word choices, etc.

The reader’s cultural characteristics: Some things that may be inoffensive in some cultures may not be so in others. Also, consider issues of religion, etc..

Other Questions to Consider

What does your primary audience value in a writer?

What does your audience know or believe about your topic? What does your audience count as valid evidence or proof

What kinds of writing or genres does your audience expect or accept? What length of document does your audience expect or accept?

How does your audience expect information to be organized?

Contd.

What formatting conventions does your audience expect

What kind of documentation does your audience expect or accept?

What kind of syntax does your audience expect?

Is there jargon or specialized vocabulary that your audience prefers you to use or avoid?

What tone or attitude will your audience appreciate?

What are your audience’s expectations for usage and mechanics?

Types of Audiences

Primary Audiences: These will involve the immediate group of people who will use the documents you design

Secondary Audiences: These include those who are not direct users of the document, but who will be affected in some way. Examples of these are immediate friends, family, and acquaintances of the primary users, or even others.

Tertiary Audiences: These are those who may have to go through the document to fix technical, political, or legal issues.

Techniques for Learning about Your Audience

Start by asking yourself what you already know about the audience

Interview your audiences, if they are accessible

Research either on the internet or any important research tools: books, journals, etc.