Transcript Considering Rhetorical Situations Definition of “rhetoric”: the art of speaking or writing effectively: as a : the study of principles and.

Considering Rhetorical Situations
Definition of “rhetoric”
1
: the art of speaking or writing effectively: as
a : the study of principles and rules of composition
formulated by critics of ancient times
b : the study of writing or speaking as a means of
communication or persuasion
2
a : skill in the effective use of speech
b : a type or mode of language or speech; also
: insincere or grandiloquent language
•
Source: Meriam-Webster online dictionary
Quickwrite #2
• At the beginning of Ch. 1 of Everyone’s an Author,
Wayne Booth is quoted as saying, “The only real
alternative to war is rhetoric.” Based on your
understanding of what rhetoric is from Ch. 1 and
2, respond to this statement. What does he mean
by this? Do you agree? What do the authors of
EaA mean when they say that rhetoric is an
ethical art? (Note: “Ethics” is defined as “an area
of study that deals with ideas about what is good
and bad behavior : a branch of philosophy dealing
with what is morally right or wrong”)
The Academic Conversation
• Look at the quote from Kenneth Burke on p. 7
of Everyone’s an Author. It contains a
metaphor that compares writing in an
academic setting to coming late to a party
where a conversation is already going on.
• What does this comparison teach us about
writing?
Thinking Rhetorically
• Why do the authors advise us to listen first
when thinking rhetorically? (See p. 8 of
Everyone’s an Author)
Thinking Rhetorically
• Why do the authors advise us to listen first
when thinking rhetorically? (See p. 8 of
Everyone’s an Author)
• Note that “listening” also usually involved
reading what other people have said about
the topic. Unless you find a recorded
interview about the topic, the process of
finding out what has been said will mean
reading what others have written about it.
In a college setting, writing rhetorically
may call for you to…
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Analyze and synthesize information.
Evaluate a product or situation.
Argue a position.
Report on information you have gathered.
A Quote about the word “Opinion”
• “All opinions are not equal. Some are a very
great deal more robust, sophisticated and well
supported in logic and argument than others.”
– Douglas Adams
• When you make claims in your essays and
express your opinions, you will want to make
sure that those claims are robust (strong) and
well-supported by logic.
Analyzing and Synthesizing
Information
• As you think rhetorically, you want to be an
analytical reader. Examine the claims the author
makes carefully. Pay close attention to how the
author supports his or her claims, and use your
critical thinking skills to judge the validity of the
points.
• Synthesizing information is one of the most
important steps in the writing/research process.
It means taking all of the ideas and information
you have found, organizing them in a useful way,
and adding something new of your own.
The Importance of Imagination
• The “intuitive leap” described on p. 13-14 of Everyone’s an
Author is an example of the power of imaginative thinking
combined with careful research.
• The student had to do the research involved, finding old
Sports Illustrated magazines and looking at them carefully.
• The student also had to trust his instincts when he noticed a
difference between old and new covers, figure out what that
difference was, and then put it into words. (In this case, the
difference was that older magazines focused on teams, newer
ones on individual players.) He then had to explore this
observation HE had made with examples and analysis.
(There’s that “intellectual curiosity” again…)
What is a rhetorical situation?
• A rhetorical situation is the set of specific circumstances in
which a writer produces his or her work. These
circumstances include…
• Genre (What rhetorical pattern will most help you to
accomplish your purpose?)
• Purpose (What are you trying to accomplish with your
writing?)
• Audience (Who is likely to read your writing?)
• Stance (tone/attitude)
• Medium (How is your writing going to be delivered to your
audience?)
• See Ch. 2 of Everyone’s an Author for more.
We find ourselves in rhetorical
situations every day!
• What have you written in the past month?
• Example:
– Thank you note for iTunes gift card Grandma gave
me for my birthday
– Purpose: express gratitude for gift card, increase
probability of getting a good present next year
– Audience: My grandmother
– Stance/Tone: Warm, loving, grateful.
– Medium: Hand-written card.
Rhetorical Situation for Essay #1
– What: Narrative essay (a well-told story with a point).
– Purpose: to tell the story, clearly and vividly, of an event or
series of events that had an impact on you, the author, as
a reader/writer.
– Audience: People who have an interest in how others
developed as readers/writers. Parents and relatives of
children who are in situations similar to yours. Teachers who
want to help their students develop as writers and readers.
– Stance/Tone: Personal, conversational, informative. (You
have a lot of freedom here since you are telling a story
about your lived experience. Depending on the story you are
telling, your tone may be grateful, disappointed, angry, etc.)
– Medium: Essay typed and uploaded online.
What exactly is a “narrative”?
• A narrative is a story with a point.
• Narrative essays have a distinct beginning, middle, and
end, but they are not necessarily written in strict
chronological order. (As long as you let your audience
know when events happened in relationship to each
other, you can skip around in time.)
• From your textbook p. 104:
• “Narrative essays, especially in college, are meaningful
ways of making sense of our experiences, of what’s
around us – and of illustrating a point, making an
argument, or reporting information.”
What is a “Literacy Narrative”?
Literacy:
1. the quality or state of being literate, esp. the ability
to read and write.
2. possession of education:
3. a person's knowledge of a particular subject or field:
to acquire computer literacy.
Literacy narrative:
For this class, a literacy narrative is a narrative that
focuses on an event or series of events that has
shaped the author as a writer, reader, and literate
person, and the way that the author perceives
various forms of literacy.
Features of Narrative Essays, p. 108
• We will be examining each of these features of
narrative writing by analyzing the example provided
by the textbook. Please have your book open and
follow along with the discussion, as you may be
called on to comment on what we just read.
• Narrative essays contain…
• A clearly identified event
• A clearly described setting
• Vivid, descriptive details
• A consistent point of view
• A clear point
Context
• Another thing that a good narrative does it provide the
reader with appropriate context.
• As the writer of a narrative, you want to give the reader
enough background information about yourself that they
will fully understand the importance of the event to you.
• It is up to you as a writer to decide how much context
you need.
– Not enough, and the reader might not get why the event
mattered.
– Too much, and you risk the events in the narrative being
overshadowed by other facts about your life.
• Ask yourself: “What is the least my readers need to know
in order for the importance of the events in this story to
make sense?”
Change
• Your narrative will probably (but not definitely)
be about an event that changed you, or a person
you knew, in some way.
• We don’t usually tell stories about things that
stayed the same. If you tell a story and all of the
people who appear in the story are exactly the
same at the end as they were at the beginning,
then what’s the point of telling the story?
• Being able to identify what changed in your
literacy narrative can help you to make the
change interesting and clear for your audience.
Suggestions for Brainstorming Essay 1
• Have you done any Non-Academic/Community related writing, such
as a newsletter, blog, Sunday school lesson, or work presentation?
• Do you write for personal interest? (journals, fiction/poetry/song
lyrics for pleasure, internet posts(?))
• Does the does your personal history with literacy have any Crossgenerational issues? Think about your parents' and family’s
influence on you attitude towards reading/writing.
• Are you bilingual or multilingual? What unique experiences and
challenges have you had because you have had to navigate two or
more languages?
• What have your experiences with academic writing been like? Think
about favorite teachers, difficult essays, successes and failures in
school, etc.
• What role have computers and the internet played in your
development as a reader/writer? How has using technology
affected how you read and write?
Using Description to Add Detail
• We did some brainstorming last class. If you
remember that, you might want to choose an
event that you talked about there for this
exercise. I want for you to choose ONE
instance that you think tells your reader about
your development as a writer. This doesn't
have to be the one that you end up writing
about, and when you do choose your event,
you can do this exercise on your own.
Detail/Description Practice
• Write your event at the top of a new sheet of paper or document,
"The time I read a book on my own," or whatever event it was that
you chose.
• Write about things you remember SEEING. What did the
room/house/setting look like? Were there any objects that stick out
in your mind? An old table? A worn book's cover? What did the
people look like? The description of Mrs. Flowers helps us to picture
her in our minds. If there were no other people but you present,
describe yourself at that age. Let your reader see you as you saw
yourself.
• Write about things you remember hearing. If you are writing about
language, what did the words sound like? What did they make you
think of? What were other sounds that formed language
associations? Kids yelling down the street, hum of computers,
sounds of other languages being spoken, music…
Description Practice, Cont.
• Now, write about things you remember
TOUCHING. This is an often neglected sense,
but we get so much information from it. What
did those new shoes make your feet feel like?
What did the pages of the new book feel like?
• Write about things that you remember
smelling/tasting. Smell is our sense that is
most closely connected to memory. Use that
to your advantage.