Writing for Different Rhetorical Situations

Writing for Different Rhetorical Situations Purpose: To become familiar with the different elements of the rhetorical situation; to adapt your prose to different rhetorical situations Directions: You have now experienced your first few days of the semester, and you want to tell people about the class. But who will you tell? How will you tell them? Why will you tell them? These are not typical questions you ask yourself because you often automatically know the answers and simply convey the information in the appropriate manner. However, in this assignment you will become more aware of how you are already engaging with the elements of the rhetorical situation1 when you communicate. For Examples 1-2 below, read the specified elements and answer the questions; for examples 3-5, fill in the blank elements and answer the questions. Example 1: GENRE: a text message AUDIENCE: your best friend from high school PURPOSE: to rave that your WR class is your favorite class so far CONTEXT: you just texted about classes this morning/you have shared emoji/gif references What does that communication look like? Example 2: GENRE: phone call AUDIENCE: your grandmother PURPOSE: to talk about the dining halls and how good the food is at BU CONTEXT: you speak once a month/ she knows you are allergic to dairy What does that communication look like? Example 3: GENRE: AUDIENCE: your high school English teacher PURPOSE: CONTEXT: What does that communication look like? Example 4: GENRE: AUDIENCE: your 10-year-old brother PURPOSE: CONTEXT: What does that communication look like? Example 5: GENRE: AUDIENCE: (some not already mentioned – you select) PURPOSE: CONTEXT: What does that communication look like?