Rhetorical Situation Essay

642 Words3 Pages

I would describe “rhetoric” as the use of language in order to effectively express thought, and best convey a desired result to an audience given a specific context. I also agree with the idea that rhetoric attempts to “remedy misunderstanding” (I.A. Richards). The “rhetorical situation” is any situation where people are communicating, and is defined by a number of elements: rhetor, audience, purpose, context and strategies. The awareness of this concept definitely affects one’s writing and behaviors in that, it provides the best foundation to craft an engaging and effective piece of writing. If you have a keen awareness of who the audience of a text is, what the purpose of said text is, and have analyzed the best tool or mode to achieve that …show more content…

In taking notes on the reading it was interesting to ponder the everyday ways and modes in which we distribute communicative texts. I used rhetoric to effectively convey a message to a specific audience just yesterday. Yesterday happened to be an anniversary of sorts, and I wanted to post a commemorative statement about it on Facebook. However, the specific intended audience for the post was limited to my boyfriend, the group of friends who actually know my boyfriend, and myself. As such, my post was intentionally vague and brief. Simply mentioned was my gratitude that my place of employment, Starbucks, provided an initial connection between us, and how I was excited to see where the journey would lead to in our future. Those that know about my relationship, and how we met, have the proper contextual clues by which to make meaning of my status. And while those outside the intended audience can probably guess I’m referring to an important person, they are still lacking information and can misunderstand my intent. One might then query, why even post the status in the first place. However, I did indeed have a purpose in mind. I enjoy the celebration of events and special moments, and take great pleasure in the use of Facebook Memories, and of memory keeping in general. Moreover, I wanted to share my joy with someone else. I wanted to acknowledge my personal celebration with people who knew why