Rhetorical Situation
Speaker
subject
context
The situation surrounding a piece of media being created. Context isn't really controlled by the author; rather, it might represent why they are creating a piece or change how they present information.
What is the topic? What is the authors main idea and thesis?
The speaker is the one making the argument. Most of the time, the speaker is the author, but not always!
tone
audience
Purpose
The emotion or mood an author wants the audience to feel. The tone of a piece determines how we understand and interpret its messages.
Why was a piece of media created? What was the author intending to accomplish?
Who was the piece originally intended for? The audience is important becuase if we know who an author is speaking to, we can better understand their motivations
Intended Audience
You'll be tempted to say the intended audience for a piece is everyone. After all, you're reading it, right? But a majority of the time that isn't ture. The intended audience varies greatly. Essays I write are intended for other literature scholars. Your discourse community essays are for your discourse communities.
Pay attention to an authors language, where the piece was published, what the topic is, the age of the writer, and what culture they're from. This can all tell us who an author is trying to address in a piece of media.
Context
- What culture does the author belong to?
Some things that make up context that you can ask yourself:
- When was the piece created?
- Where was it created?
Purpose
The purpose of a piece can tell us a lot about how we are supposed to interpret it. Take for example the essays you write for school: you'll often be asked to analyze or define or explain some concept or idea. The same goes for all writers. They all write with a goal in mind. To persuade, to crituque, to inform, to evaluate. All writing has a purpose, and if you find the purpose, the other pieces of the puzzle in the rhetorical situation begin falling into place.
Subject
- The main idea or thesis is vital to fully understand when we discuss the rhetorical situation, because we need to understand exactly what it is the author is arguing. If we don't understand their argument, we might misinterpret things like intended audience or tone.
Speaker and credibility
Throughout a piece of writing, the speaker will do what they can to make themselves credible. Why? Would you listen to someone you didn't trust?
An author can establish their credibility in a few ways-- for example, they can state how they are qualified to speak on the topic or they can quote someone else who is an authority on a certain topic.
Diction, sentence structure, and punctuation will help you determine the tone of a piece. Whether that be angry, informative, hopeful, idealistic, sarcastic, etc.
Finding the tone is something students often struggle with. It can be hard! To understand the tone of a piece, think about the words an author uses. Do they make jokes? Are they very serious?
Sometimes, a tone will shift in a piece of media. It will go from happy, to angry, or sarcastic, or sad. It could start off informative and end as somber or hopeful. Watch for tone shifts!
Rhetorical Situation
Hailey Tinney
Created on August 8, 2024
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Transcript
Rhetorical Situation
Speaker
subject
context
The situation surrounding a piece of media being created. Context isn't really controlled by the author; rather, it might represent why they are creating a piece or change how they present information.
What is the topic? What is the authors main idea and thesis?
The speaker is the one making the argument. Most of the time, the speaker is the author, but not always!
tone
audience
Purpose
The emotion or mood an author wants the audience to feel. The tone of a piece determines how we understand and interpret its messages.
Why was a piece of media created? What was the author intending to accomplish?
Who was the piece originally intended for? The audience is important becuase if we know who an author is speaking to, we can better understand their motivations
Intended Audience
You'll be tempted to say the intended audience for a piece is everyone. After all, you're reading it, right? But a majority of the time that isn't ture. The intended audience varies greatly. Essays I write are intended for other literature scholars. Your discourse community essays are for your discourse communities.
Pay attention to an authors language, where the piece was published, what the topic is, the age of the writer, and what culture they're from. This can all tell us who an author is trying to address in a piece of media.
Context
Some things that make up context that you can ask yourself:
Purpose
The purpose of a piece can tell us a lot about how we are supposed to interpret it. Take for example the essays you write for school: you'll often be asked to analyze or define or explain some concept or idea. The same goes for all writers. They all write with a goal in mind. To persuade, to crituque, to inform, to evaluate. All writing has a purpose, and if you find the purpose, the other pieces of the puzzle in the rhetorical situation begin falling into place.
Subject
Speaker and credibility
Throughout a piece of writing, the speaker will do what they can to make themselves credible. Why? Would you listen to someone you didn't trust?
An author can establish their credibility in a few ways-- for example, they can state how they are qualified to speak on the topic or they can quote someone else who is an authority on a certain topic.
Diction, sentence structure, and punctuation will help you determine the tone of a piece. Whether that be angry, informative, hopeful, idealistic, sarcastic, etc.
Finding the tone is something students often struggle with. It can be hard! To understand the tone of a piece, think about the words an author uses. Do they make jokes? Are they very serious?
Sometimes, a tone will shift in a piece of media. It will go from happy, to angry, or sarcastic, or sad. It could start off informative and end as somber or hopeful. Watch for tone shifts!