Chapter 2: Rhetorical Situations

CHAPTER 2
Rhetorical Situations

CONNECT: How can you reach audiences beyond your teacher? 2e, 9f–h on argument, 17a on presentations

CREATE: Write or record yourself describing one of your courses to three audiences: your best friend, your parents, and a group of high school students interested in your college.

REFLECT: Respond to Developing a sense of audience.

WHAT DO A DOCUMENTED ESSAY on global warming research, a Facebook post objecting to a change in the site’s privacy policy, a tweet to other students in your sociology class, a comment on a blog post, a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, and a Web site about energy conservation all have in common? To communicate successfully, the writers of all these texts must analyze their particular rhetorical situation and then respond to it in appropriate ways.