I want you to explore the following questions. Be specific in your responses. You can use direct quotes from Bitzer’s piece (and in fact this might be the most helpful in your explanation of a rhetorical situation). Remember: blog posts are free and open and their language is casual. I should be able to begin to see who you are as a writer—through your voice, style and language choices.
Also, it's ok if you are a little (or a lot) unsure what this is saying. It's a difficult reading, but you should do your best to respond to the questions. Please don't spend any time on saying things like "this was a hard reading" or "I don't understand it." Do you best to think through the reading--it doesn't matter if you are completely wrong, so long as you try.
According to Bitzer, what is rhetoric? What is a rhetorical situation? Why are both important in the understanding of how to write? What do you believe comes first—the writing or the rhetorical situation? Do you believe all writing needs a rhetorical situation in order to write? Why or Why not?
What did you learn from reading this piece? Why might we start a course on argument with this reading?
Don't forget to engage with at least two peers as part of the assignment.
DUE: class time on Wednesday, June 18, 2014.
According to Bitzer, rhetoric is a "mode of altering reality, not by the direct application of energy to objects, but by the creation of discourse which changes reality through the mediation of thought and action." A rhetorical situation consists of three vital elements: an exigence, an audience, and constraints. An all encompassing definition provided by Bitzer clarifies that a rhetorical situation is "a complex of persons, events, objects, and relations presenting an actual or potential exigence which can be completely or partially removed if discourse, introduced into the situation, can so constrain human decision or action as to bring about the significant modification of the exigence."
ReplyDeleteBoth rhetoric and rhetorical situation are important in understanding how to write well. Rhetoric is the study of the effective use of language and when we study or learn any language it allows us to communicate more effectively. Rhetorical situation has the power of controlling the outcome or "rhetorical activity" of your writing. When considering whether writing or rhetorical situation comes first I agree, for most forms of writing, with Bitzer who insists that "it is the situation which calls the discourse into existence." Rhetorical discourse is present when there is a need for responding to a situation and in turn that situation gives rhetorical significance to your writing. An essential part of critical writing is arguing and discussing, however, I do not believe that all writing needs a rhetorical situation to in order to write. For example, I do not think that all forms of creative writing require the presence of a rhetorical situation.
I have learned that rhetorical situation includes three significant items: an exigence, an audience, and constraints and that by understanding their importance you will not only improve your writing, but also be able to create strong arguments that will generate discourse.
I agree with your ideal that rhetorical situation is important for understand because people can get the points with a simple way. That is why rhetorical situation is used massively by writers now. What's more, rhetorical situation can also make writing become more interesting instead of boring academic theories or stories.
DeleteTo answer the question "What is rhetoric?" Author Bitzer answers briefly that "rhetoric is a mode of altering reality, not by the direct application of energy to objects, but by the creation of discourse which changes reality through the mediation of thought and action."
ReplyDeleteFor defining rhetorical situation, Bitzer states that "rhetorical situation may be defined as a complex of persons, events, objects, and relations presenting an actual or potential exigence which can be completely or partially removed if discourse, introduced into the situation, can so constrain human decision or action as to bring about the significant modification of the exigence." Briefly, a typical rhetorical situation consists of three key parts: exigence, audience and constraints.
As far as I considered, both rhetoric and rhetorical are important in understanding how to write since they both contribute to making the writing more vivid and persuasive. Rhetoric helps writers to make themselves clearer and their works more readable. By using rhetoric, writings would become more imaginable. Meanwhile, rhetorical situation can help discourses be more effective and draw echoes from audience.
I agree with Bitzer’s point that rhetorical situation comes before writing because before any discourses are written, every author has his or her target audience and the aim of writing. Writing is based on authors’ desire of making audience satisfied and expressing authors’ thoughts directly. Only by determining the exigence, audience and constraints before writing, the authors’ ideas could be illustrated clearly and effectively. I don’t believe that every forms of writing need rhetorical situation because sometimes rhetorical situation is not necessary otherwise it may make audience unnecessarily confused.
I learnt from this piece that writing isn’t merely an exportation of ideas, a good writer would also take audience’ reaction into consideration and he or she would serve for them better with good command of rhetorical situation.
I’m not sure if I completely understand your point that rhetorical situation can make the audience unnecessarily confused. I can understand that sometimes, like while reading Bitzer’s piece, the reader gets confused because it is a difficult concept to grasp and comprehend; however I think that when a piece of writing is based off of a rhetorical situation the reader/audience tends to better understand the situation and is less confused than before.
DeleteThat being said, I think to some extent Bitzer says that just because a situation can call for rhetoric, does not mean that it is necessary. Bitzer states that most language is persuasive, so that alone does not make language rhetoric. He also states that any discussion of science, poetry, or rhetoric could contain an audience, speaker, and exigence. Rhetoric is not like a tree, it grows from itself, and if there isn't any inherently there cannot be more of it.
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DeleteI believe that all depends in the subject and in the audience. As you said, all the writing has a specific audience, which I believe to have a large or at least some knowledge/interest about the subject. That will act as a base to understand the writing.
DeleteBitzer defines rhetoric as an idea generated by an action or dialogue which "functions ultimately to produce action or change in the world," (3-4). The rhetorical situation is what Bitzer describes as "a complex of persons, events, objects and relations an actual or potential exigence," essentially the supports of rhetoric (6).
ReplyDeleteComprehension of rhetorical situation allows for greater insight into your audience's perspective. Consequently with this greater insight brought about by the situation you use rhetoric to appeal to multiple levels - emotional, rational, or logical - to achieve your end goal of eliciting an action for a perceived positive benefit. Understanding your audience and tailoring your work as a result allows for a fluid expression of any idea.
I believe that in a rhetorical situation the rhetoric follows the situation. In any situation, in order for a response to be rhetorical the situation must also be rhetorical (Bitzer 10).
Writing does not require a real rhetorical situation, Bitzer brings to light the idea of a fiction writer who writes eulogies which "meet no rhetorical situations; they are summoned into existence not by real events, but by his own imagination," (9).The writer's eulogies may have realistic traits, yet they are not rhetorical unless they reflect an actual instance of rhetoric. So to some extent, no, writing does not require a rhetorical situation to be physically present, however, it can be emulated in the writer's mind to serve its purpose as a spark for discourse and contemplative writing.
DeleteI appreciate your explanation that you can use rhetoric to appeal to different levels of your perceived audience and I believe that by using it effectively you can provoke a desired response or action. I also agree that not all writing requires a "real" rhetorical situation because many creative/fictitious works are inspired purely by the author's imagination.
ReplyDeleteRhetoric according to Blitzer, has to be practical, it is utilized to give an important message. Rhetoric has been used and will be used to challenge the recipient, to question oneself. “The Declaration of Independence, Lincoln’'s Gettysburg Address, Churchill's Address on Dunkirk, John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address — each is a clear instance of rhetoric...”. A great use of rhetoric will be able to not only convey the message of the author, but it will be thought provoking. It will be used as the focal point of conversations to come, professionals will analyze it and teachers will try to make sure that it is passed on to next generations. Rhetorical situation is not set in stone, it can be debated. It is “[...] a complex of persons, events, objects, and relations presenting an actual or potential exigence which can be completely or partially removed if discourse...”. Blitzer tells us that if it can be debated and have a discourse about it, it may be able to change perspective, if it was set in stone it could “constrain human decision or action as to bring about the significant modification of the exigence."
Rhetorical situation is present in everyday life, there are many instances in a day where we face rhetorical situations. It is not after we decide to do something about it that we sit down to writing. We utilize writing as a response to the rhetorical situation, to debate and defend our point of view. The best writers start with a rhetorical situation, something that people face everyday, that they can feel identified with. You could write without a rhetorical situation, but as you present your point you will eventually create a rhetorical situation of your own. I am not capable of imagine writing without creating rhetorical situation, it does not matter if you write about science fiction, history, the economy, politics, it eventually develop that rhetoric situation. But if the writer utilizes a rhetorical situation as the base of his writing, the rest will come easy to the reader. The reader will be able to pick up quickly what the writer wanted to portray and that is why I believe that rhetoric situation will always be present.
All quotes are from Loyd F. Blitzer’s essay “ The rhetorical situation”.
I completely agree that we use writing as a way to respond to situations and argue. I feel that writing is somewhat of a personal experience and a reaction to situations that we are encountered with in our daily routines and serves as an outlet to express our views.
DeleteAccording to Bitzer “rhetoric is analogous to that of scientific inquiry: the world presents objects to be known, puzzles to be resolved, complexities to be understood…” In his opinion rhetoric is comprised of “a mode altering reality…by the creation of discourse which changes reality through mediation of though and action.” Rhetoric is situational, pragmatic, and persuasive and served to “produce action or change in the world.” Bitzer believes that rhetorical discourse should grab or engage the reader and cause them to change in some manner.
ReplyDeleteRhetorical situation is equally important as rhetoric, as outlined by Bitzer. He defines rhetorical situation as “a complex of persons, events, objects, and relations presenting an actual or potential exigence which can be completely or partially removed if discourse, introduced into the situation, can so constrain human decision or action as to bring about the significant modification of exigence.” There are three main elements of rhetorical situation that include exigence (urgency for demand), audience, and constraints that depend on the particular audience.
I agree with Bitzer that both rhetoric and rhetorical situation are vitally important in understanding how to write. Rhetoric gives writers the ability to communicate effectively with readers and inspire change or in many cases persuade change. Rhetorical situation allows writers to expand on a particular situation and “create and present discourse.” Additionally I agree with Bitzer’s claim that rhetorical situation comes before writing. Throughout his piece he uses many historical examples where it is hard to argue against him. I think one of the clearest examples he uses is the Declaration of Independence. If The United States never wanted to separate from British rule and become its own independent country there would be no need to declare independence from anyone. Bitzer states, “the situation which the rhetor perceives amounts to an invitation to create and present discourse.” I don’t think that every piece of writing needs a rhetorical situation in order to write. Writing can be built upon imagination and doesn’t necessarily need to be built from a real rhetorical situation.
After completing the reading, I was able to think and explore Bitzer’s claims and I learned that a lot of writing really does evolve from real-life situations and causes readers to evaluate the particular situation for themselves and possibly create change in their own thinking or change in others. For instance he uses the example of a political campaign that generates particular issues and calls upon the reader change their views or attempt to change others in hopes of gaining more support for a certain politician or political idea.
I think that you reiterate a good point that writing evolves from real life situations. I also think that Bitzer impressed that when you're writing from real evolving situations there's a greater exigence that dictates a higher standard of discourse through rhetoric, whereas fiction has no time constraint.
DeleteAccording to Bitzer rhetoric is described as something in reply to a situation that calls for change depending on what mode of discourse the writer uses. Bitzer describes a rhetorical situation as any situation which an utterance can be applied, weather it be agreement or argument. The question which comes first can be a hard one because much writing is a response to rhetorical situations, while many rhetorical situations are brought about by writing, but if forced to choose I'd say the situation generally comes first and inspires writers. I certainly don't think all writing needs to respond to a rhetorical situation, Writing can be many things; it can be a tool to record, a medium of art, and in rhetorical situations it can be an outcry or argument. From reading this peice I gained much insight as to the purpose of rhetoric, I also found it interesting how few writers actually touch on this fundamental aspect of defining rhetoric and rhetorical situations. I think this piece makes since to start a learning experience with because of the insight on the topic I mentioned.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your ideal that not all writing needs to respond to a rhetorical situation. There are many different kinds of writing in the world, and rhetorical situation is only one of them. Although it can improve understanding, there is no necessary for writers to use it in every writing. We still have blog, novels, biographies.etc.
DeleteIndeed. For me, this reading made me start paying more attention to style of writing that writers use, and then try to figure out the reasons, motives behind the text.
DeleteTo my understanding, Bitzer says that rhetoric is a way of changing reality, by using words that will lead people to change, instead of using actions and Rhetorical situation is related to a subject, situation or problem that the writer sees as a reason to make something change. Another way to say it is like a problem or matter in which the author sees that there has to be some kind of change, resulting in him writing in a way to incentive people to take a certain attitude/action in order to solve/eradicate the problem.
ReplyDeleteBoth concepts are important to understanding how to write because they can define the quality of our writing. This means that it makes us analyze when to use rhetoric or not, since in my opinion not every writing needs to have a rhetorical situation. First, the writer must decide the objective of his writing, and then according to his objective decide if rhetoric is needed or not. With that said, I believe that rhetorical situation comes first, and then writing because if someone wants to write in a way that he would succeed in making people change, he needs to know what the initial problem is. Also, that writer needs to know who he is writing for.
From reading this piece, I learned that it is very important to know that what we write can make people change, and with that in mind, try to write the best as possible paying special attention to the target audience and to the matter.
Bitzer shows the definition of rhetoric that is a mode of altering reality, not by the direct application of energy to objects, but by the creation of discourse which changes reality through the mediation of thought and action.
ReplyDeleteRhetorical situation is defined by Bitzer as a complex of persons, events, objects, and relations presenting an actual or potential exigency which can be completely or partially removed if discourse, introduced into the situation, can so constrain human decision or action as to bring about the significant modification of the exigencies.
As a good writer, it is necessary and important for them to state their ideals clear and intelligible. As rhetoric is the way that writers to create some imaginations for readers to understand easily, rhetoric situation is the basic level for readers to understand the meaning of article. Rhetoric situation will make readers to understand better about the article because rhetoric situation is the combination of people, event, objects and relations, which are all the basic elements of articles.
I think rhetoric situation should come first because readers need to understand what the article talks about when they first time see this article. As I mentioned above, rhetorical situation help to understand. However, there are many difficult kinds of reading, such as science, tech, biology. Some of them need to be explained simply to understand. For example, we can use rhetoric to explain some difficult concepts, like Einstein theory.
I don’t think that all the writings need a rhetorical situation because some articles, like novels, are easy to understand. Since rhetoric theory came out, it can be considered a better way to understand writings for people. But it is not the necessary for all the writings as I think.
Chao,
DeleteI agree with the majority of your post. But I would like to comment on your last paragraph. Novels and short stories have been used for centuries as a social critique. So I would argue that even the simplest novels, like The Little Prince, are derived from a rhetorical situation. I keep trying to come up with a writing that doesn't start with rhetorical situation and can not come up with one. It is possible that just like in The little prince, I am understanding what I want to understand in regards to rhetorical situations.
I agree that your writing needs to be clear, concise, and relatable and I think that the presence of a rhetorical situation significantly improves how your writing will be accepted or perceived by your readers. I think this reading can help us all to understand how to create not only a convincing argument, but one that people will want to read about and hopefully will help instill positive actions.
DeleteAccording to Bitzer rhetoric is a way of changing a reality by inducing people that by means of an action or logical reasoning.In the reading in a logical manner describes the rhetorical situation saying that is any situation in which the writer sees the necessity of changing the peoples thoughts or attitude to solve a problem.
ReplyDeletePersonally i agree with Bitzer and i believe that almost every writing is a response for a rhetorical situation which lead us to a need fully understanding of the two definitions. And i say that specially because there is a reason for every writing, and most of the time there is a situation involved in which the writer will take inspiration to write about a subject, which doesn't means necessarily that all the writing is a response to a rhetorical situation.
From this reading i took the concept of rhetoric and a new concept of rhetorical situation which can make me understand easily the readings or write in a more explicit way helping the readers to understand my writing. And this reading also reminded me of a point that is always very important to have in mind while we are writing which is the audience.