Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Week 2 Journal


In order for a rhetorical situation to exist it requires an audience, purpose and a genre. Rhetorical situations and genre are connected because they both allow people to deal with any type of circumstance. A rhetorical situation wouldn't be accurate without a genre, therefore connecting them even further. In Bitzer’s “The Rhetorical Situation,” he discusses how a rhetorical address gives existence to the situation and on the contrary, it is the situation which calls the discourse into existence. In Dirk's, "Navigating Genres," he explains how the situations that create the genres are what make them rhetoric. Rhetorical situations help individuals in figuring out what caused the situation and the changes it will create in the future. 
Rhetorical situations and genres help us to better fully understand pieces of everyday writing. We use genre in our every day lives whether we acknowledge it our not. While texting/emailing our friends, the person writing these things are performing a certain type of genre. Our understanding of the genre and rhetorical situation help us locate the writer’s point of view. Without genres our world would be much different. For example, all because of George Washington, the State of the Union Addresses occur annually, which is a great example of a genre. 

1 comment:

  1. I agree with your comment about how genre is a necessary element within a rhetorical situation, and that without both aspects the course of action or the change that needs to occur, would not. I also can agree with how they both help to determine the author's point of view, which can better assist the audience with reacting to and fully understanding the writing.

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