Guidelines for blog post:
In about 250-500 words, 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.
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?
Don't forget to engage with as others as part of the assignment.
Due: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 by class time.
Bitzer views rhetoric as situational work that is analogous to a moral action. "A work is rhetorical because it is a response to a situation of a certain kind." Rhetoric is pragmatic. "...it comes into existence for the sake of something beyond itself; it functions ultimately to produce action or change in the world; it performs some task." Rhetorical situation exists as a combination of people, events, objects, and relations presenting an "actual or potential exigence." It requires exigence, audience and constraints. rhetoric and the rhetorical situation are essential to writing because they alter reality by creating a discourse which is capable of changing reality through the "mediation of thought and action." I believe that writing follows the rhetorical situation, which comes first. This would then imply that writing always needs a rhetorical situation. This is the case because writing exists as something that springs from experience. Situations offer more substance to writing; it makes what is said or written more true. True writing is good writing. I am not entirely sure how to elaborate my thoughts on this in writing, but i'll do my best by saying that although writing and rhetoric are different from one another in a sense, they both exist from thought. Thoughts are situational entities and I cannot think of a single piece of writing that has not required thought.
ReplyDeleteA rhetorical situation (according to Bitzer)is "a natural context of persons, events, objects, relations, and an exigence which strongly invites utterance." Due to my minimal amount of rhetorical knowledge, I would have to agree with what Bitzer states. I would also have to point out that though the rhetorical situation consists of those components, it is the rhetor that orchestrates the situation. By that, I am simply restating Bitzers thoughts on his lengthy definition of what he believes rhetoric is. It is the rhetorical discourse that determines the rhetorical situation. Goodness, there use of the word "rhetorical" is going to be abundant in this post... My apologies. Due to the reading, I would continue to say that the rhetorical situation IS the writing. The author creates the rhetorical situation through the writing. Now, weather or not the writing accurately depicts the rhetorical situation is entirely up to the author, hence how much power rhetoric has over writing and communicating a situation from one person to another. So, it is my belief that writing is a product of the rhetorical situation, thus the rhetorical situation comes first. Without a rhetorical situation, there would be nothing to write about according to Bitzer. The rhetorical situation is the interaction between the people, events, objects, and relations that they all posses. So yes, all writing must have a rhetorical situation, it is simply the authors use of rhetoric that determines how the situation is represented.
ReplyDeleteAs for the wonderful video that was posted, I would have to disagree with Mr. Vatz (mostly). This is because I believe that context does indeed surround the entire pyramid, but Bitzer's definition certainly does leave room for rhetoric as it is all in how you interpret it. I understand that what I just said is by no means a strong argument, however, just follow me for one second. He says that "situation dictates discourse" meaning that whatever happens between the people, objects, events, etc., dictates how/what they do. So far, it's a fair call. It's when he says that this leaves no room for the responsibilities of the rhetor, is where I disagree. Context is indeed what holds the whole thing together and context is what the rhetor is responsible for providing. I hope that what I just said was coherent enough for anyone else to follow... It makes a lot more sense in my head.
I would agree with Jazz on her points that writing follows rhetorical situation, true writing is good writing, and that thoughts are situational rendering all writing rhetorically situational. And now I'm all out of thoughts...
ReplyDeleteFrom my understanding of Bitzer’s piece, I think rhetoric is a response to a given event that is used to persuade, inform, or entertain the audience. Therefore, the rhetorical situation is whatever the circumstance is that triggered said response. I agree with Jazz that the situation must come before the writing, because the writing is created based upon it. The combination of these is a key component to becoming a successful writer for two reasons; one is to be able to acknowledge that you do have a point of view in regards to a situation. The other is to learn how to write in a way that conveys that point of view in an accurate and accessible way so that others can also know it, and if you are successful, have that become their view point as well. It is not necessary to have a rhetorical situation in order to write, it is very easy to write about nothing at all, and just put random thoughts in your head on paper. However, I do believe that in order for your writing to be significant and memorable, it does need to be responding to a situation. For example in class the poem we read that was just ramblings from a crazy person organized on paper, when we were asked to analyze it we all assumed that the writer had either lost or killed someone close to him, therefore responding to a situation in his life. None of us believed that it could just be some nonsense, because why would anyone make a poem out of that? And because of that I doubt many of us will remember much about that poem other than the fact we were tricked into believing a false meaning. The reason that memorable writing sticks, for example the eulogies discussed in the reading for President Kennedy, is because of the fact that they respond to a situation. Such situations, whether we know it or not, invoke emotions and opinions in us, and these responses build on those, making them much more important to the audience on a personal level.
ReplyDeleteI believe that to truly understand rhetorical situation, one must first know the definition of rhetoric. Rhetoric is the use of language or in this case writing to persuade or inform someone. What I received out of this piece of writing is that a rhetorical situation, which should be created each time a person writes, is the presentation of an imperfection, to be analyzed, accepted, or rejected by the audience. “Let us regard rhetorical situation as a natural context of persons, events, objects, relations, and an exigence which strongly invites utterance; this invited utterance participates naturally in the situational activity, and by means of its participation with situation obtains its meaning and its rhetorical character.” An exigence is “an imperfection marked by urgency; it is a defect, an obstacle, something waiting to be done, a thing which is other than it should be.” Bitzer says that a person should have exigence in every piece of writing, because it is the concept a person is arguing, or misunderstanding that is trying to be corrected. I agree with CJ in the fact that writing is a product of rhetorical situation and thus comes first. This means that before a person writes, they must first come up with a rhetorical situation relating to their topic. Rhetorical situation is thus the basis of all writing.
ReplyDeleteBitzer defines a 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 the exigence". Considering this statement, I believe that every good author has to manage this so-called "situation". The reading states clearly that a rhetorical situation will "alter the reality". "Altering the reality" basically, means altering YOUR reality, which is the same as changing your mind. Using symbolism, the rhetorical situation is kind of like a debate. The politician is being pragmatic in order to persuade his/hers voters. He/she is also debating as a response to a question or request. Similarly, the author is being pragmatic as well as a rhetoric situation “must exist as a necessary condition of an answer”. In my previous blog post, it was stated that good writing consists of well-written arguments. As I understand it, that is the rhetorical situation. Hence, I agree with CJ that writing is a product of rhetorical situation, and therefore has to come first. This is due to the fact that the rhetorical situation also considers the audience, context and text. I consider these terms to be the most important key terms in writing, as they are the basis of good writing.
ReplyDeleteLike Jacy said, very nicely put by the way, “the rhetorical situation is the basis of writing”.
Looking at the comments above I agree with Jazz and all the others stating that the writing is in fact a product of the rhetorical situation. We write based on experiences, ideas, emotions, the world around us. However, I would define Rhetorical Situation as the basis of the rhetoric piece itself. By base I mean that it provides foundation and ideas about the piece itself for interpretation. I remember in my Junior year English class we read poetry by Emily Dickinson (kill me), and she was a grade A hermit. However, looking at the dates that she wrote these poems, it became clear that yes she was a bizarre character, but she had reasoning behind her words. With all the metaphors and extravagant language, we could interpret her meaning through the rhetoric situation. The rhetoric itself is the language in the piece itself that informs or persuades the reader. You write something based on the situation, creating the certain rhetoric. For instance, in a formal paper I would be less conversational and goofy, but in my blog I will write to entertain. Both are designed to inform the reader of whatever situation, but the rhetoric is completely different, coming from the rhetorical situation. Lastly, from what I've experienced I think rhetoric does come from the rhetorical situation, and therefore comes after and because of it. However, I cannot say that you absolutely need to have a situation to write or inform. Sometimes there is no situation, sometimes writing informs without a context. Annalise mentioned the nonsense poem we read, and as we analyzed it thinking it was about losing someone, it was just babbling from a crazy. There may have been a situation with it, for him or her to say these things, but maybe that just came from the mind, and therefore there is no context that the audience would understand. It is only the context of the writer's mind, a context that no one else will ever experience or relate to.
ReplyDeleteMy understanding of a rhetorical situation is that all writing is different, so I think when someone writes, a new type of rhetoric is expressed. I agree with Jacy when he says that rhetoric should be created every time a person writes. I also think he is trying to get across that rhetorical situation and persuasive situation are not the same. But “The rhetoric alters reality by bringing into existence a discourse of such character that the audience, in though of action, is so engaged that it becomes mediator of change.” This is saying when the rhetoric is so strong it can be persuasive which is different then rhetorical situation. I feel like rhetorical situation is a lot different from any type of writing and it is different for everyone. They are both the understanding of how to write because it means that all writing is different and people use different strategies. Also I feel that rhetoric is the backbone of writing. The rhetoric brings out ideas and it kind of creates a story line around the rhetoric. I believe that the rhetorical situation comes first in writing because when writing you need an idea to grow off of and that’s what you can do when your rhetorical situation shows up in your writing. Also I feel like you build off of the rhetorical situation so in your writing you can build of that idea. I do believe that all writing needs a rhetorical situation to write because it make the writing unique and your own. I agree with Jazzi when she said that “situations offer more substance to writing” because this makes it your writing and nobody else’s. Everybody has different thoughts and different experiences, which makes all writing different with a rhetorical situation.
ReplyDeleteAccording 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.” Also, Bitzer suggests the rhetorical situation is that “Let us regard rhetorical situation as a natural context of persons, events, objects, relations, and an exigence which strongly invites utterance.” As far as I search the resources of the rhetorical situation, I do not agree with Bitzer. Obviously, I do not agree Annalise and Jazz that the situation must come before the writing. Bitzer asserts that rhetoric situation comes before the writing, and it objective exists and is static. It is not true, however. As rhetorician RichardE.Vatz states that situation is rhetorical rather than rhetoric is situational, rhetor chooses and activates those three factors of situation in consequence. Three factors of situation, exigence, audience and constraints, is the product of rhetor subjective choosing and dynamic constructing. In other words, words create situations, and situation is a by-product of producing words. Thus, I think rhetorical situation comes before the writing. Annallise mentions the poem in the class to support her opinion. I think that the author of the poem maybe just feel extremely lonely, and randomly write down something he just mind wandering about. This is so common, because I usually thinking some weird things and writing them down and posting them on my twitter. At last, that’s interesting that all my classmates agree with what the Bitzer said……haha.
ReplyDeleteI think that Bitzer refers to rhetoric in its ability to create discourse, “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”.Bitzer states that a “[r]hetorical 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.” They are both important aspects in understanding how to write. It is important to understand rhetoric and the ability to bring meaningful discourse to the world, and it is also important to understand that rhetorical situations give rise to meaningful discourse and unique opportunities for the discourse to take place. I believe that the rhetorical situation comes first in most cases. It is hard to think of examples where someone created the rhetoric to fit a certain situation that may never arise, instead of the other way around, where the situation gave rise to the rhetoric. I do not believe that all writing needs a rhetorical situation in order to be created. Thousands of fictitious books are printed every year with no rhetorical situation sparking their creation. However, I would argue that some of the most meaningful writings/speeches do arise from rhetorical situations, or in response to them. I agree with Annalise that emotion plays a key roll. It is the genuine response, the genuine emotion that comes from a situation that, like from one of the examples in the paper, brings about the sort of writing that makes history and leaves an impression on the mind of most people.
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ReplyDeleteAccording to Blitzer, a rhetorical situation is the basis of complex persons or maybe events. In my opinion, I feel like I share the same understanding as Jillian, such that all writing is different and that every piece of writing is your own. A new rhetoric situation can be seen in all different forms of writing. What I think is really important about rhetorical situation is that without it, your writing begins to wonder. What I mean by that is your writing should be able to surround a particular situation (similar to what Annalise said.) To my understanding, the rhetorical situation comes before the writing. I believe your writing should detail a significant situation. I believe that writing stems from an idea (in this case, a rhetorical situation), which acts as a foundation for any piece of writing. I think that all writing needs a rhetorical situation. Without the rhetorical situation I feel like the base for your writing would be lost.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Bitzer’s piece, I believe that the rhetorical situation occurs when an author responds to a major incident. This major incident, however, must shape perception and elicit a strong response. I agree with Annalise that rhetoric is: “a response to a given event that is used to persuade, inform, or entertain the audience.” It should be clear and well written, so that the reader can gain knowledge without feeling lost. As Bitzer says: “a rhetorical audience consists only of those persons who are capable of being influenced by discourse and of being mediators of change.” Thus, a successful rhetoric should be able to influence its audience, in order to make them fully believe what is written. The audience of the rhetorical situation is completely unique for, according to Bitzer, “they have the power to constrain decision and action needed to modify the exigence.” Without the rhetorical situation itself, they would not be able to produce such actions. I both agree and disagree with Molly that “writing is in fact a product of the rhetorical situation.” All writing stems from some sort of inspiration, whether it is a prompt for an assignment or a current event that has been on the news. That said, however, I think that different types of writing can be sparked from more abstract things. I think that the rhetorical situation is important, however, for times when an author wants to make an impact. Without it there would not be writing that has a strong purpose. It would take out a whole genre of writing. Like the little youtube clip shows: rhetoric is everywhere and the rhetorical situation can help others organize and make sense of it.
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