Elaura Ligon

el300976
February 4, 2015
Keith Grant-Davie Article Summary

In the article Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents, Keith

Grant-Davie presents the purpose for writing his essay and the importance or
relevance of rhetorical situations in certain life situations. Grant-Davie first
begins by presenting a reference to historical documentaries and explains
that the analysis of the specific rhetorical situations in use reveals the
outcome of certain events or how inevitable certain outcomes are based on
the context. Through that example, he presents a premise for his essay in
which he states that teaching students about rhetoric for certain writing,
reading, speaking, or listening situations can help them to better understand
and define what and how a rhetorical situation is used and what its purpose
is in context. He also states that he intends to explain compound rhetorical
situations, which is what he refers to be discussions of a single subject by
multiple rhetors or audiences.
Grant-Davie states that there are three constituents of situation that
were defined and explained by Lloyd Bitzer when he defined rhetorical
situations in 1968. The three are explained when he further defines a
rhetorical situation as a set of related factors whose interaction creates and
controls a discourse. From this he draws that exigence, which is the first
constituents, 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. Grant-Davie also defines and reveals the differences of the audience

Elaura Ligon
el300976
February 4, 2015
Keith Grant-Davie Article Summary

and the constraints in terms relating to rhetorical situations; the audience, as

he defined by Bitzers explanation, are those who can help resolve the
exigence or discourse of the rhetorical situation while constraints were
defined as persons, events, objects, and relations which are parts of the
situati0on because they have the power to constrain decision and action
needed to modify the exigence.
By explaining the 3 different constituents of rhetorical situations,
Grant-Davie goes to explain the value they have in rhetorical situations and
proposes 3 amendments to further develop Bitzers scheme:
1. Exigence demands a more comprehensive analysis.
2. Acknowledge the rhetors as much as the audience.
3. Any of the constituents may be plural.
By proposing these 3 amendments to enhance Bitzers scheme, Grant-Davie
explains that he intends to define and discuss four constituents that he
considers for rhetorical situations: exigence, rhetors, audiences, and
constraints.
Keith Grant-Davie then further expands on the four constituents he
named previously in their own paragraphs, proposing questions and
presenting examples for each constituent. He uses examples from politics,
education, and public speaking in order to explain how each of the four
constituents correspond to rhetoric and rhetorical situations. He also goes on
to further distinguish the differences between the rhetor and the audience
and how they affect the rhetorical situation and presents the opportunity to
email him to get a list of questions that should be asked when taking
rhetorical situations into consideration. Grant-Davie also reemphasizes the

Elaura Ligon
el300976
February 4, 2015
Keith Grant-Davie Article Summary

importance of teaching rhetorical situations and their constituents to

students to better read, write, and listen.