Understanding Writing:

The Rhetorical Situation

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What is rhetoric?
[Rhetoric is] the faculty of discovering in
the particular case what are the
available means of persuasion.
Aristotle
Rhetoric = Persuasionhow writers
persuade readers

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Rhetorical Situation
Writer
Purpose
Audience
Topic
(content)
Context

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Writer
your personal
characteristics
and interests
affect what you
write about and
how you write
about it
voice

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Writer: factors which can affect

your writing include
your age
your experiences
your gender
your location
your political beliefs
your education
your parents and
peers
your religion

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Purpose: your reason for

writing
to ___________
to inform
to educate
to call to action
to entertain
to shock

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Purpose: your reason for

writing

Your foremost
purpose in writing
will always be to
PERSUADE

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Audience: to whom are you

writing?
many of the same
factors which affect
the writer also affect
the audience
age
social class
education

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Topic
whatever it is that
you have selected to
write about
may be broadened
or narrowed,
depending upon the
length of the article
and your level of
interest

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Context
the situation which
generates the need
for writing
affected by time
period
location
current events
cultural significance

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Rhetorical Situation

Writer
Purpose
Audience
Topic
Context

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Rhetorical Appeals
All

of these factors in the rhetorical

situation will help you determine the
best way to appeal to your audience

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Rhetoric focuses our attention on

audience
What

might work for one audience

might not work for another (just consider
the writing activity we completed earlier)

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The Three Rhetorical Appeals

Logos

= Logic

Over

half of all marriages in this country

end in divorce; therefore, pre-marital
counseling is of the utmost importance.

Pathos

= Emotion

Lets

not lose another child to starvation.

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The Three Rhetorical Appeals

Ethos

= Credibility of the writer

Intrinsic=

who you are

Extrinsic= what you say and how you say it

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An example
As your doctor, I have to tell you that
if you don't stop smoking,
you're going to die.

What

appeals are being used in this

statement?
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What This Means

You need to be aware that a rhetorical

situation exists EVERY TIME you write.

You need to adapt your writing depending

upon your purpose and your audience.

To be an active (not passive) reader, you need

to analyze the persuasive tactics being used
on you.
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