Carrascosa 1

Tracy Carrascosa
Professor Megan Keaton
ENC2135
3 August 2016
The Rhetorical Situation
This composition class has taught me a great deal throughout its short, six weeks. Besides
genre and its conventions, it has also taught me a great deal about rhetoric and the rhetorical
situation, as well. Prior to learning about the rhetorical situation, I was beyond lost and confused.
I had never even heard of the rhetorical situation before so I could not even formulate a
definition for it prior to learning its true meaning. The rhetorical situation, to me before, had zero
meaning, but that has changed quite rapidly. The first instance in which the definition of the
rhetorical situation began formulating was with the course book, The Bedford Book of Genres
by Amy Braziller and Elizabeth Kleinfield, that can be accessed by the following link:
{https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B81zNbT_A29rT3dzTi12NFREZ3M/view?usp=sharing}. On
the books page 7-12, it talks a great deal in explaining rhetoric and the rhetorical situation in
detail and about how they both interrelate along with genre and genre conventions. The book
does an amazing job of simplifying the definition of the rhetorical situation in terms that are easy
to understand. What I have grasped from this course reading is that the rhetorical situation is
simply just the context and parameters in which one creates their composition. When one is
writing they have a particular purpose to their audience. This is the rhetorical situation. The
situation is comprised of the purpose, audience, rhetorical appeals, and modes. These are all key
terms that I learned throughout this course about the rhetorical situation from this course reading.
The first course reading that probably exposed me in a more relatable way to the rhetorical

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situation was the following comic strip, that can be accessed with the following link:
{https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B47B6qjaRKbHZjhseEM2VlJCZlU/view?usp=sharing}. The
comic strip took a more relatable and interesting approach to the rhetorical situation by
simplifying its explanation and facilitating it with pictures. Due to the fact of the context of the
comic strip, it helped me understand and begin to formulate a definition to the rhetorical situation
and its association with genre and rhetoric because of it being so reader friendly and captivating.
The course has taught me a great deal about the rhetorical situation. Even though the rhetorical
situation is something that I had no prior exposure to, the course helped me understand it by
simplifying it with course readings and strengthening my definition with projects, group
activities and short assignments. Another course reading that summarized my now new
definition of the rhetorical situation was The Bedford Book of Genres by Amy Braziller and
Elizabeth Kleinfield, that can be accessed by clicking on the following link:
{https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B81zNbT_A29rT3dzTi12NFREZ3M/view?usp=sharing}. On
page 16 of the book, it summarizes the rhetorical situation in a simplified and easy to follow,
organized structure. This page is extremely helpful in formulating the definition I have for the
phrase today because it simplifies it in an easy to follow way that does not use mind-boggling
jargon. Therefore, I now understand the purpose, audience, rhetorical appeals, and modes and
media of the rhetorical situation thoroughly. Through the duration of the course all the key terms
learned have been strengthened by the courses progression. I now understand the rhetorical
situation to be the context in which the composition is in, something I would have not known
before taking this course.