Writing Assignments & Rhetorical Situations.pptx

Brief slideshow outlining how one must decipher writing assignments through the rhetorical situation assigned.

1. Understanding Writing assignments & The rhetorical situation

2. Step One : Understanding Purpose, Audience, and Context Purpose = WHY you are writing Audience = WHO you are writing for Context = WHEN and WHERE this writing is taking place

3. Purpose : Know what is being asked of you – what is the end goal you are striving for? Check the assignment prompt for specific terms that signal your purpose. Often you are being asked to: inform, persuade, express, or entertain College and careers focus mostly on informing or persuading, or a combination of both. Knowing your purpose helps you choose the tone you use in your writing. Will you be passionate? Calm? Skeptical? Critical? To Inform To Persuade to announce to argue to define to advocate to demonstrate to call to action to describe to convince to exemplify to defend to explain to evaluate to report to justify to teach to recommend

4. Audience : The person or people you are writing to/for – often referred to as your readers. This is who you are informing or persuading about your position on your topic. Sometimes you are given a specific audience to write to, such as a government official, future employer, or interest group (parents, a school board, a community, etc.). In these situations, be sure to find out: their background, how much they know about your topic, and how they feel about it (their attitude towards it). If you do not know your audience – which is common in college writing assignments - write to the average person who is not an expert in your subject. While you may be tempted to write to your professor, you need to demonstrate that you can effectively communicate ideas to anyone. Knowing your audience helps you cater to it – if you know your audience is against your position on a topic, you can base your essay on factual information, rather than an emotional response, in order to change their minds.

5. Context : There are different types of writing for different types of courses, careers, and situations. You will need to plan and format your work appropriately. Once you know why you are writing (your purpose) and who you are writing for (your audience), you can consider the where and when this writing is taking place (the context). Adjusting your writing to fit the assignment requirements Considering what others have to say about your topic or position Understanding the cultural significance of your topic Thinking about why your position on the topic matters Knowing your context helps you better achieve your purpose and reach your audience more effectively.

6. Step Two : Analyze the Assignment Look for directives: These are action words that will tell you what type of paper you are writing and how you should do it. Examples: explain, compare and contrast, analyze, define, summarize Identify key words: Ask who, what, why, where, when, and how. Determine your evidence: Is this based on personal opinion? Do you need research? What type? Note style tips: For example -- Use three pieces of research. Include your personal experience with the topic. Avoid using negative terminology. Note technical requirements: MLA, double-spacing, font size, title page, etc. Pay attention to due dates!