1. In Bitzer's "The Rhetorical Situation," he makes several powerful suggestions about the need for the study of Rhetoric: "similarly, the world presents imperfections to be modified by means of discourse — hence the practical need for rhetorical investigation and discourse" (12). In what ways can you prompt students in a similar way to understand the need for rhetorical analysis of documents?
2. In this same way, how do you imagine creating a course lesson geared toward helping students understand and apply concepts from "The Rhetorical Situation"? What might this lesson look like for a 50 minute class?
Hi, Liz!
ReplyDeleteI think one way Bitzer's Rhetorical Situation could be approached in a classroom is perhaps an adaptation of an exercise Joel presented in class; that is, have students log in to Twitter, look at what's trending, and evaluate it based on what the a) exigence might be b) who the audience is and c) constraints are. Another element may be exploring individual tweets and examining whether the rhetor has provided a "fitting response." This may be helpful in transferring this exercise into their own writing. It could make students ask, "How does my claim address a need? Who am I targeting? What can I work with, and what am I limited by? And is this an appropriate response to this need?" This activity would have to be paired with discussion though, because as we said the last time we met as a class, this article is particularly dense.