Investigating Rhetorical Situations
For this assessment, you will review 3 passages from 3 different genres of writing you might encounter in your daily life. The title of each passage has been removed. You’ll be asked to make informed responses about the following aspects of rhetorical situation for each of the passages:
• Writer’s purpose
• Passage’s audience
• Genre of the writing
• Passage’s context
• Organization and structure of the passage
While there are no absolute right or wrong answers, your goal is to make informed responses about the rhetorical situation for each passage. Informed responses will include specific characteristics and examples from the passage that support your conclusions about the aspects of the rhetorical situation.
ReviewTools for Investigating Rhetorical Situations.Because many details from the passages have been removed, this resource will help you spot clues to make better guesses.
Review the “Example: Written Passage and Rhetorical Situation Response” section of this document toguide for your own responses.
In the “Written Passagesand Rhetorical Situation Responses” section of this document, read Passages 1, 2, and 3.
For each passage, complete the Rhetorical Situation Informed Response Table by writinganinformed response about the rhetorical situation and notingspecific passage examples to support your informed response. Do this by responding to the following aspects of rhetorical situation in the Aspects column:
• The writer’spurpose
• The audience
• The genre
• The context
• The organization and structure
Example: Written Passage and Rhetorical Situation Response
Example Passage
I’m writing to you because I am concerned about Elliot.He comes home exhausted and doesn’t remember what he learned in class that day. Since he can’t recall the content, he struggles greatly with the homework and I am unable to help him. The fourth graders at Riverdale Elementary school do not have enough time to eat lunch. The lunch period should be extended to protect students’ physical health and academic performance. You must allow students time to rest, recharge, and relax to enhance their focus in class. You have the power to change this policy and improve the health of students and faculty alike.
Example Completed Rhetorical Situation Informed Response Table
| Aspects | Response and Specific Passage Examples |
| Writer’s purpose:
Who is this writer? |
I think the writer is a parent whose purpose is to communicate concerns about their child. The writer talks about their son, homework, the fourth grade, and frustrations with the limited amount of time for lunch. The writer is advocating for a longer lunch break for students. |
| Audience:
Who does the writer address? |
I think the writer is addressing the principal or the school board members as their audience. The writer seems to believe that the person or people can extend the lunch break. The sentence, “You have the power to change this policy and improve the health of students and faculty alike,” made me believe this person is not writing to a teacher, but instead to someone with more authority over the school day. |
| Genre:
What is the genre of this passage? |
I think the genre might be a letter or an email. The writer uses the second–person point of view. The sentence, “You must allow students time to rest, recharge, and relax to enhance their focus in class,” makes me think the writer is speaking directly to a specific person and not a big audience. It could also be a newspaper editorial, but I do not have enough information to know for sure. If the beginning of the passage were included, I could make a better guess. I could look for a greeting or subject line. |
| Context:
What is the context of this passage? |
“The fourth graders at Riverdale Elementary school do not have enough time to each lunch. The lunch period should be extended to protect students’ physical health and academic performance.” The writer believes there is a problem. The context of the passage is to suggest a solution and explain why solving the problem matters. |
| Organization/structure:
What is the organization or structure (e.g., problem and solution, cause and effect)of this passage? What types of organizational patterns (e.g., sentences, paragraphs, stanzas, one-word replies, bullet points, charts) are present in this passage? |
This passage discusses a problem and a potential solution. The writer presents the problem of fourth-grade students not having enough time to eat. The writer suggests that the person in charge extend the lunch period to solve this problem. The passage is made up of sentences and is written in paragraph form. |
Written Passages and Rhetorical Situation Responses
Passage 1
Fans of the critically acclaimed series, The Haunting of Hill House, a show that tracks the lives of a fractured and tormented family and the estate that forever became a fixture in their lives, were undoubtedly thrilled to hear that showrunner Mike Flanagan would put his talents to work on a similar series (though not a sequel), The Haunting of Bly Manor, an adaption of the infamous Henry James novella, The Turn of the Screw.
The Haunting of Bly Manor takes the viewer far from Hill House and across the pond to England, where a young woman, Dani Clayton (played by Victoria Pedretti) takes an assignment as a nanny to the two orphaned children who live on the estate, Miles and Flora (played by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth and Alice Come, respectively). Upon arrival, Dani meets housekeeper Hannah Grosse (played by T’Nia Miller), estate chef Owen Sharma (played by Rahul Kohli), and the gardener, Jamie (played by Amelia Eve). For as strikingly beautiful as Bly Manor is, it is quickly apparent that all is not well. The housekeeper never seems to eat, and the children often behave as if they are staring off into the distance, with their attention on things that are unseen. Soon after arriving, Dani is sure that she has seen a strange man on the property, someone who is quickly revealed to be that of Peter Quint (played by Oliver Jackson-Cohen), a disgraced employee of the property owner, and uncle to the children, Henry Thomas (played by Henry Wingrave). To complicate this, Dani learns that the former nanny, Rebecca Jessel (played by Tahirah Sharif) met an untimely end while stationed at Bly.What unravels, episode by episode, makes each of these characters face the truths of their own pasts and identities, as well as an Evil that has been lurking at Bly for over a century.(N. Coley, personal communication, Winter 2020/2021)
Passage 1: Rhetorical Situation Informed Response Table
| Aspects | Response and Specific Passage Examples |
| Writer’s purpose:
Who is this writer? |
|
| Audience:
Who does the writer address? |
|
| Genre:
What is the genre of this passage? |
|
| Context:
What is the context of this passage? |
|
| Organization and structure:
What is the organization or structure (e.g., problem and solution, cause and effect) of this passage? What types of organizational patterns (e.g., sentences, paragraphs, stanzas, one-word replies, bullet points, charts) are present in this passage? |
Passage 2
Attention: You are invited to “Women of Purpose, Women of Excellence”
During this panel discussion, we will learn about the efforts undertaken by these inspiring female leaders in the fields of government, tech, consulting, education, and research. They will share insight into their leadership journey, and how they actively open doors, support, and empower women of color within their organizations and networks to create a lasting legacy.
Moderators:
• Dr. Renee Green, Director of Academics, University of Phoenix – Hawaii Campus
• Dr. Roy Whitmore, Chair, College of Business and IT, University of Phoenix
Please help spread the word to your network and communities. #WeRise#TogetherWeSoar(M. Aviles, personal communication, January 27, 2021)
Passage 2: Rhetorical Situation Informed Response Table
| Aspects | Response and Specific Passage Examples |
| Writer’s purpose:
Who is this writer? |
|
| Audience:
Who does the writer address? |
|
| Genre:
What is the genre of this passage? |
|
| Context:
What is the context of this passage? |
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| Organization and structure:
What is the organization or structure (e.g., problem and solution, cause and effect) of this passage? What types of organizational patterns (e.g., sentences, paragraphs, stanzas, one-word replies, bullet points, charts) are present in this passage? |
Passage 3
During the past few years, I have focused heavily on preparing myself to become an elementary school teacher. While achieving my Bachelor of Science degree in Education/Elementary Teacher Education, I gained a great understanding of the diversity of student needs, as well as best practices for managing classroom conflict, motivating students, and using technology to enhance learning. I was able to put the knowledge I gained into practice as a student teacher and substitute teacher.
Additionally, working with kindergarten to fifth-grade students has allowed me to strengthen my understanding of the developmental levels of students, giving me the ability to optimize the learning environment for each classroom. Every student is capable of learning if they are given a learning environment that fits their needs. I am confident that I can provide that for your first-grade students.(University of Phoenix Career Services, personal communication, 2021)
Passage 3: Rhetorical Situation Informed Response Table
| Aspects | Response and Specific Passage Examples |
| Writer’s purpose:
Who is this writer? |
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| Audience:
Who does the writer address? |
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| Genre:
What is the genre of this passage? |
|
| Context:
What is the context of this passage? |
|
| Organization and structure:
What is the organization or structure (e.g., problem and solution, cause and effect) of this passage? What types of organizational patterns (e.g., sentences, paragraphs, stanzas, one-word replies, bullet points, charts) are present in this passage? |
