Thlog 2: Understanding Rhetorical Context

After reading “Backpacks to Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis,” I felt that I had a much better understanding of genres. In the beginning of reading, Carroll compared a rhetorical analysis to the way we draw on our mental database to “make conclusions about what a person’s looks tell you about their personality” (Carroll 46). We are able to identify a genre by quickly analyzing a work’s conventions. Getting good at identifying genres in readings, movies, etc. could help us when making “savvy judgments” (Carroll 46) in situations we encounter in real life. Carroll’s article also provided me with useful information about exigence, audience, and constraints – the keys to understanding the context of a rhetorical situation. Exigence is the “circumstance or condition that invites a response” (Carroll 48). In other words, you can think of exigence as the cause of a response, or why you’re writing in the first place. The audience is the people what will be viewing your work, intentionally or not. It is important to make your audience people that “should be able to help address the problem” (Carroll 49). You wouldn’t write a letter complaining about a restaurant worker to your cousin, but instead to maybe the manager of the facility, or customer service. In addition, identifying the audience that you are addressing is key in choosing the best type of language to use for your argument. Then there are constraints. Constraints are like the limitations of a genre; they could be a word limit on an essay or how formal you must be when writing to one of your professors. Although not mentioned in Carroll’s article, there are also allowances, which are essentially the opposites of constraints. Allowances are like things you can get away with in writing due to the situation, such as how casual you can be when writing to an immediate family member. Being able to understand exigence, the audience, constraints, and allowances is an important factor in being able to identify and analyze genre and can help you immensely.