Reading and Annotating
As you are reading, highlight and take note of both the different way Grant-Davie is referring to “situation” and the way he is thinking of “constituents.
This article begins with a “literature review” of sorts. Literature reviews are common practice in research articles—you will most likely have to write some form of one when/if you do your research. In a literature review, the author situates the ideas they are talking about within the relevant, body of research that has already been done on the same or similar topics. It’s a way of letting the reader know how the author (Grant-Davie in this example) is adding to the conversation that is/has already taken place on the topic. Note: This is an excellent strategy to use when writing your essay for the portfolio—beginning by situating your reader in the research present within the texts in order to discuss your idea/question and how it adds to that conversation.
As you read and annotate, it might be helpful to create a small graphic chart that illustrates the progression of the phrase “rhetorical situation” from Bitzer to Vatz, to Consigny, to our very own Grant-Davie. You might want to do another small graphic for the term “constituents” showing the difference between how Bitzer saw them and how Grant-Davie saw them. This is just a suggestion, but I guarantee it would help you have more ideas to work with during your first essay.
Writing to be Submitted
After reading the first half of the text, when you think of the rhetorical situation for your portfolio, what are the “constituents of situation” (p. 265)? Define and describe the exigence and the audience for this work.
As you do this, I want you to write in response to the questions Grant-Davie asks for exigence (pp. 267-268). Then, go on to consider how your role as rhetor is involved in the creation of the rhetorical situation as Grant-Davie suggests (pp. 269-270).
Finally, conclude by considering the concept of “universal audience” (p. 271) in contrast to Gries’ (2019) concept of “rhetorical velocity” (p. 339). What is the difference between these two concepts? Which seems to be more useful to you and why?