Journal 4: Rhetorical Situation

To Bitzer, each circumstance of writing constitutes a different rhetorical situation.

It is the means by which the author solves the problem he is presented with. Bitzer writes
that rhetorical situation is the Contexts in which speakers or writers create rhetorical
discourse(1). He defines rhetorical situation using the key terms Audience, Speaker,
Subject, Occasion and Speech(1). I would define rhetorical situation as the way an
author approaches his circumstances to produce the most appropriate and efficient work.
Bitzers definition connects most with my key term Rhetoric because it is how the
writer uses his words to bridge the gap between the readers perception and his ideas. By
using rhetorical situation, the author gets to choose how he wants his audience to view
the subject and how the should feel about it after reading the piece. To me, rhetorical
situation is very similar to genre. The genre is heavily influenced by the rhetorical
situation the writer is in. After many authors are put in the same rhetorical situation it
creates that genre. In Anzalduas essay, she finds herself in a situation of discrimination
and she wants to communicate the negative effects of it to her audience. Therefore, she
uses a certain voice and combination of evidence and convictions to accomplish her
goal.