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Accessibility Rhetorical Situation
Audience Analysis
Careers
Collaboration The rhetorical situation refers to the circumstances that surround the creation or presentation of
Contents
Comics rhetorical discourse.[1] Rhetorical discourse can be defined as rhetoric (a spoken or written text) that is
Component Content communicated to an audience. The rhetor is the writer or speaker of the text/speech. There is scholarly 1 Original Interpretation (Bitzer)
Management 1.1 Exigence
debate over the nature of rhetorical situations and their constituents (or essential parts), though the most
Ethics 1.2 Audience
Genres prominent constituents are exigence (or need), audience, and constraints.
1.3 Constraints
Grant Writing 2 Criticism
History of PTW As rhetors, technical communicators should be aware of their role in the overarching rhetorical 2.1 "Situations are rhetorical" (Vatz)
Human-computer situations that shape, and are shaped by, the content they publish. 2.2 "Rhetoric as an art" (Consigny)
interaction 2.3 "Compound rhetorical situations"
Information Design (Grant-Davie)
Instructional Design 3 Rhetorical Situations in Technical
Intercultural Original Interpretation (Bitzer) Communication
Technical 3.1 Writing and Genre
Communication 3.2 Editing
International Rhetorical situations, in a general sense, have existed since the beginnings of rhetoric as a field of study. 4 See Also
Technical [1] However, the concept of "the rhetorical situation” wasn’t originally defined in the vocabulary of
5 References
Communication
Interviewing Subject rhetorical theory. In 1968, Lloyd Bitzer became the first scholar to conceptualize the rhetorical situation,
Matter Experts describing it as “the nature of [the] contexts in which writers or speakers create rhetorical discourse."
Plain Language [2] According to Bitzer, the rhetorical situation always precedes the discourse (a formal address, document, etc.) because the situation is what “calls the
Writing
discourse into existence."[2] Like a question without an answer, a rhetorical situation may exist without ever generating a text. But rhetorical texts can't
Public Policy
Readability exist without their corresponding situations.
Formulas
Rhetorical Theory
Rhetorical
Situation
Risk Communication
Science
Communication
Social Justice
Style
Technical Editing
Theory
Usability Testing
User Manuals for
Software
UX Design
Guidance for Authors
Collaboration
Sitemap Diagram depicting the rhetorical situation and how it leads to rhetorical discourse (Bitzer)

Bitzer’s definition is divided into three main constituents: exigence, audience, and constraints.[2] If the situation fosters discourse, then the discourse
and its rhetor become additional constituents in the rhetorical situation.

Exigence

An exigence is a need, gap, obstacle, or “imperfection marked by urgency.”[2] For an exigence to be rhetorical, it must have the ability to be improved or
changed via rhetoric. The exigence can take many forms, including actual or potential, weak or strong, trivial or important, and singular or plural.

TC Example (Part 1): You work as a technical writer for a software company that has just finished developing a desktop program. The creation of this
new program brings about a gap (exigence) in consumer knowledge of how to work the program. You can resolve this exigence by writing an instruction
manual (rhetorical discourse) to bundle with the finished product.

Audience

In a rhetorical situation, the audience comprises the readers and/or listeners who are influenced by, or capable of acting on, the discourse.[2]

TC Example (Part 2): Before writing the instruction manual, you must consider your audience. In this situation, the audience would include everyone
who uses the product.

Constraints

Constraints of a rhetorical situation include all "persons, events, objects, and relations" that "have the power to constrain decision and action needed to
modify the exigence."[2] In other words, the constraints are any additional factors that might impact the potential discourse.

TC Example (Part 3): While writing the instruction manual, you are faced with many constraints, such as the product release date, deadlines, company
style guide, genre, and the audience's perceived skill level.

Criticism

Since Bitzer's 1968 publication, various scholars have challenged his original interpretation of the relationship between the rhetorical situation and
rhetorical discourse.[3][4][5] This debate centers on how meaning is created: Is meaning inherent to situations, or do rhetors create meaning through
their interpretation of situations? For the field of technical communication, these questions have ethical implications. Though technical writers may strive
to be objective and unbiased, they still have the power to misconstrue events/facts and mislead audiences.

Diagram showing how the rhetor and discourse shape the situation (Vatz)

"Situations are rhetorical" (Vatz)

In "The Myth of the Rhetorical Situation," Richard Vatz takes issue with Bitzer's interpretation of rhetoric being situational.[3] Vatz argues that "meaning
is not intrinsic in events" because there is an infinite amount of information that informs them. Instead, it is the rhetor who creates meaning by choosing
which facts and events to make salient. Thus, Vatz believes that Bitzer undermines the power of the rhetor in shaping the situation. Additionally, Vatz
argues that the relationships between situations and rhetoric are actually flipped, with rhetoric creating (or inviting) the situation and exigence instead of
vice versa.

"Rhetoric as an art" (Consigny)

In "Rhetoric and Its Situations," Scott Consigny critiques both Bitzer's and Vatz's arguments.[4] Consigny agrees with Bitzer that there are certain
constraints and "particularities" that impact the rhetorical situation. Yet he also agrees with Vatz that the rhetor has creative freedom in structuring
discourse. To bring these ideas together, Consigny proposes a third factor of "rhetoric as an art" which would allow the rhetor to successfully engage in
all situations. For this, "the art of rhetoric" must meet two conditions: integrity and receptivity. Integrity refers to the rhetor's "universal capacity" to
respond to novel situations. Receptivity refers to the rhetor's ability to adapt to the needs of the situation.

"Compound rhetorical situations" (Grant-Davie)

In "Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents," Keith Grant-Davie expands upon Bitzer's original definition and proposes a more thorough scheme for
examining rhetorical situations.[5] Grant-Davie argues that the rhetor should be acknowledged as a constituent before the discourse is created. He
contends that, like exigences and constraints, there can also be multiple rhetors and audiences in one situation. Grant-Davie further identifies
"compound rhetorical situations," which are composed of closely related and overlapping situations. Discussions and public debates are examples of
compound situations.

Rhetorical Situations in Technical Communication

The rhetorical situation can be applied to different positions within technical communication, including writing and editing.

Writing and Genre

Before producing a document, a technical writer must determine what exigence their document will address. The writer must also distinguish who their
audience will be and what constraints they will face. The rhetorical situation and genre are interconnected, as genre is used "to fulfill a specific type of
purpose within a particular, recognizable, and recurring situation."[6] Genre can also be a constraint on the rhetoric produced by technical writers. As
genres shift to new media (print to web), their corresponding rhetorical situations (exigences, audiences, and constraints) are also changing.[7]

Editing

For a technical editor, their role in a rhetorical situation is different from the role of a technical writer.[8] On the communication spectrum, the rhetor
typically falls on one end, while the audience is on the other. But editors exist in the middle of this spectrum, which means that they face unique
rhetorical situations. The editor supports the author's role by editing/rewriting for style and accuracy. At the same time, the editor must assume the role
of a reader by testing the effectiveness of the document.

See Also

Rhetorical Theory
Ethics
Style Guides
Technical Editing

References

1. ^ Covino, W. A., & Jolliffe, D. A. (1995). Rhetoric: concepts, definitions, boundaries. Allyn and Bacon.
2. ^ Bitzer, L. F. (1968). The rhetorical situation. Philosophy & Rhetoric, 1(1), 1–14.
3. ^ Vatz, R. E. (1973). The myth of the rhetorical situation. Philosophy & Rhetoric, 6(3), 154–161.
4. ^ Consigny, S. (1974). Rhetoric and its situations. Philosophy & Rhetoric, 7(3), 175–186.
5. ^ Grant-Davie, K. (1997). Rhetorical situations and their constituents. Rhetoric Review, 15(2), 264–279. doi:10.1080/07350199709359219
6. ^ Henze, B. (2013). What do technical communicators need to know about genre? In J. Johnson-Eilola & S. A. Selber (Eds.), Solving Problems in
Technical Communication (pp. 337-361). University of Chicago Press.
7. ^ Killoran, J. B. (2009). The rhetorical situation of web résumés. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 39(3), 263-284.
8. ^ Beuhler, M. F. (2003). Situational editing: A rhetorical approach for the technical editor. Technical Communication, 50(4), 458-464.

Last updated by Cassie Muniz on 11/8/2020.

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