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Jackson Sirmans

Professor Gardiakos

ENC 1102

20 January 2023

Reading Response for “Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis” and

“Creating, Using, and Sharing Information in Research Communities”

The author of “Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis” emphasizes

the common use of rhetorical analysis in everyday life, even when we do not realize. During the

summer of Covid, I was binge watching the show known as The Office which had a large

ensemble of characters who had various behaviors and thought processes. With that, I began

determining if a character was likeable, if they were impactful, or even if they should continue

to be on the show. The creators of The Office write these characters in a certain way to

persuade the audience to perceive them in the way that suits the show best. I found myself

leaning one way about a character based off their actions only to begin to like them in the next

season. These unseen narratives drive the watcher to fall in love with characters and retain

viewership for the entirety of the show. Appealing to the audience’s emotions using pathos

helps bring depth to the likeable or unlikeable character keeping the viewer hooked eagerly

hoping to see if they were right all along. I experienced these thoughts and created personal

judgements of the characters without realizing that I was performing basic rhetorical analysis.

In “Creating, Using, and Sharing Information in Research Communities,” the authors

focus on defining what exactly a research community is and how it functions. This year I joined
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the Marching Knights at UCF and discovered that it works identically to that of a research

community. The band has an extensive set of goals and guidelines that the collective members

are there to fulfill. Research communities are defined by six main points in the article that can

be applied to the marching band. First being that all members come together to “publicly

share” their love for music and performing. There are various “methods of communication with

each other” from speaking in person to digital applications with chatting capabilities. These

communication methods are used to “share information and offer commentary” quickly to all

members involved. Multiple “genres” of music are used to accomplish the goal which also

requires a “specialized vocabulary”. Lastly, there are multiple “experts” and members with

prior knowledge who can guide the new members in the right direction (Hemstrom 2, 3). These

six main points can all be applied to the marching band to classify the group as a research

community.

To break down the previous points further, all participants are expected to learn and

understand how to read the music and then play it to a high standard. There is a level of skill

required to be a part of the community with auditions in place to determine one’s prior

knowledge. Once the person of interest has made it past the audition phase, they are expected

to better their skills daily and meet as a whole at least 3-4 times a week in order to apply their

knowledge. During these meetings members can critique each other while professionals

provide instruction and feedback to excel the quality of music production. In order to be

prepared to enter the community one must know how to read music, play a specific

instrument, and understand marching fundamentals.

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Research communities function in a rhetorical fashion with its foundation being a

collective of people creating knowledge and persuading their audience to believe their work.

The knowledge a community provides for consumption requires a level of credibility because

people do not want to simply be “mindless consumers” (Carroll 4). Humans need to stimulate

their minds with incoming knowledge meaning any research being put out will be analyzed and

criticized. Using the multiple rhetorical skills people develop throughout their lives such as

understanding proper context, lexis, constraints, and having prior knowledge one can

determine whether or not to buy into the persuasion of the research.

These groups working together to achieve a common goal helps better everyone

involved. Joining a research community helps build communication skills, progress knowledge

on a topic, and expand connections in the field. During a brief period, I wanted to try out

streaming videogames for people to watch but I did not know where to start. I began trying out

everything on my own but ended up not producing the desired results until I found a group of

people who knew what they were doing. After many calls and long explanations, everything

started to click and fall into place which brought in a following I could not believe. Making

connections with the people who knew more than me in the group provided the necessary

knowledge to succeed and a sense of acceptance. I was completely unaware the methods I was

using to improve my skills would be considered being a member of a research community. Most

people want to feel acceptance and do something productive among people with similar goals

and once one has provided positive input, that’s when they feel truly accepted. Overall, we are

often unaware of the rhetorical analysis we perform on a daily basis and that most groups we

are a part of can be classified as a Research community.

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Works Cited

Anders, Kathy and Cassie Hemstrom. “Creating, Using, and Sharing Information in Research

Communities.” Writing Spaces, vol. 4, no. 11, pp. 184-198.

Carroll, Laura Bolin. “Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis.” Writing

Spaces, vol. 1.