Payton Gray

Professor Pompos Mansfield

ENC 1102

18 October 2023

Annotated Bibliography

Framing Paragraphs

Research about the rhetorical moves used on TikTok has become very prominent in the

past few years, following the app's booming success after launching in 2016. Carrol (2010)

emphasizes how all communications, including social media content, responds to a rhetorical

situation, thus giving audiences a framework with which to analyze the ways that group utilizes

rhetoric. This creates a frame for analyzing the effectiveness of TikTok videos by focusing on

purpose, content, and devotion to the rhetorical situation. There is evidence showing that certain

combinations of audios and hashtags alone can multiply the viewers of a post (Wright, 2021).

Mallard (2023) conducted research on the ways that posting interactive content on TikTok has

boosted the number of streams of independent artists on Spotify. There has also been research

conducted on the use of TikTok by Taylor Swift fans, such as a study done by Resnick (2021),

who made the argument that Taylor’s fans use the platform to encourage extreme theories within

the fandom.

While all previous research done in these areas is important in its own distinct way, my

research wishes to combine these two areas of study. The research will answer two sequential

questions; How do swiftie influencers Steven Sullivan, Ashley Nicholson, and Alecksis Victoria

on TikTok use rhetoric to engage with their audiences? Which aspects of their multimodal

content are the most engaging, effective, persuasive, and/or memorable? Previous research has
proven that certain rhetorical and literary choices can boost engagement on TikTok, however

more research is needed on how those rhetorical moves are used within discourse communities.

Specifically the Taylor Swift, or “Swiftie” community.

To answer these questions, I will conduct research on the rhetorical moves used by

swiftie influencers by conducting textual analysis of TikTok videos through a rhetorical and

multimodal frame. I will specifically be looking to find the purpose and content of the genre, the

intended audience, and how the combination of modes such as linguistic, spatial, and audio are

used to support the creators argument. To do this, I will be referencing Babak’s concept of

multimodality to analyze the methods these creators use visual, audio, and spatial modes to

create meaning (Babak, 1996).

Secondary Sources

Bolin Carroll, L. (2010). Writing spaces. Writing Spaces.

https://writingspaces.org/past-volumes/backpacks-vs-briefcases-steps-toward-rhetorical-a

nalysis/

Carrol gives examples of the expansive ways rhetoric is used every day by the

media trying to convince audiences to become customers. Carrol notes the difficulty of

using rhetorical thinking for graded assignments, even though it is used frequently

without recognition. Carrol conducts rhetorical analysis by first establishing context, then

deciding the audience, and lastly determining constraints placed on the discussion. She

stresses the importance of ethos, pathos, and logos when building a rhetorical analysis.

I included this source in my bibliography because it discusses rhetorical analysis,

which is the frame I have chosen for my research. This helps me answer my research
 question because it allows me to reference professional work on rhetorical analysis when

analyzing my primary sources. I will use this source in my final paper to build my

credibility as a writer, as I am referencing others in the field who are more

knowledgeable than I am. This will most likely be used in my literature review as well as

the methods section.

Resnick, Kendall, "When Admiration Turns to Obsession: A Case Study on Taylor Swift Fan

Theories" (2021). Student Research Submissions. 439.

https://scholar.umw.edu/student_research/439

This research is an analysis of Taylor Swift fan theories, and the relationships it

creates between the fandom and the artist. After researching fan theories on TikTok the

researcher found three main themes: a sense of community, a knowledge of secret

information, and a closeness to the celebrity.

This article can be used in my final paper because several of the primary sources I

intend to analyze are content about fan theories. This research can be used to explain why

creators post their takes on popular fan theories so often and how they use rhetoric and

multi modal content to do so. This will be used in my literature review to add to the

evidence of a current conversation.

Wright, Lindsey. "The Sound of Identity: Audios and Hashtags as Nexuses of Practice on

TikTok." (2021).

This article discusses the use of hashtag and sound combinations on TikTok to increase

engagement and hook audiences through the frame of digital literacies. Through textual analysis

and interviews, Wright found that both sounds and hashtags are used to sort videos for viewers.
This proved that hashtags can be used to increase views, and that audios can be used to predict

the content of a video before viewing.

This source is included in my bibliography because the primary sources I have chosen

use audios and hashtags in combination to boost their engagement, which helps them make their

argument to a larger audience. The use of audios and hashtags in combination is something that I

can analyze when conducting my own rhetorical analysis of primary sources on TikTok. This

source will be used in my final paper to support the idea that certain audios or hashtags can

ensure that creators' content makes it to the feed of members in the discourse community. This

will be used in my literature review as well as my Data and Findings.

Primary Sources

Nicholson, Ashley, director. TikTok, 15 Sept. 2023, https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPR7t1wTP/.

Accessed 22 Oct. 2023.

This TikTok video is about the essential items to take to a concert, but specifically

promotes the eras tour. The creator uses multimodality by speaking about the products while also

showing photos and images of herself using the items during an eras tour show. She also uses

Taylor Swift and Eras Tour related hashtags to boost her videos on the pages of Taylor Swift

fans.

This source is included in the bibliography because it is an example of a video I will

analyze and discuss in my final paper. It is helpful in answering my research question because it

is an example of the successful use of multimodality and rhetorical moves by a swiftie

influencer. Nicholson utilizes the audio, visual, and linguistic modes by providing images of the

items in use, a voice over explaining her experiences and uses of the item, and the use of key

terms that are recognizable by the community. This piece will be used in my findings as I will
use the information gathered from analyzing this video and others to draw conclusions about the

use of rhetoric within the community.

Sullivan, Steven, director. TikTok, 31 Aug. 2023, https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPR7GVDu7/.

Accessed 22 Oct. 2023.

This video is a creators response to the announcement of the Eras Tour film. He begins

by explaining the basics of what to expect from the film itself as well as pricing for tickets. This

video is spreading awareness of the film to his followers who are majority Taylor Swift fans. He

also uses multimodality through the visual and audio mode, as well as ethos when describing

theater etiquette by including a snippet of the caption from Taylor’s instagram talking about how

she wants fans to sing, dance, dress up and trade bracelets.

This source is used in my bibliography because it is an example of multimodality and the

use of ethos which is a type of rhetorical move that I will investigate in other videos as well. This

helps to answer my research question because it exhibits multiple rhetorical moves and the

effective use of multimodality. This will be used in the discussions and findings sections of my

final research paper.

Victoria, Alecksis, director. TikTok, 7 Jan. 2023, https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPR7Gnxqn/.

Accessed 22 Oct. 2023.

In this video, the creator styles different outfits as ideas she has for how Taylor Swift’s

“the 1989 era” would dress for the Eras Tour. This video combines both the use of the audio

mode by playing a Taylor Swift song as well as hashtags related to Taylor, the album, and the

tour, which contribute to the linguistic mode. . This combination of resources was described as
beneficial for attracting the desired audience in one of my secondary sources. She also supports

Taylor by styling some official Taylor Swift merchandise, which directly supports the artist.