RHETORICAL CONTEXT
It is important to consider the rhetorical context for any essay that you read or write.
What is this? "Rhetorical" is an adjective that means "by the act of communication" or
"intending to transmit meaning." In a composition class, rhetoric is the art of persuasive or
engaging writing.
"Context" is the situation that surrounds any event. Anything beyond the specific
words of a literary work that may be relevant to understanding the meaning. Contexts may
be economic, social, cultural, historical, literary, biographical, etc. The political context of the
rule of Elizabeth and James, the religious context of Calvinism, the social context of
homosexual relations and cross-dressing, and the literary context of Renaissance literature,
for example, all have significant implications for understanding the words of Shakespeare.
The rhetorical context, then, is the situation that surrounds your act of writing. What
are you writing? Why? For what purpose? One important reason to understand the context
is that it helps you focus on exactly what, why, and for whom you are writing, thus keeping
your thinking clear and organized. If you cannot explain the rhetorical context of your essay,
chances are that you may have to reassess just what it is you are trying to accomplish with
your writing.
Parts of the Rhetorical Context
Subject
Put simply, the subject of the essay/piece is your topic. It covers the content of what the
essay is about. Obviously, you want to make sure that you are clear about your subject when
you sit down to write.
Purpose
What is the essay/piece trying to accomplish? Possible examples may be to: narrate an
episode from the past; relate an event and explain its importance; explain a concept or idea;
examine and investigate a problem; or to argue a position. The purpose will be much more
specific than these examples, however, because it will relate to a specific topic (the subject).
Depending on the piece, you may identify several purposes (i.e., to explain why something is
a problem, and to argue for a certain solution).
Audience
The audience of your work is the group of people you are writing for. The style, tone,
organization, diction, and content of your writing will be dependent on who exactly it is you
want to be affected by your ideas. For example, an essay about marijuana legalization might
be very different if the audience was the Iowa legislature, the readers of the Des Moines
Register, Polk County high school students, parent/guardians, or drug dealers.
Occasion (or Situation)
The occasion for writing is the external motivation you have for sitting down to write. For a
composition class, some obvious external motivators may be the desire to get a good grade,
or because the course requires you to write the essay. But for the readings, essays, photo
journalism, etc. that we examine for this course, the situational motivation for the author is
more complex. Why write about ___________ issue now? What facets of the issue make it a
contemporary problem?
With a partner, explain the context of each piece by identifying the subject, purpose,
audience, and situation surrounding it. You will have to do a little research! Who is the
author/speaker? What background history or experience makes them qualified to speak
about the issues in their piece?
1. Nydia Velazquez “In Search of Justice”
S:
P:
A:
O/S:
2. Cesar Chavez “Wrath of Grapes” Boycott Speech
S:
P:
A:
O/S:
3. Choose one EPA 20th Anniversary Environmental Justice Video Series
S:
P:
A:
O/S:
Then, identify at least three examples of visual rhetorical strategies (i.e. ) in your chosen
EPA video. Explain how they impact the audience, and why the author may have chosen to
use them.
1.
2.
3.
How did the impact of these pieces change after you learned more about the context? Were
the rhetorical strategies more or less effective with this knowledge?