Tyler Beason
English 1001
MA1
29 April 2020
The Theory of Writing
Writing is one of the main channels of communication, where stories are told, topics are discussed, and research is showcased. Depending on the audience, genre, and persuasion at hand, there are many different ways a paper, article, or book can be written. Throughout the semester, this class has looked into genre, audience, and rhetorical situations in relation to the theory of writing and how to write appropriately for specific purposes. In addition to this, three articles were presented for the class to read. One focused on genre, “Speech Acts, Genres, and Activity Systems: How Tests Organize Activity and People” by Charles Bazerman, one focused on audience, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua, and the third focused on rhetorical situations, “Rhetorical Situation” by Llyod Bitzer. These three articles in combination with in class discussions aided in a deeper understanding of what is the theory of writing and what does that mean in relation to writing articles, books, and papers. The theory of writing is constantly shifting from different focuses, or rhetorical situations, in order to deliver a message across to the corresponding audience as well as in the corresponding genre, while keeping all three aspects aligned.
Genre is different categories of writing that have similar characteristics in style and subject matter. People are drawn to different genres for different reasons, depending on what they are looking for within the writing. The article by Charles Bazerman, “Speech Acts, Genres, and Activity Systems: How Tests Organize Activity and People” depicts genre as “how people using text create new realities of meaning, relation, and knowledge” (Bazerman, 309). To persuade a reader’s mind depends on the genre at hand. If a reader is reading a research paper, they may not understand the information at first, but because they chose this genre, they are able to gain new meaning and relations from this topic. In order to get more out of a genre, or to be able to grasp the reader in a way they were not anticipating from the genre, the writer needs to go beyond the expected from the genre. Baazerman stated, “go beyond those features we were already aware of” (Bazerman, 324), in respect to the typification of different genres. If you go beyond the features that are traditionally followed, the reader will be grasping different information they may have not been open to before, being persuaded in different directions than originally anticipated. This is within reason though. A genre has to follow a loose set of characteristics in order to be considered aligned with the topic or subject. It is best to lead a reader down an unexpected path instead of confusing them through mixed messages.
Audience is a person who a writer writes to or who a composer composes for. It is how the writer uses a particular style of writing, language, tone or content to target the audience. For example, a scientist can produce a piece that is only meant for someone who is capable of the intake of that knowledge, and a poet will write to an audience that can relate to the experience of the poetry. The article by Gloria Anzalua, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, states how a different version of the same language came about. The author does this by starting with a story about her life, to connect to the audience. It proceeds to follow the author in describing about the times where a certain type of Spanish, whether it was slang or proper, would come up and some people would not understand. She had to learn who her audience was to be able to speak the appropriate Spanish. This situation then led into the author explaining how each version of Spanish came about and when they are mostly used. In this section of the article, the author was able to grasp the reader more by giving a time in which she struggled with being different. Once the author knew the reader made the connection, she then proceeded to explain her views about the topic. This showcases it matters how you present the information to the reader. If the reader is not interested in the topic, or does not make a connection to the topic, they will not continue to read the information.
Rhetorical situation is the circumstance of an event that consists of an issue or dilemma, an audience that is to be persuaded, and a constraint on the action that needs to be taken, whether it be time, place, person, etc. It is the piece that pulls the audience and genre together, but also cannot function without an effective genre and an audience that is connected to the writing. In the article “Rhetorical Situation” by Llyod Bitzer, the author discusses what qualifies for a rhetorical situation and how to effectively use it in writing. The article states, “rhetorical discourse comes into existence as a response to a situation, in the same sense that an answer comes into existence in response to a question, or a solution in response to the problem” (Bitzer, 5). Bitzer is explaining that a rhetorical situation has to have a solution or a call to action. It cannot be something that is not fitting to the issue at hand. If the solution does not fit the problem, then the reader will not be persuaded to follow the action. The solution needs to be not only constrained to the problem, but also constrained to the genre and audience. Bitzer states, “Although rhetorical situations invite response, it obviously does not invite just any response. Thus, the second characteristic of rhetorical situation is that it invites a fitting response. A response that fits the situation” (Bitzner, 10). The author is explaining here that the genre, audience, and solution all need to align with one another in order to be effectively persuasive. If one is out of line, the information and call to action is lost in translation.
With all of this information in mind, and the additional information gained throughout the semester, the theory of writing is constantly shifting from different focuses, or rhetorical situations, in order to deliver a message across to the corresponding audience as well as in the corresponding genre, while keeping all three aspects aligned. As showcased by Bazerman, the writer needs to take differentiated paths within a genre to attract a reader into thinking a certain way. Again, the genre needs to stay within the characteristics of the genre it is written in, or else the reader will be lost. Without an audience, there is no genre. An audience needs to be drawn into the writing and create a strong connection, being able to identify with the story and where it is leading to, which is showcased through Anzalua’s article. Bitzer showcases that a solution is needed for every rhetorical situation but needs to be fitted within the means of the writing. The solutions for the rhetorical situations are also not meant to be a one fits all solution, but variable to match the genre and audience present. A reader may be easily confused and lost if one of the three is lacking clarity of the topic at hand. Without the strong foundation of genre and connection with the audience, there is no issue to be present, no one to persuade, and no solution to be needed.
Citations
- Bitzer, Lloyd F. The Rhetorical Situation. Pennsylvania State University Press, 1968.
- Bazerman, Charles, and Paul Prior. What Writing Does and How It Does It: an Introduction to Analyzing Texts and Textual Practices. Routldege, 2014.
- Anzaldua, Gloria. How to Tame a Wild Tongue.
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