It is time to think about the situation that surrounds our writing.  Writers sometimes call this "the rhetorical situation." The rhetorical situation can include anything that influences the decisions we make about our writing: who we are writing to, why we are writing, where the writing will be published, etc. In order to make critical, conscientious decisions about what we write, we need to be aware of all these different components and find a way to balance them so that we are communicating effectively.

The reading this week, "Reading College Assignments Rhetorically" by Joel Gladd, gives us some common terms to use when describing the rhetorical situation of a piece. Gladd's essay focuses on exigency, audience, purpose, genre, and constraints. Each of these aspects of the rhetorical situation will affect the choices we make in our writing. For example, think about how different your writing would be if your audience is the university president, as opposed to your best friend. 

This week, we will use these ideas and terms from Gladd's essay to help our peers think about possible rhetorical situations for their major project. Choose an idea that your peer is exploring and come up with a possible rhetorical situation. There are no "right" answers here, as this is a brainstorming exercise. You are helping your peer come up with possibilities for how to move forward in their work.  Would this issue make a good podcast? Presentation to city council? Youtube video? What's the best way for your peers to get their ideas to the audiences who need to hear them?