Bitzer Model for Audience Analysis PDF

Preview

Summary

Helpful guide on how to use the bitzer model for the audience analysis sections....

Description

Rhetorical Situation-TRACE Lloyd Bitzer, a famous rhetorician, coined the term ‘rhetorical situation’ to refer to “all the features of audience, purpose, and exigence that serve to create a moment suitable for a rhetorical response.” For our purposes, the term rhetorical situation designates the circumstances and contexts that come together to make up a communication situation. The elements of the rhetorical situation include: T EXT – the piece of writing that has been or is being produced. R EADER/AUDIENCE – the nature and disposition of the people reading the text. A UTHOR/WRITER – , as well as the background, experiences, and . C ONSTRAINTS – the circumstances or perceptions that might such as what has already been said on the subject and the general state of the world outside of the specific context of the topic. E XIGENCE – the event or impulse that Each of these elements must be examined to determine the most effective means for approaching a writing situation. Once the rhetorical situation can be ascertained, we can address several questions with respect to the writing situation:

• • • • • • •

What What What What What What What

forms or genres should be applied? kinds of arguments need to be made? support is needed? can be excluded? needs to be emphasized? terms need to be defined? kind of diction and syntax is appropriate?

Heuristics for Establishing the Rhetorical Situation Text: What was the author’s main purpose in this text? Was it to persuade the audience to change their minds? If so, would this text have changed the audience’s minds? Was

Reader: Who was the author’s audience? Was this audience educated? What is the economic or social condition of the audience? What is the general philosophy of government or politics of the audience? What values and beliefs would be common to the audience? What might be the average age of the audience? Would the author’s audience have been composed of mostly males or females? Would the author’s audience have understood the text? Author: Who was the author? Who did the author believe s / he needed to be (e.g., a dissenter, an informer, a political advisor, a confidant)? Was the author an authority? Did the author sound knowledgeable? Without looking at the name of the author could you determine the author’s gender? Did the author’s gender alter his / her perspective? Constraints: What were the constraints of the author? How was s / he limited? Was too little or too much time a factor? Were public relations a factor? Were other people a factor? Was lack of correct information a factor? Was the need to inform quickly a factor? Exigence: What was the exigence of the author? What was the reason the author felt compelled to write this specific text? Was there a specific need? Did the author fill a void? When did the author write this text? What were the general philosophies under which the author was working? Was the author writing a response? If the author was writing a response, to whom was s/ he writing and for what purpose?...