Rhetorical Situation

In 250-450 words, I want you to explore the following questions. Be specific in your responses. You can use direct quotes from Bitzer’s piece (and in fact this might be the most helpful in your explanation of a rhetorical situation).

It's ok if you are a little (or a lot) unsure what this is saying. It's a difficult reading, but you should do your best to respond to the questions. Please don't spend any time on saying things like "this was a hard reading" or "I don't understand it." Do you best to think through the reading--it doesn't matter if you are completely wrong, so long as you try. 

According to Bitzer, what is rhetoric? What is a rhetorical situation? Why are both important in the understanding of how to write? What do you believe comes first—the writing or the rhetorical situation? Do you believe all writing needs a rhetorical situation in order to write? Why or Why not?

What did you learn from reading this piece? Why might we start a course on argument with this reading?

Don't forget: you must reply to at least 2 of your peers posts as part of the assignment. 

Due:  June 30, 2013 by noon.