Rhetorical Knowledge

Rhetorical knowledge is a tool used in writing that allows for the creation of writing that is easily comprehensible to the intended auidence . Rhetorical knowledge is defined as the ability to understand your audience and creating text from that understanding of what the audience wants. Rhetorical knowledge can also be used to appeal to more than one audience by understanding the difference between the two and making changes to satisfy the other audience but producing the same general message. Purpose, context, audience and conventions are all main parts of rhetorical knowledge. By applying rhetorical knowledge to ones writing their text that is produced is generally more understandable and a better product then a text that is written without rhetorical knowledge in mind. In this sense when beginning the writing process for a text, relating parts to rhetorical knowledge is a good starting point.

At the beginning of the semester I came to UWRT 1103 with minimal knowledge on Rhetorical knowledge. Over the course of the semester the class learned what rhetorical knowledge was and how we used it through multiple activites and assignments. Now at the end of the semester I believe that I command a general understanding of what rhetorical knowledge is and how it helps in writing. The following objects and texts on this page will provide snapshots of the semester and what I learned relating to rhetorical knowledge in that particular instance.

Logical Appeals

To begin and understand what rhetorical knowledge is first we looked at the rhetorical logical appeals because they provide insight on how text is produced to cater to a target audience. To write this entry I watched 3 different types of advertisements and can related them to which logical appeal they resembled the most. The first I reviewd was the Jaguar add. This commerical was directed towards wealtheir people that are in the market to purchase their cars. The cars were made out to be a thing of luxury and if you were to own one of these jaguar cars you would be known as someone more desirable. This advertisment appeals to pathos due to its nature of taking advantage of the want to be desired. The second advertisement was a golf ad that featured Rory McIlroy, a professional golfer. The purpose of this ad was to sell the new talyormade driver. By having a professional golfer reccomend their product, talyormade's advertisement related to ethos, using Rory as a credible source of opinion. The final advertisement was an anti-tobacco ad. As an anti-tobacco add it appeals to logos using logic and statistics to convey the message that smoking is bad for your health. Through this entry I developed and understanding of the logic appeals which are an integrual part of rhetorical knowledge because if you understand who your audience is and how you want to your text to effect them, writing the text will be more logical.

Understanding Context

Another key aspect of rhetorical knowledge is understanding the context of why are you writing. Without understanding this the text will lack focus resulting in weak text that fails to due anyone justice. In the entry above I attempted to decribe what I knew about some learning outcomes of the course that had been discussed in class, one of them being rhetorical knowledge. This was similar to creating a reflection, except the target audience I had in mind while writing this entry was my professor. My goal was to show that I had some understanding of what was being covered in class. To show my understanding for rhetorical knowledge I referenced the previous entry about logical appeals. At that point I thought the appeals were the main point of rhetorical knowledge, but now I am aware this is not the case. Rhetorical knowledge itself is demonstrated by this whole entry. I understand that I am trying to make a case for my understanding of the material in class therefore I structure my sentences with references to my work to provide evidence that an attempt has been made hoping that my professor acknowledges my efforts. My prodiving references to prove my argument demonstrates rhetorical knowledge in itself. Subconscienously while writing this entry I understood that the most effective way to prove that I understand the material being covered in class was to provide examples of my work. In this entry I also talk about critical reflection and making connections, two other important concepts of the class. I also make my argument for my understanding of these concepts by defining them and referencing other entries in my journal that relate to those concepts. If the context of the entry was to write a reflection of the work, instead of making an arguement I would conduct a critical analysis of my work and point out key points to show areas that need improvement and things that I did well. Ultimately understanding context makes sure that the writing is relevant to the target audience.

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Knowing the audience

Another key aspect of Rhetorical Knowledge is knowing the audience that a text is intended for. When writing an email to a professor, the syntax and diction will generally be more professional when compared to writing a text message to a friend. While the context does have a part of the consideration of how to stucture a text, writing to the audience takes up an equal amount of consideration. In the entry to the left I created a circle of interest around my line of inquiry that I used as my research for the semester. Doing this activity helped me with understanding what option I had in what my target audience was. My line of inquiry that I choose was vaping. I understood that as a product it effects multiple groups of people. Teens are related to vaping because as vaping increases in popularity they are beginning to market towards teens with their wide variety of flavors. Since teens are related, parents then come into the picture. Parents of teens should be concerned by the product since it contains nicotine and may lead to an unhealthy habit. As a product that was designed to help smokers quit smoking tobacco, tobacco users may find vaping to being a healthier alternative when compared to smoking. Store Owners and companies that produce and sell the product are related to vaping through money and profit. Finally the FDA is related to vaping since it is a product that involves inhalition thus some from of regulation is needed to be provided by the FDA. After mapping out all these audiences that are related to vaping, generating ideas for the blogs and research I wrote became easier. For more information about vaping click on here: