Defi nition

Some might say that the rhetorical situation, an expression coined by Lloyd Bitzer, is the most important concept in writing.

According to Bitzer, all writing occurs within a rhetorical situation, and every rhe-torical situation has three components.

First, a rhetorical situation includes what he calls an “exigence,” or occasion for writing. More specifi cally, such an occasion carries with it both a sense of urgency and a promise that through writing, a composer can make a change to that situation.

Second (and while it may seem obvi-ous), a rhetorical situation includes an audi-ence that can be infl uenced by or react to the writing.

Rhetorical Situation

Third, a rhetorical situation by defi ni-tion has constraints, and they come in two forms. An author may bring certain con-straints to the writing, for example certain beliefs that infl uence how the author under-stands a given issue. Likewise, there are con-straints associated with the situation itself, for instance the frame of mind of the audi-ence or the environment in which they hear or read a text. Both of these constraints are part of the rhetorical situation because they can infl uence audience response and the po-tential of the writer to make change.

Importance in the Field

Although scholars disagree on which comes fi rst—the writing or the rhetorical situation—they agree that effective writers use the con-cept of the rhetorical situation throughout their composing processes. They use it as a way to frame a writing task, for example. And they use it as they compose, to be sure that their writing keeps its intended focus.

In sum, the rhetorical situation is the situation in which we all write—be it a text message; a resume; or a research project and poster.

Resources

Enos, Richard Leo. “The History of Rhetoric.” Coming of Age: The Advanced Writing Cur-riculum. Ed. Linda K. Shamoon, Rebecca Moore Howard, Sandra Jamieson, and Robert Schwegler. Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook, 2000. 81–86. Print.

Lowe, Kelly. “Against the Writing Major.” Com-position Studies 35.1 (2007): 97–98. Print.

Lunsford, Andrea A. “The Future of Writing Programs—and WPAs.” Plenary Address. Conference of the Council of WPA. Grand Hyatt, Denver. 10 July 2008. Address.

Subject

Composer Audience

Context

Text, Genre, Medium

College Composition and Communication

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Invention

Definition

Significance

ResourcesInvention is the term used to describe both what writers have to say and how they can go about deciding that content. In this sense, writing is always an act of invention. As a topic, invention includes a wide variety of issues: it can include exploring alternatives, deciding if evidence is credible, interpret-ing material, considering audience, and beginning a piece of writing. Indeed, there are theories of invention suggesting that invention occurs both as one begins to write and as the composer continues throughout the writing process. In addition, like com-posing itself, invention can be understood as an activity of a single writer composing in a social context and as a collaborative process involving several authors. Invention was always a part of communication, from the days of Plato and Aristotle, and inter-est today continues, especially as teachers develop invention techniques for both page and screen to help students decide what to say—and how—in many different kinds of genres, from proposals and reviews to research projects, and in different media.

Invention is at the heart of writing; because composing entails invention, it is consid-ered an epistemological practice—that is, a practice through which one makes knowledge. When in the mid-twentieth cen-tury, programs in rhetoric and composition began re-creating themselves, they located invention at the center of that effort.

Bartholomae, David. “Inventing the University.” When a Writer Can’t Write. Ed. Mike Rose. New York: Guilford, 1985. 134–65. Print.

Bawarshi, Anis. Genre and the Invention of the Writer: Reconsidering the Place of Invention in Composi-tion. Logan: Utah State UP, 2003. Print.

Beaugrande, Robert de. “The Processes of Invention: Association and Recombination.” College Com-position and Communication 30 (1979): 260–67. Print.

Hilgers, Thomas Lee. “Training College Composition Students in the Use of Free-Writing and Problem-Solving Heuristics for Rhetorical Invention.” Research in the Teaching of English 14.4 (1980): 293–307. Print.

Lauer, Janice M. Invention in Rhetoric and Composi-tion. West Lafayette: Parlor P; [Fort Collins]: WAC Clearinghouse, 2004. Web. Reference Guides to Rhetoric and Composition.

LeFevre, Karen Burke. Invention as a Social Act. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1987. Print.

Rohman, D. Gordon. “Pre-Writing: The State of Discovery in the Writing Process.” College Com-position and Communication 16.2 (1965): 106–12. Print.

Young, Richard. “Paradigms and Problems: Needed Research in Rhetorical Invention.” Research on Composing: Points of Departure. Ed. Charles R. Cooper and Lee Odell. Urbana: NCTE, 1978. Print.

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