Composing with an awareness of the rhetorical situation means writing not only to express yourself but also to engage your readers and respond to their concerns. You write to influence how your...

Composing with an awareness of the rhetorical situation means writing not only to express yourself but also to engage your readers and respond to their concerns. You write to influence how your readers think and feel about a subject, and, depending on the genre, perhaps also to inspire them to act. Write for several minutes about your rhetorical situation, using the questions below as a jumping off point for exploration: What is my purpose for writing this essay? What is my main goal? Who is my audience? How must my audience’s prior knowledge, values, and beliefs influence my writing? What is my stance? What is my perspective or attitude toward the subject? Which primary genre would work best to achieve my purpose? What secondary genres would meet my audience’s needs, support my perspective, and align with the medium I have chosen?