Read “Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis” by Laura Carroll and write response to the questions about the reading. Make sure to thoughtfully respond to the questions. Do not just write a few words in response, write a meaningful answer that is based in the text. Use evidence and examples from the text to support your thinking. Be prepared to discuss in class!Â
Respond to at LEAST ONE Classmate!
READING QUESTIONS
- What did you think of the piece? Be honest! Did you find any parts interesting? Did you learn something new?
- Who do you think is the intended audience of the piece? Who is meant to read this text?
- What do you think is the purpose of this text? Why do you think the author wrote it?
- What are some examples of rhetoric that you see or hear on a daily basis?
- Think of one time you created rhetoric. What message were you trying to convey/ share?
- What is an example of a rhetorical situation you have found yourself in? Discuss the exigence, audience and constraints.
- Write down the definition of EXIGENCE, AUDIENCE, and CONSTRAINTS!
License
© 2024 Eng. 1121 – D423 – Spring 2022 – Coleman
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑
1)The piece honestly blew my expectations out of the water. Just taking a glance at it I had felt intimidated by the length of the text, however, upon reading the first paragraph I was greatly impressed. Using general assumptions of professors as a connection point to the audience really hooked me on to the text from the get go. It served as the entry point for me and constantly made me want to read more as I progressed. Moreover, explaining media conventions had really solidified the identity of the text. It’s meant to be read formally but it has a certain enthusiasm that helps you create a sense of conversational quality as you read.
2)I believe the intended audience would be college students due to the sheer fact that the text starts off mentioning an experience you as the reader may have experienced during your time at university. The very first line indicates this as well as it states “Imagine the first day of class in first year composition at your university”. This confirms the idea that the intended audience would be a student as it states an experience that solely a college/university student would experience.
3)The purpose of the text was to explain rhetoric’s and the different media used to convey it. My reasoning behind this is that as reading through the text the author constantly mentions rhetoric and how it’s used in everyday lives. Whether it be commercials or ad campaigns rhetoric’s are used in manners that we would never think of as rhetoric’s. In other words, rhetoric is conveyed through the media to help convey a message. The ethos, the background, intended audience, all of which the media forces the viewer to question in order to come to a final verdict. It is through this final verdict that the viewer is able to have a takeaway to help the viewer either agree or disagree with the message that the author had conveyed.
4)On a frequent basis a common occurrence of rhetoric’s I see is packaging labels. If an item were just presented to me barebone chances are I’d easily pass and not have a second thought about purchasing it. However, having some kind of nice packaging or pretty casing makes me think otherwise. Whether it be food or a game, having a description of what it is accompanied by some kind of visual aid along with it makes me consider if I want the item, moreover, it persuades me to buy it. It’s rhetoric’s like this that I see on a frequent basis that help me identify what rhetoric is.
5)During the summer of 2020, I participated in an internship that was partnered between my school and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. There I was tasked to create a website with my peers to show the impact COVID had on different aspects of the CS/IT sector. I was tasked with educational technology and had to explain positives and negatives that it had brought. This served as one of the very first times that I had created a large rhetoric as it served to show the audience the true impact of COVID and how it impacted some aspects better then others.
6)A rhetorical situation that I had found myself in was when I had been with friends watching the unveil of the PS5. Watching the trailer, us as the audience had many different questions such as what is it capable of or can I play my older games on the console. There were many thoughts going around, however, the elephant in the room or the exigence was should we actually buy the PS5? The trailer provided us with many insights about the console when it comes to specs and information about accessories but it created room for discussion. Some of us were persuaded but others were constrained due to the fact that most of us already had different devices that we could play on. It had shuffled back and forth as we constantly watched the trailer trying to find more details to convince ourselves to buy the new gen console as the steep price point was a varying factor for us. In the end we ended up being split with half of us choosing to buy it on launch and the other half choosing to refrain for the time being.
-I didn’t know if 7 was a question or if it was a reminder to take notes. If it is a question please do let me know so I can edit my response.
Hello Mushfiq. I really enjoyed reading your response.
I really liked how you answered #5 and #6
Bringing awareness about COVID through rhetoric is definitely a good way to catch people’s attention.
I think we do have to answer #7, I mean I did lol
Hi Mushfiq, I agree with what you said in the beginning that the text got you more engaged as you kept reading. You also pointed out the example that the author used about the professor’s example. That stood out to me as well because I feel like other people can relate to it too.
Hi Mushfiq i like what you said for 5 for the covid that was my favorite one i like how use the rhetoric word in it because i did that when i had to do a podcast for covid and how it affect me and my family and other people lives,
1. I think this piece was eye-opening, relatable, and had a lot of relevant information. The examples and real-life situations that were given to us in the reading made the text much more interesting and made me feel connected in some way. I learned how quickly we can judge someone or something based on what we see right off the bat.
2. I think the intended audience is younger people that easily get influenced on social media or other sites that require more analysis before making a final decision.
 Most of the examples given were given directly to college students.
3. I think the purpose of this text is to explain how to get better at correcting our daily assumptions and judgments that fall into negative things, but rather thinking a decision clearly by using the proper rhetorical analysis. The author wrote this text to show another perspective about social media and how it influences everyone in a negative way.

4. Some examples of rhetoric that I see or hear on a daily base would be billboard ads, television commercials, newspaper ads, political speeches, and flyers.
5. One rhetoric I created was last semester when I had to create ads and commercials for a company to portray its new ideas and layout. The message I was trying to share was the advancement of a company through an ad.
6. An example of a rhetorical situation I found myself in was when I give into social media ads or TV commercials. When we constantly see products or stuff being advertised or bought into light in front of us, we are intrigued by buying them.
7. Exigence- the event or occurrence that prompts rhetorical discourse.
Audience- a group of people who have gathered to listen or read a play, writing piece, movie, and much more.
Constraints- the limitations within which the rhetor must work; these limitations can be related to the genre, medium, register, audience, or the situation itself, among other things.
Hi Tehmnia,
I’ve gotta say that I completely agree with including real life scenarios into the reading really made it all the more relatable to the text. Not to mention I like how you answered number 3. Understanding that jumping to conclusions is not the best way to approach things but rather stopping and actually analyzing what you’re seeing is better way to assess things.
I like how you worded your response to question 6. You said that you give into social media ads because I think everyone at one point or another have bought a product because they saw it online. I also agree that the author wanted to show how social media has an impact on the consumers and it can be negative. I think the author wants to make sure people are able to see beyond what is put in front of them.
It was definitely an eye opening piece, since many of us don’t realize how fast we analyze things for our own good and even protection I would say since analyzing gives us sort of an image if we can trust a person or sort of situation.
This text basically explained our way of seeing how we analyze the world around us in a different perspective. We usually have a set mindset but it teaches us how to think outside the box. I liked how the author has a hook in the beginning. This made me feel invested in what the next part was going to be about.
The text is mostly about rhetorical analysis and how it is an important part of writing along with using it in our daily lives. The author also gives examples of his opinions too. The first example that she gave in the beginning of the text stated that on the first day of class people May analyze how the professor asks what they are wearing, how they talk, how they express themselves, and how they teach the lesson to give a feel on how the professor might be throughout the semester. It’s a way of analyzing cuts without an e background but it’s saying not to judge a book by its cover. in a way, I can relate to this because if I meet someone for the first time I would analyze how they act and what they’re wearing and little details like that to give me a feel on how they are as a person but usually, this may not be the case and it might change perspective on how they are and how they act. Later on, as I continue to know more about them. It’s a first-hand impression but like mentioned it might not always be the outcome you expected.
The genre of the text would be considered to be informative. This can teach readers more about the importance of rhetorical analysis and its importance as well.
The tone can be considered to be objective since its main focus is rhetorical analysis prompts.
The purpose of this text is to show writers the importance of rhetorical essays and to not judge a book by its cover.
Some examples of rhetoric that I see on the daily can be in advertisements in youtube videos and on the tv. Nowadays it can be found in politics as well and in the media.
Hi Kaylee! I enjoyed your use of the phrase “think outside the box” in relation to what the article teaches us. I too did relate to the way that people “judge the book by its cover” in terms of how people talk, dress, and present themselves. It was interesting to analyze how or previous experience affects everything we know because it gives us a certain way of perceiving things.
1. I thought the text was very fascinating. I didn’t even realize that on a daily basis we use rhetorical analysis. I believe It’s true though , when we see or meet someone new in our lives we make assumptions about their appearances, tone, and attitude.
2.The intended audience of the text are people that lack analysis skills or people that become easily influenced by social media. Also the intended audience is college students because most of the examples were directed at them.
3.I think the purpose of the text is to explain to us what rhetoric analysis is. I think the author wrote the text to show the different ways that the media affects us in a negative way.
An example of rhetorical analysis I see everyday is on social media. People make assumptions and think they know you by what you post.
4.In high school I was doing a marketing project and I had to convince my teacher why my project was better than everyones elses. That was the last time I remember creating rhetorical situations.
5.One time I found myself in a rhetorical situation was when the Iphone 13 pro came out. Usually their phones are always the same but this was a really big upgrade from the phone I had at the time.
6.Exigence: the event or occurrence that prompts rhetorical discourse.
Audience: the assembled spectators or listeners at a public event, such as a play, movie, concert, or meeting
Constraints: the limitations within which the rhetoric must work
1. When looking at the text it seemed very long and I assumed I would not find it interesting. From reading the first page I found myself being able to connect to it and apply it to my daily life. I like the example the author made using a professor because I feel like everyone has judged their professor or even a classmate at first glance even if they didn’t mean it. 2. I think the intended audience can be young people or college students. The author keeps making references to college students but also mentions social media and makes it a point to mention that people can be easily influenced by things they read or see. The author makes it a point to make sure people understand that there are things that go beyond what is in front of them. 3. The purpose of the text was to teach/show people how rhetoric is used in our everyday life. The author explains that rhetoric is used to convey a message and it is the consumer’s job to interpret what the message is. The author wrote this text to show another perspective about social media and how it influences everyone. 4. Some examples of rhetoric I see on a daily basis are billboards and tv ads. Another example of rhetoric would be social media people often post what they think people will be interested in and make it so that people think they know them fully. 5. One rhetoric I created was in my economic class I had to make a presentation and get people interested in my product. The goal of my presentation was to get people interested in buying/investing in my product. I had to also prove why my product was superior to competing products. 6. Exigence: the event or occurrence that prompts rhetorical discourse.
Audience: the assembled spectators or listeners at a public event, such as a play, movie, or concert
Constraints: the limitations within which the rhetoric must work, this can be related to audience or genre
1.What I think of this piece is that I feel like it was somewhat good is because when i read the begging of the passage I see that when professor walk inside class with how they way dress they will judge them how if it’s not good a very type mean dress how I look at it if I see a professor I would see a professor with a nice calm dress I would compliment them and I know that they will be nice and someone that I like to have has as my professor.I learned that people are gonna have their way and they always judge a book by it’s cover.
2.The intended audience is for us as a college student and maybe for younger people that are reading this.
3.The reason why is that first rhetoric is a word that we can use in our everyday life such as in school online and social media.I think he wrote I will say that people like to judge Professor or even other students because don’t like to be judge of how the way they are because this a free copy try and everyone and wear and say what they want to unless they don’t violate the law.
4.The rhetoric that see and hear is on a newspaper,Phone calls,Schools,television.
5.My rhetorical that I created was Covid.How it effected me I actually did a pod cast on it I had program in Coney Island community what’s going the works so I remember me doing a podcast about how Covid changed my life.My life for Covid was very rocky is because I didn’t get to see all my friends and family it everyone were losing their houses jobs because of this crazy they were spreading around we all trying to do was prevent it and I remember I would join the match outside for Covid-19 so we can make this go away for good.
6.The rhetorical situation that I found myself is for example as Friend taught me how learn how play piano me as a audience was watching to learn so that one I know how play it and also help audience as people that are watching can be taught the same as me.
7.Exigence:The event or occurrence that promots rhetorical discourse.
Audience:The assemble Spectators or listeners at the public events, such as a play, movie, or concert.
Constraints: The limitations within which which the rhetoric work, this can be related to audience or genre.
1) I found this piece really interesting because I actually was agreeing with some things as I was reading it , for example everyone judges everyone and everything without even realizing, sometimes is not even a bad judgement it’s just something a person does in their nature. Even non judgmental people analyze/judge without realizing it.
2) The audience for this piece is people who just starting to write essays /analyzing essays , since it mentions in the piece a lot of people get overwhelmed when they hear they have to write an essay about analyzing something but in reality everyone analyzes things.
3) The author wrote it to encourage people that analyzing things is not scary , in reality everyone does it and sometimes people judge people for being judgmental when they actually do it subconsciously all the time.
4) Rhetoric examples that I see on daily basis is many stores that I signed up for keep sending me rhetoric messages about buying things .
5) One time I created a rhetoric when it was my first day in new school and I was analyzing everyone and everything around me.
6) One time I was in rhetorical situation when I was applying for the job and I had to create a resume analyzing everything I’ve done in the past as my experience, and schooling and I had to do it fast because I asked for the job from one of the people I knew and she told me to send her my resume right away , so I had to doit urgently.
7) Exigence – is a response in a rhetorical way to something that needs to be solved. Audience -are the listeners of rhetoric speeches.
Constraints – a certain restriction during a rhetoric situation/speech.
This article was an interesting read, Reason being that it introduces an idea that how our world is pictured is dependent on our mindset that we set for the world. If I wanted to broaden my view of the world or environment around me, changing my mindset would help me analyze the world in a bigger picture, just like how the intro stated.
The intended audience is most likely for younger people but it can be adapted to fit any age group that is easily influenced by societal norms to make an impression of a situation without taking into account other point of views.
The main purpose of this text is to show how to avoid making wrong assumptions of people, places, or things without diving deeper into them. The best saying that ties into this is, “Never judge a book by it’s cover.”
There are a number of examples of rhetoric we see on a daily basis, for example news channels, Cable TV, social media, ads, commercial. They are some form of rhetoric that we have experienced or experience daily.
I made a rhetoric for English last semester by creating an ad about my life in chapters, like a mini biography. The chapters were divided in important stages of my life for example, when I was introduced to engineering, my adventures with friends, interests, etc.
A rhetorical situation I was in, was during the 1st successful public space shuttle launch and landing that SpaceX broadcasted. Cheesy, but I always looked up to eccentric business men like Elon and Stark, even if one of them is in a fictional universe one of them is creating the stepping stones to make that future happen one day.
Exigence: the event or occurrence that prompts rhetorical discourse.
Audience: a group of people who have gathered to listen or read a play, writing piece, movie, and much more.
Constraints: the limitations within which the rhetor must work; these limitations can be related to the genre, medium, register, audience, or the situation itself, among other things.
1) I found the article interesting because it basically talks about how most people are quick to judge without getting to know a person. Sometimes the judgments that people make aren’t bad at all, but other people tend to judge a book by its cover.
2) The intended audience was for students/people who ate beginning their writing journeys. Most people tend to be demoralized and tend to be upset when hearing about an upcoming essay. What these people don’t know is that when writing an essay, the hardest part is pretty much what makes up most of the work. The easiest part is pretty much the writing part.
3)The people wrote this piece in order to encourage people to analyze whatever they want to. In reality everyone is judgmental to a certain extent and people shouldn’t be afraid to show judgment.
4)Examples of rhetoric that I see in a daily basis are things like tv commercials or ads on Youtube.
5) Times in which I use rhetoric are when I go into a location and I analyze and judge the people around me.
6) I would say a situation in which I used rhetoric is when I had to create resumes in order to be able to apply for a job.
7)Exigence- a response in a rhetorical way to something that needs a solution
Audience- listeners/readers of rhetoric
Constraints- a certain restriction during rhetoric
I also found the article to be enjoyable and I can relate to question 4, I also found similar rhetorical pieces in my daily life.
I also found the article to be enjoyable and I can relate to question 4, I also found similar rhetorical pieces in my daily life.
The piece was interesting to me, as it explained the ways of analyzing communication and connected the unconscious work of analyzing rhetoric with conscious strategies to do so.
I would assume that the text’s intended audience is college students. We can see that during many references, one of them being in the introduction: “Imagine the first day of class in first-year composition at your university”.
The purpose of the text, in my opinion, is to educate students on what rhetorical analysis is, what are the restrictions and rules around it, and the ways to analyze a rhetorical situation.
Some of the examples of rhetorical situations I see or hear on the daily basis are podcasts, articles, billboards, wayfinding systems, texts, calls, emails, YouTube videos, and CircleIn posts.
One of the latest times I was creating written rhetoric was, in fact, in this class for the last week’s assignment. It was a school assignment, so I knew that the context is professional – I needed to make sure that the content was grammatically correct and didn’t have any typos and deliver my thoughts in a clear and articulate way. To clarify, the exigence in this situation was the assignment to read and write a post. The audience was the students, and the professor in my class, as well as anyone who opens the class website on OpenLab, since the access to which is not restricted. The constraints presented for the discourse were:
– The requirement of a digital submission through the class website.
– The need to answer stated questions in a formal way, with references to the text.
– The time restriction of getting it done before the next class.
Exigence is the circumstance/condition/event that requires the response to be produced. The audience is those who are the (intended or unintended) recipients of the rhetorical message being delivered. Lastly, the constraints are the things that can restrict the way we produce for the situation. They limit the ways discourse is being communicated. They can be anything from beliefs, views, ideas, and images to monetary restrictions of the budget.
I enjoyed the reading because the author brings up an interesting point: we may be analyzing new people without even realizing it. The reading discusses how rhetorical analysis can help people make better decisions about other people or situations. “Media is one of the most important places where this kind of analysis needs to happen,” the text says. “What makes media work is rhetoric—the way we use language and images to persuade,” he says, adding that we can use this skill to persuade one another, particularly through social media. The essay is written in an informative tone. Students, teachers, and anyone who uses computers are, in my opinion, the intended audience and who should read this. The goal of this text is to persuade readers to use rhetorical analysis when analyzing a situation or a person in order to gain a better understanding. Advertisements, commercials, and news stories are all examples of rhetoric that I see on a daily basis.
1.I found this piece very informative and useful. They gave real life situations and examples where it helped me understand the concept much better. They stated many relatable situations such as making assumptions. It shows how we picture our world and thoughts.
2.The intended audience of the piece was for students. The author gives references about school related things and also social media. But I also believe the audience can be anyone who lacks making a final decision and needs more analysis.
3.The purpose of this text was to explain rhetoric and how it is used on a daily basis. It also states on how people can get better at assuming things. The author wrote this to show how we view social media and how it has an influence on everyone.
4.Some examples of rhetoric would be ads on social media. For example celebrities would be in an ad for beauty products. This would be an example because not only is it showing the products , but a well known person is there which would be an initiative to buy the product.
5. One time I created rhetoric was when I used to be in a law enforcement program in highschool. We had to create flyers to recruit people and get them to join the program. I had to show the interesting things we did and how it would help us in some ways.
6. A rhetorical situation I found myself in was debating on buying a product that I have seen online.
7. exigence-event or occurrence that prompts rhetoric.
audience-group of people watching the event
constraints -limitations within the rhetoric situation
1) At first I felt very overwhelmed with the fifteen pages I had to read to get this assignment done however, as I kept reading I’ve become more aware of how useful this piece is when it comes to understanding the term Rhetoric by using real-life examples.
2) The text seems to be targeted towards students, with a big hint being the beginning of the text and the reoccurring reference to school life.
3) The purpose of the text is to explain the concept of rhetoric and its appearance in our daily lives and the forms of rhetoric, and its influence among the consumers.
4) Examples of rhetoric I see are labels, packaging, advertisements in form of posters, music, and public figures.
5) A time I created a form of rhetoric was advertising myself in a job interview, my goal was to get the job so I did my best and advertised myself in the best way possible, mentioning my previous experience, skills, hobbies, my character traits and my overall perspective in life.
6) A situation where I found myself in a rhetorical situation was when I was in the market looking for a pair of boots, I found multiple ads on the company by the name of “Thursday boot company” I found out more information about the company and ended up purchasing the pair of boots, which lived up to the advertisement.