English Report Essay

Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
Discussion: Rhetorical Situations
A thorough read from Grant Davie’s article Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents reveals that the rhetorical situation is a powerful vehicle through which major issues in the society can be resolved. Grant Davies reviews the description, and functional elements of a rhetorical situation from scholars Lloyd Bitzer, Richard Vatz, and Scott Consigny’s studies before introducing his theoretical perspective. As a result, he builds a convincing stand for his readers.
Rhetorical situation refers to the moment an issue is identified and then it is attempted through writing. In this case, a writer engages a negotiation with the readers as a way of solving the issue (Grant-Davie 271). In his theory, Grant-Davie explains that rhetorical situations comprise of four constituents. These are the exigence (problem), audience, constraints, and rhetors. Here, Grant-Davis seems to correct the past scholar Lloyd Bitzer who identified a problem, constraints, and rhetors as the only constituents of a rhetorical situation.
Agreeably, Grant-Davie’s four constituents are acceptable since the fourth (rhetor), is as important as the reader (audience) (Grant Davie 267). Fundamentally, rhetors act as the senses to the existing exigence. Therefore, without them, it would be impossible to identify problems and address them. Another agreeable point is that exigence is created by events. For example, Martin Luther King’s urge to engage in a discourse on racism popularly known as I have a Dream Speech was due to the events that involved Rosa Parks among other blacks in the US.

I have encountered several rhetorical situations in which I have felt the need to write something. At one time, I wanted to write about bullying in school after my friend was injured by fellow students. However, the most engaging moment is when I wrote about racism in school which I had observed was increasing. During this time, realized that the outlook appearance of racism cases was different from fundamental causes. Arguably, one may argue that being black, white, Asian or an Indian and the cultural differences involved are the causes of racism. However, and during my writing, I realized that it occurs due to lack of humanity reinforced by jealous entitlement of the things we consider important such as resources, status, or advantages. This situation gave me ideas on how to communicate my ideas to directly reach each student as self and perhaps generate a positive reaction.
Unlike other situation when I can identify an issue and write about it for my readers to help resolve it, my written discourse on racism was different in that I was able to ask questions that would help improve on our normal routines, policy developments, and self-care behavioural modifications.
In brief, Grant Davie in his article is right about rhetorical situations both in his understanding and arguments. Personally, his theory is convincing and supported by personal experience. Other authors are also partially right if not completely. The fundamental importance is that these scholars agree that rhetorical situations are powerful vehicles when addressing issues.
Work Cited
Grant-Davie, Keith. “Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents.” Rhetoric Review. 15.2 (1997): 264-279. Print