The Rhetorical Situation

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This paper serves two purposes, the first describing the elements that are needed to construct an effective augment and second how to use these elements to achieve your goal. The topic which I selected is; of trying juveniles as adults who commit serious crimes and allowing the reader to make an inform decision on the facts that are presented.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, rhetorical is defined as the concerned with the art of speaking or writing formally and effectively to persuade or influence people. (Merriam-Webster). Rhetoric dates back to the time of Aristotle, who considers it a counterpart of both logic and politics, and calls it “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion” (Wikipedia, Rhetoric). According to Aristotle, rhetoric provides a problem solving, learning, and discovery that gives a solution which is not guaranteed to be optimal (Wikipedia heuristic). In order for an argument to take place there must be an event or affairs that give rise to an argument or controversies that exist between the author and the reader (Phelps). A connection must exist between the writer of the work and the reader who will react either positively or negatively to what the author is trying to convey (courses.durhametech).

The five canons of rhetoric which trace the tasks necessary in designing a persuasive speech were first modeled by classical Rome of invention, arrangement, style, memory and delivery. Wikipedia Rhetoric). Today the Rhetoric Situation is synonyms with the acronym TRACE: Text, Reader, Author, Constraints, and Exigence, which are necessary to formulate an augment (Phelps).

. The elements of TRACE have a set of questions that must be critically analyzed regarding an argument as cited by Rustian Phelps:

• Text: What type of text is it? What is the author’s main argument? Is the thesis explicitly stated, or does the reader have to infer the argument from the supporting data? What style is the text, casual or formal? Does the author have a respect of the reader, is the language patronizing or arrogant? Is the language difficult to understand? Does the text appear credible, it is well organized or incoherent?

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