My Rhetorical Action Plan

In this post, I will develop a rhetorical action plan. I will be answering several questions from Writing Public Lives pg. 412-3.

Lee, Chris. "No Plan B." 10/31/15 via flickr. All Rights Reserved.

Audience (College Students)

Knowledge: Unless this is an area of extreme interest for them, it is unlikely that my audience knows very much about my topic. It was covered very briefly during the start of the year, and though they are generally very involved in race discussion it was not in a very visible area for them. Most college students get their information from social media and quick news websites like Buzzfeed. 

Values: Generally, my audience is very interested in social justice. They makeup the generation that is passionate about inspiring change and challenging social norms. Their general principle is to stand up and defend the oppressed and the underdogs.

Standards of Argument:I think that my evidence needs to be accessible, understandable, and relevant to the big picture ideas. Since my target is undergrads, they have not quite yet gotten into the intensive research work that grad students do, so they would not respond positively to dense and complicated research.

Visual Elements:With social media holding the position that it does in this generation, visuals are KEY! I think that college students would rather respond to something visual than a paragraph of text.

Purpose:My audience would be paying attention to my argument because they are interested in social change and entertainment as well. I am challenging the current viewpoint and hoping to get them interested in the topic in a new and more informed way.

Genre

1. Genre: Online Article (Organized by Subtopics) *Example 1* *Example 2*

• Function:Give information in a brief and digestible manner so that the article maintains interest until the 
• Setting: This genre is often used on student-centered websites like Buzzfeed, Sparknotes, and College Magazine.
• Rhetorical Appeals: All the strategies can be used effectively, but emphasis is placed mainly on emotional and logical appeals. The college student rarely cares about the credibility of the author. 
• Visual Elements: GIFS, photos, simple graphs are perfect for this genre because they break up text and catch the eye of the reader.
• Style:I will use a fairly informal style to seem relatable to my audience. I think it will appear too stuffy and boring if not.

2.Genre: Quick informational video *Example 1* *Example 2*

• Function:Providing new insight in a more appealing and quick way than text, and with more visual interest
• Setting:This genre is often found on social media as it is easy to share, interesting to click on, and captures attention better than text.
• Rhetorical Appeals:The visual component of this genre means that emotional appeals are key, but I would need to back up my argument with enough logical appeals so that the video is not a rant or complaint but actually a provider of new information.
• Visual Elements: Completely visual. Most videos combine filmed shots with graphics, text, and overlaid audio.
• Style: My style would be informal and conversational, because-again- I want to be able to connect well with my audience so they care about my argument.

Responses/Actions

Positive Reactions:

-My article is shared with others

-People use their consumer power to make a statement

-Other people write about this topic as well

Negative Rebuttals:

-People might write contradicting me -----> I would respect their opinion but provide more evidence.

-People might call me a racist/race denier--------> I would respectfully respond to their accusations/ignore them so as not to fan the flames

-People might not listen to a word I have to say-------> I would try to appeal to them with interesting and thought provoking information.