The last few classes, we have mainly been talking about rhetoric and the different ways people can use it. I actually noticed one of my Graphic Communications instructors used it in the sense of “rhetorical question” about three different times just in one class. The first reading we did (Herrick’s “An Overview of Rhetoric”) was definitely the most interesting out of all that we have had to read so far. Aristotle’s was just way over my head, and I felt like Bitzer’s “The Rhetorical Situation” wasn’t over my head, but it was still hard for me to understand what exactly he was trying to say. At least I’m starting to understand the term “rhetoric” a little better now.
Although I know that all of these different points of view are important for us to truly understand rhetoric, I’m definitely ready to move on. I am kind of excited about writing instructions actually. Honestly, having to “write” anything is like torture to me, and I absolutely hate it. I think I hate it just because I have such a hard time getting my thoughts into complete sentences that the audience can understand. However, I feel like writing instructions would be easy for me. I haven’t really written a bunch of instructions, but I have had a lot of experience in using them, not just in everyday life, but also in my Graphic Communications classes. There are many things that we do that are very technical, such as setting up and running printing presses. Lannon makes a good point in that it can be very important in knowing who the audience is. In running a printing press, the press operators at a company would be the “experts” and would use a “highly technical” document; Graphic Communications students would be the “informed persons” and would use a “semi-technical” document; and students in English 314 would be the “laypersons” and would use a “nontechnical” document. I’m not quite sure what I want to write my instructions on, but I am looking forward to the next part of our Technical Writing class.
Yea I'm glad to be moving on to instructions too! This actually seems to be something that I understand instead of being confused about rhetoric all the time. Although, I think the topic of rhetoric will be with us throughout the rest of the semester.
ReplyDeleteYou made note of communicating your thought to a specific audience... I had an issue with trying to gear the instructions to a general audience, until I finally decided that I didn't really want my instructions to be intended for everyone. I just went to the old saying, 'If you make it idiotproof, then they will just make a better idiot'. So rather than running around in circles trying to accommodate for those who shouldn't really try to do something, i just gave up and wrote my instructions for someone who could more than likely figure it out for themselves, but just saved them the time, as opposed to trying to 'put wings on bullfrogs' and teach someone how do things that they really don't have the ability for.
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