Response to What is rhetoric?

I appreciate the way you put everything into a larger context and used real-world examples in your explanation. They are very helpful for trying to think about rhetoric as not just a writing term, but as a way of thinking and acting in many situations.

                                           -Comment on Taylor Wade's "What does rhetoric mean to me?" 

 http://taylorwade2013.blogspot.com/

I liked the way you contrasted one example by looking at it from different angles. I agree with your analysis, but based on your definition, could it be said that only writing designed to focus on a specific group can be rhetorical?

                                                    -Comment on Nick Mooth's "The definition of Rhetoric"

                                                                                                   http://nnanbt.blogspot.com/

It is interesting that you mentioned that it is unlikely the writer will understand every point of view. I feel like that is a very important concept that is easily forgotten. Your explanation was also good at pointing out that it is alright to add personal feelings to your writing as long as you keep and open mind and don't ignore other angles.

                                                                   -Comment on RAGainer's "what is rhetoric?"

                                                                                          http://eng101rag.blogspot.com/

 

  

Reading other people's blogs was really helpful to me. When I'm writing, I tend to get really caught up in trying to explain myself and my writing becomes more complicated and harder to follow. This was a nice reminder that I need to try and simplify things when I'm writing in such a casual setting.

I also found that, even though my definition was pretty close to other peoples, having it explained 
differently really made me wonder if I agree with my own explanation. I noticed that I focused a lot on writing for an audience, but after reading other blogs, I realized that I didn't mention whether or not writing can be rhetorical if it isn't targeting a specific group of people. So just to throw it out there, I do think writing can be rhetorical, even if there isn't a set audience in mind. 


Discussion on commenting:

I don’t really think that my comments differed vary much from what I would say to a person face to face. I really don’t like the lack of accountability that is involved in online, anonymous posts, so I try never to write something that I would not be willing to say in person. To a certain extent, I suppose I do try to word things a little differently or leave out some things because I know that what some one reads could be preserved differently than what they hear, and since I am not in the room with them to explain or defend my comment, I attempt not to say anything that could cause someone to become offended or defensive.