Revising for the Rhetorical Context

Every writing project has a rhetorical context shaped by three key factors: purpose, author, and audience. These elements guide how a text communicates its message. As you revise, revisiting the rhetorical context helps you refine your message and apply effective revision strategies.

Purpose

When revising, ask yourself, “Why am I writing?” Every piece of writing has a purpose—whether assigned or self-determined—and it must be clear to both you and your audience. If your purpose is unclear, your message may not be received as intended.

Writing can serve many purposes: to inform, entertain, persuade, or explore ideas. Sometimes, a piece may have multiple purposes, but one purpose is usually primary, shaping the tone, structure, and content of your writing. When multiple purposes are present, be mindful of potential conflicts. For instance, a persuasive argument should remain clear and focused—if it tries too hard to entertain, it may lose credibility. Likewise, an informative piece that leans too much into persuasion may come across as biased. Identifying your primary purpose helps you maintain clarity and consistency, ensuring your writing achieves its intended effect.

Why Purpose Matters

If you’ve ever read an essay or listened to a lecture and thought, “So what?” or “What is this even about?”, you understand the frustration of unclear purpose. Defining your purpose before you write helps prevent confusion and keeps readers engaged.

If readers cannot identify the purpose of a text, they usually quit reading. If teachers cannot identify the purpose in your text, they will likely assume you did not understand the assignment and, chances are, you will receive a bad grade.

Consider the Audience

For writing to be effective, consider your audience. Adapt your writing approach based on their needs, expectations, backgrounds, and interests. Being aware of your audience helps you make better decisions about what to say and how to say it. For example, you have a better idea if you will need to define or explain any terms, and you can make a more conscious effort not to say or do anything that would offend your audience.

Sometimes, your audience is clear—like when emailing your boss. Other times, you may need to infer who will read your work, such as when writing a restaurant review for other potential customers. You will often write with a primary audience in mind, but there may be other audiences to consider as well.

When analyzing your audience, consider these points. Doing this should make it easier to create a profile of your audience, which can help guide your writing choices.

Background Knowledge

In general, you do not want to merely repeat what your audience already knows about the topic; you want to build on their already knowledge. On the other hand, you also do not want to talk over their heads. Anticipate their amount of previous knowledge or experience based on elements like their age, profession, or level of education.

Expectations and Interests

Your audience may expect to find specific points or writing approaches, especially if you are writing for a teacher or a boss. Consider not only what they do want to read about, but also what they do not want to read about.

Attitudes and Biases

Your audience may have predetermined feelings about you or your topic, which can affect how hard you have to work to win them over or appeal to them. The audience’s attitudes and biases also affect their expectations — for example, if they expect to disagree with you, they will likely look for evidence that you have considered their side as well as your own.

Demographics

Consider what else you know about your audience, such as their age, gender, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, political preferences, religious affiliations, job or professional background, and area of residence. Think about how these demographics may affect how much background your audience has about your topic, what types of expectations or interests they have, and what attitudes or biases they may have.

Example #1

Scenario: You are writing an email to your Introduction to Theatre professor from last semester to propose an independent study course on stage combat with her next year.

Audience: Dr. Wilcox has a Ph.D., and her dissertation focused on American Theatre in particular. She specializes in teaching stage combat strategies–any fights or physical interaction on stage are what she is especially interested in. She often travels to teach small workshops about stage combat.

Example #2

Scenario: You are applying for a scholarship offer from the University of Mississippi School of Nursing for new freshmen pursuing nursing as a career choice. You’re required to write a 250-word application essay demonstrating both your need and your interest in nursing.

Audience: This is a committee of doctors and nurses at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi. They not only have medical degrees, but they also teach classes. They are especially interested in candidates who want to work in under-served communities.

"Introduction to Revising for Rhetorical Context" by Lumen Learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).