What is the rhetorical situation as related to the intended audience and purpose?

Introduction

Think of a time you watched a panel debate regarding an issue on a prime time news program. Have you ever thought about the types of sources or evidence that worked to inform the different perspectives of the various panelists as they formulated their particular stances?

Individual opinions are formed from our various experiences.  As you work to be thorough in investigating all sides of a topic you are researching, you will work to understand the various sides and perspectives of the topic you are researching. In this class we want you to understand that various types of sources will garner varying perspectives from popular opinions to more scholarly interpretations.  All these views are helpful as they help clarify the complexity of the issue(s) you are researching.

The point of this discussion is to explore various types of sources as you research your theme and develop a preliminary topic proposal and bibliography.

Part 1: Initial Post

Research

1. As you develop your topic chosen in Module 2 (Enterprising America and the world), you will find that choice of theme will inform your research for the rest of the assignments and discussions in this class.
2. Review this video on working with scholarly sources:
   • Gathering Research: Part 6 (Links to an external site.)
3. Access the ENG102 Library Course Guide. (These are the recommended databases)
   • Problems of Management in the 21st Century An international, periodical scientific journal publishing original research across the whole of management.
   • Problems of Psychology in the 21st century An international, periodical scientific journal publishing original research across the whole of psychology.
   • Global Journal of Enterprise Information System Provides information about the impact of technologies and utilization in contemporary enterprises.
     Click “Search within this Publication”, then select “Advanced Search” to add search terms.
   • Newsweek Global Publishes news and commentary on developments in the nation and the world. Covers national and international affairs, science, sports, religion, business, medicine & the arts.
     Click “Search within this Publication”, then select “Advanced Search” to add search terms.
   • Wall Street Journal — Eastern Edition U.S. business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City.
   • Journal of Enterprising Culture Purpose is to publish conceptual, research, and/or case based works that can be of practical value to business persons, educators, students and advocates.
     Click “Search within this Publication”, then select “Advanced Search” to add search terms.
   • Business Communication Quarterly Articles, reviews, original research, and news of note on issues of teaching and practice in business communication for members of the Association for Business Communication.
4. Your goal is to find a wide variety of perspectives on your topic. For this discussion, you should find and read the following:
   • 1 book (You may skim the book, finding the most important ideas presented.)
   • 1 popular press article (A popular press article is one that is printed in a periodical intended for a general audience, such as Time, Newsweek, and National Geographic)
   • 1 or more international news sources (BBC (Links to an external site.), Al Jazeera, (Links to an external site.) Univision (Links to an external site.), Sohu News (Links to an external site.))
   • 2 scholarly articles (A scholarly article is one that is printed in a journal intended for a specific, expert audience; one of these articles should come from a peer-reviewed journal.)
   • 1 web source
   • 1 non-traditional source (consider podcasts, films, TedTalks, etc.)

Think

Consider the varying perspectives and the voices inherent in the writing.  Does one voice seem more credible than the others.  Be sure to address this as you move forward so you have a broad understanding of your topic.

Write

This is a small-group discussion forum. Continue working in your assigned group as based on the theme you chose.

For your initial post, list the sources you researched and chose for your post and use the following format for each source:

1. Title
2. Author(s)
3. Title and type of source
4. Dates of publication
5. As you write your post consider the following:
   • What is the rhetorical situation as related to the intended audience and purpose?
   • Note how the source adds to helping you better understand your research topic.
   • Note the value of the periodical or source discuss the credibility of the source.