Digital rhetoric is a topic that can has a broad range of definitions and ways of being expressed. To quote from the authors of Writer/Designer: A Guide To Making Multimodal Projects (2014), “rhetoric is the study of making texts that effectively persuade an audience toward change” (Arola, Ball, Sheppard, 2015, p. 21). When studying digital rhetoric, there are several ways of interpreting and analyzing writing to get a better understanding of the rhetoric genre. One way of analyzing a message from a rhetorical writing piece through rhetorical analysis. When analyzing a piece of writing through rhetorical analysis a reader should consider the author(s) intended audience, purpose for communicating, context in which their text will be read, and the genre that they choose for their texts. When an author conducts their own rhetorical analysis and they consider all these factors, they may have a strong depiction of a particular point of view and persuade readers to consider their opinion.
Digital rhetoric is a growing form of writing and there are countless reasons on why someone should consider studying this form of writing. In the book, Digital Rhetoric: Theory, Method, Practice, author Douglas Eyman states, “it is necessary to review the history of rhetoric because our understanding of its use and value depend in part on recognizing and recovering rhetoric from those philosophers and theorists who have sought to minimize its power and/or purview” (Eyman, 2015, p. 1). In other words, our understanding of rhetoric relies on looking at examples from philosophers who have tried to get a better understanding on rhetoric, so that it is not as broad for writers.
Eyman also describes different versions of rhetorical writing that have come and gone throughout the years. Some examples include Western Classical Rhetoric, Medieval Renaissance Rhetoric, and Contemporary Rhetoric. Douglas Eyman also refers to the rise of digital technologies, which in return led to the rise of digital rhetoric. To define digital rhetoric, the author quotes Richard Lanham when stating that digital rhetoric as a, “connection between computer-mediated communication and rhetoric” (Eyman, 2015, p. 18). This proves that there is no one definition of rhetoric writing; it has evolved throughout various generations and if we open ourselves up to learn more about it then we open ourselves to new ways of writing.
After learning more about how rhetoric writing is defined and how it should be studied, I have some new goals that I hope to engage in through the semester. One of those goals is to open myself more to different styles of rhetorical writing. If I learn about different styles of rhetorical writing then I will gain a better understanding of how to write good examples of rhetorical writing that will impact my audience and convey my overall purpose. I also plan on practicing more with considering outside factors, such as who my audience is and my purpose of my writing, when doing any piece of rhetorical writing. This will hopefully help me learn how to effectively get my point across through my writing and persuade my audience to consider a new way of thinking.
Write Your Verse 