Communicating through Writing

 In Chapter Four of our Rhetoric and Civic life book, the process of communicating through written work is explained as well as peer editing. In addition to speaking, written material can be a very effective means of establishing rhetoric to an audience.  Both the reader and writer need to follow a specific plan to get the most out of a written piece. Although I am not a fan of reading aloud in a public setting, I love to write to get a message out. Writing to introduce an idea, (like our “this I believe essay”), is one of the most effective ways for me at least to allow to express an idea or a thought.

            When I read an essay or any other written work, I always need to find something that interests me, even if I am not particularly interested in what the writer has to say in doesn’t take much to get me interested.  Good writing tactics like using descriptive verbs and adjectives is a great way to grab a reader’s interest from the start. If the writer is trying get rhetoric across a short, concise written piece will certainly grab a reader’s attention as opposed to a long, drawn out piece which tends to “bore a reader to death”.       

An example of written rhetoric, that captures my attention is a newspaper article that is able descriptive and to the point and doesn’t take three pages to get the message across.  A writer needs to capture the reader’s imagination immediately because if the reader isn’t interested they are extremely likely to not continue with the reading. In today’s world of rhetoric the message needs to be delivered quickly or the writer’s message will go unnoticed.

            Rhetoric in written work is all around us. We can find written rhetoric in magazines, billboards, political pamphlets, books, and so many other written forms. Next time you are walking around campus just take a look around to see all the rhetoric in written forms. It can be seen everywhere!