Narrating Chapter 40 PDF

# **The Rhetorical Situation** - As a writer you need to think about the message you want to articulate, the audience you want to reach and the larger context you are writing in. ## **Narrating** ### Narratives - Narratives are stories. - A good narrative can lend support to most kinds of writin...

# **The Rhetorical Situation** - As a writer you need to think about the message you want to articulate, the audience you want to reach and the larger context you are writing in. ## **Narrating** ### Narratives - Narratives are stories. - A good narrative can lend support to most kinds of writing. - When adding narratives to your writing make sure they support the purpose of the writing, and that they are appropriate to your rhetorical situation. ### **Sequencing** - When writing a narrative, we arrange events in a particular sequence. - **Chronological order** : Start at the beginning of an event and work to the end. - **Reverse chronological order** : Begin with the final action and work back to the first. - **Flashback** : Inserting an incident into a narrative that illuminates the larger narrative. - **Time markers** : Help readers follow events by indicating time. ### **Transitions** - **Transitions** (like first, then, meanwhile, at last) help readers follow a narrative. ### **Including Pertinent Detail** - Decide what details you need to include in a narrative. - Include only as much detail as needed to avoid distracting the reader from the larger text. - Decide whether you need to include any background information ### **Opening and Closing with Narratives** - Narratives are often useful as a beginning to essays and other kinds of writing. - An interesting narrative can be a good hook to get the audience's attention. - Narratives can be a good way of ending a text by winding up a discussion with an illustration of the main point. ### **Considering the Rhetorical Situation** - **Purpose**: How your purpose will affect the way you use narrative. - **Audience**: Whom do you want to reach, and do you have an anecdote or narrative that will help them understand your topic or persuade them that your argument has merit. - **Genre**: Does your genre require you to include narrative. - **Stance**: What is your stance, and do you have any stories that would help you convey that stance. - **Media/Design**: In a print or spoken text, you will likely be limited to brief narratives, perhaps illustrated with photos or other images. In an electronic text, you might have the option of linking to full-length narratives or visuals available on the web.