RHETORIC & WRITING

Web Rhetorics for a Digital Age: The Medium AND the Message

By Jason Snart, College of Dupage

Exercises

The following exercises are designed to get you thinking about the many different "writing situations" on the Web. You will also have the opportunity to write in these situations yourself.

• Situations   • Facebook Rhetorics   • Wiki, Twitter, Blog Rhetorics   • Choice   • Autobiography And Medium   • Interactivity   • Rhetoric Of "Community"   • Customizing   • Dynamic Content

fiogf49gjkf0d fiogf49gjkf0d A wiki, a Twitter page, and a Web log are all very different writing situations, but each is freely available on the Web.

1. fiogf49gjkf0d First, describe each as a “writing situation.” What constraints, if any, are in place in terms of length and content? Does it support audio and video, for example?

2. fiogf49gjkf0d Given what you’ve discovered in creating the basic descriptions for each of the writing situations, make an argument for which might be best suited to the following situations. Be sure to explain why you have made the choice: A group of five engineers needs to work together to produce a design idea for an eco-friendly wind turbine.

3. fiogf49gjkf0d An individual is going to be traveling through Europe and would like to keep her friends updated on what she is doing and seeing.

4. fiogf49gjkf0d fiogf49gjkf0d An individual is a professional tax accountant and would like to publish his views on tax reform and the numerous changes in the tax code that occur throughout the year.

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