Conclusion
I hope that you have a better understanding of the term exigence now that I have broken it down a little bit. Remember that entering the field of rhetoric and composition can be challenging because of the many terms and theories that are needed, but each term is generally easy to understand when you break it down. You might've never heard the term exigence before walking in to a rhetoric and composition class, but I hope that this website shed insight into the meaning and how you can analyze rhetorical situations to uncover them. Although there are many different definitions of the term, just remember that an exigence is simply a problem that needs to be addressed. There are rhetorical and non-rhetorical exigences. The non-rhetorical exigences are the ones that we can't control such as natural disasters, death, the seasons; they are inevitable despite our efforts. There are the rhetorical ones which we can attempt to change such as racism as Bitzer points out.
We looked briefly at the different views that rhetoricians had regarding the term exigence in the rhetorical situation, and also how the term works with other terms such as the audience and constraints. All three constituents relate to each other and work together in analyzing the rhetorical situation. I hope that by going through specific examples and determining the exigences, it familiarized you more with the term and how you could analyze a text or speech on your own. The term exigence is very important in the major rhetoric and composition because you will you use it inside and outside of the classroom constantly whether you are writing a paper or discussing a reading.
There are many resources that you can utilize to get a better understanding of the term. One of the easiest ones is to ask one of your professors to explain it to you. Maybe you didn't understand their terminology in class and are still feeling confused even after reading this. That is a great resource to use. There are also many readings about the rhetorical situation that explain the term such as Bitzer's "The Rhetorical Situation" or Vatz's "The Myth of the Rhetorical Situation". Using a school database will easily allow you access to many more articles and journals about the term. Also, take advantage of the internet. There are many more youtube videos about the rhetorical situation that shed some insight on the term as well as other websites. Put in some extra work so that you can learn the terminology of your major and succeed!
We looked briefly at the different views that rhetoricians had regarding the term exigence in the rhetorical situation, and also how the term works with other terms such as the audience and constraints. All three constituents relate to each other and work together in analyzing the rhetorical situation. I hope that by going through specific examples and determining the exigences, it familiarized you more with the term and how you could analyze a text or speech on your own. The term exigence is very important in the major rhetoric and composition because you will you use it inside and outside of the classroom constantly whether you are writing a paper or discussing a reading.
There are many resources that you can utilize to get a better understanding of the term. One of the easiest ones is to ask one of your professors to explain it to you. Maybe you didn't understand their terminology in class and are still feeling confused even after reading this. That is a great resource to use. There are also many readings about the rhetorical situation that explain the term such as Bitzer's "The Rhetorical Situation" or Vatz's "The Myth of the Rhetorical Situation". Using a school database will easily allow you access to many more articles and journals about the term. Also, take advantage of the internet. There are many more youtube videos about the rhetorical situation that shed some insight on the term as well as other websites. Put in some extra work so that you can learn the terminology of your major and succeed!