Crowley vs Lindermann - Approaches of Rhetorical Situation

Before I can start there are two points to be noted. First, is the definition of rhetorical situation. According to the OWL, rhetorical situation, refers to any set of circumstances that involving at least one person using some sort of communication to modify the perspective of others. Secondly, despite of innumerous similarities Crowley’s essay goal is to explain rhetoric methods to modern students, while Lindermann is providing rhetorical techniques for teachers so that they can help students to become better writers. Lindermann suggests that writers “must stop generating answers to questions and begin organizing their raw material” while Crowley suggests writers to begin by asking themselves what sort of question they are facing: general or specific, theoretical or practical.

Crowley defines rhetorical as proofs or any statement or statements used to persuade an audience to accept a proposition and explains that a rhetorical situation is made up of several elements: the issue for discussion, the audience for the discussion and their relationship to the issue, as well as the writer reputation and relation to the issue. Crowley also defines Invention as, “the division of rhetoric that investigates the possible means by which proofs can be discovered, it supplies speakers and writers with sets of instructions that help them to find and compose proofs appropriate for any rhetorical situation.”

However, Lindemann explains that “Rhetorical situations triggers perceptual and conceptual processes, permitting writers to recall experiences, break through stereotyped thinking, examine relationships between ideas, assess the expectations of their audience, find an implicit order in their subject matter, and discover how they feel about the work.” Lindermann defines Invention as prewriting, which “refers to a variety of strategies writers use to generate and organize their material.” To make it clear, she is explains that some teachers prefer the term invention, borrowed from classical rhetoric, because prewriting can imply "what the writer does before writing,"

Moreover, Lindermann suggests that students “must evaluate what prewriting has yielded, identify hierarchies and classes, assign importance to some ideas and abandon others, and tentatively arrange whatever materials belong in a draft” and Crowley suggests that once a decision is made upon the level of abstraction and the ground of the debate, writers must formulate question in terms of each of the four staseis: conjecture, definition, quality, and procedure.

As a conclusion, I wont reinstate my thesis or go back to the main points, instead I will provide you with this insight: both authors have in mind the approach to the rhetorical ideals, and despite that are differences on their definitions and suggestions, combined they are a powerful resource for writers.