Comparing Writing Terms

It is important to understand different terms used in writing, their definitions, and how they differ. What writers call exigence is a condition or event (often a problem to be solved) that prompts a rhetor to create discourse. Purpose is defined as the rhetor’s intended outcome or goal for a piece of discourse; the proposed solution to the exigence’s problem. After learning what these two words, exigence, and purpose, mean in writing, it’s time to compare. The first difference you may find is the focus of these terms. Exigence focuses on the contextual trigger, or prompt of the writing. Purpose focuses on the intended outcome of the text. Rhetoric is the technique of writing that effectively communicates the author’s ideas. Audience is defined as the person(s), real or imagined, whose thoughts or actions a rhetor attempts to influence through discourse. Rhetoric is about how the message is conveyed, while the audience is about who the message is for. Lastly, the term affordances are defined as opportunities present in a rhetorical situation that a rhetor can exploit to benefit the discourse. Constraints are defined as factors in a rhetorical situation that limit the rhetor’s options when creating discourse. The focus of constraints is to restrict or guide what a cannot do. Affordances focus on what the writer can do. To better understand writing, it’s important to know the definitions and differences between these terms.