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Some might say that the rhetorical situation, an expression coined by Lloyd Bitzer, is the most important concept in writing.
According to Bitzer, all writing occurs within a rhetorical situation, and every rhetorical situation has three components.
First, a rhetorical situation includes what he calls an "exigence," or occasion for writing. More specifi cally, such an occasion carries with it both a sense of urgency and a promise that through writing, a composer can make a change to that situation.
Second (and while it may seem...