Chapter 2 Vocab

Front 1

Contextual factors

Back 1

elements of a writing task, such as the situation, organization’s procedures, and readers, that influence the writer’s choices at every step

Front 2

Genres

Back 2

the agreed-upon forms of writing that develop in response to recurrent situations and that allow users to act purposefully in a particular activity

Front 3

Discourse community

Back 3

a group of communicators who share a goal of interest in adopting a way of participating in a public discussion, including the use of particular genres and terminology

Front 4

Rhetorical situations

Back 4

circumstances in which individuals communicate

Front 5

exigence

Back 5

the reason for speaking out urgently on a topic or issue

Front 6

audience

Back 6

those with an interest in reacting to the exigence

Front 7

constraints

Back 7

the limitations on what can be said and the factors shaping the content

Front 8

Prewriting

Back 8

the process of gathering ideas and establishing the purpose, audience, and channel for a message

Front 9

Organizing and outlining

Back 9

mapping out most strategic and logical arrangement of ideas and details

Front 10

Drafting

Back 10

writing of the message by choosing the precise wording and the style of organization

Front 11

Revising and editing

Back 11

last chance for improvements on the document

Front 12

Scope

Back 12

the breadth or limitations of a document’s coverage

Front 13

audience analysis

Back 13

the process of assessing the needs and knowledge of readers and listeners and adapting messages accordingly

Front 14

primary audience

Back 14

the intended receiver of a message; the person or persons who will use or act on a message’s information

Front 15

secondary audience

Back 15

anyone, other than the primary audience, who will receive a message and be affected by the actions or decision

Front 16

reader benefits

Back 16

the advantages the reader gains by complying with what the writer proposes in buying products, following policies, or endorsing ideas

Front 17

medium/channel

Back 17

the physical means by which an oral or written message is transmitted

Front 18

richness

Back 18

a quality of the types of cues by which meaning can be derived from a message

Front 19

Brainstorming

Back 19

a method of generating content by listing ideas as they come to mind

Front 20

Mapping/clustering

Back 20

a method of generating content by visualizing the main topic and its subcategory (web)

Front 21

Journalistic questions

Back 21

the essential questions (who, what, why, where, and how) that frame journalists’ inquiries as they focus and prepare their stories

Front 22

Organizing and outlining

Back 22

the process of arranging information for clarity and impact

Front 23

sequential development

Back 23

a method of organization of arranging information for clarity and impact

Front 24

chronological development

Back 24

a method of organization that describes events in the order in which they occur

Front 25

general-to-specific development

Back 25

begins with general info on a topic followed by specific details

Front 26

cause-and-effect development

Back 26

links events with the reasons for them

Front 27

outline

Back 27

a framework for a document, showing its divisions and elements

Front 28

Drafting

Back 28

the preliminary writing of a document

Front 29

writer’s block

Back 29

a psychological state of being unable to begin or continue the precess of composition out of fear or anxiety over the communication task