Using the Spectrum

ENGL 1010 Sources & Rhetorical Situations

USING THE SPECTRUM

Now that you understand that sources exist on a spectrum, what’s next? The information in the spectrum can help you determine what sources to use for particular rhetorical situations.

You can start by asking yourself questions such as:

  • Who is my audience?
  • What is my purpose for writing to this audience?
  • What types of sources do they value?
  • What types of sources will the audience have access to?
  • How quickly will they need the information?

EXAMPLE

Now that we have covered the information in the spectrum of sources, we are going to use the spectrum to help us identify the types of sources an individual should create and use based on their rhetorical situation.

An English 1010 student is a freshman at USU majoring in Political Science and has been assigned a writing assignment that involves research. For this assignment, the student has been encouraged to pick a topic they are passionate about and to investigate that topic using sources that represent a variety of perspectives on that source. The assignment calls for the student to then present that research in written form to an audience of their choice. The student recently read an article about plastic particles in the air and would like to investigate clean air specifically in Cache Valley as well as in other locations.

Author: Freshman student at USU who is majoring in Political Science and currently taking English 1010.

Audience: Fellow USU students who don’t know as much about clean air and Cache Valley residents of a similar mindset (concerned citizens and people with similar interests).

Purpose: Present research in a written form from various perspectives on clean air in both Cache Valley and other areas to USU students and Cache Valley residents.

If we combine what we know about this rhetorical situation with the information we have on the spectrum of sources, we can figure out the type of source this person should create, and what types of sources they can use.

Spectrum of Sources

 

Social Media

Entertainment

General News

Specialist Publications

Scholarly

Examples

Twitter

Instagram 

BuzzFeed

National Examiner

The Economist

National Geographic

Quilting Arts Magazine

The American Biology Teacher

The Journal of Water Sanitation

Transgender Studies Quarterly

Author

The public, businesses, politicians, influencers, journalists, scholars

Journalists, paparazzi

Journalists, Editorial staff, scholars, freelance writers

Individuals with experience or professionals

Experts with academic credentials

Audience

The public

The public

Broad audience of concerned citizens

People with similar interests or work in the same field

Professionals and experts in the field

Purpose

To share, learn, interact, and market

To entertain, promote, or advertise and sell

To inform

To educate

To move the profession forward; to gain a new understanding of the subject area

Access

Online only and usually need an account

Online & in print, may need a subscription

Online & in print, may need a subscription, article databases including magazines & newspapers

Online & in print, generally need to pay for a subscription

Online & in print; Google Scholar, paid library subscriptions, can be hidden under paywalls but some are open access

Review Process

Immediately available, no one has to review before it can be placed online

A group of editors (the editorial board) reviews before it is released

A group of editors (the editorial board) reviews before it is released

Editorial board reviews before it is released or it goes through a peer-review process

Peer-review process: people who are experts within the field review the document and determine it is credible

ANALYZING THE SITUATION

AUTHOR

Because this student is a freshman in English 1010, they will be working to develop their skill as an informed researcher who looks at a variety of sources and perspectives. That means they could create a specialist source or a scholarly source.

 

Social Media

Entertainment

General News

Specialist Publications

Scholarly

Author

The public, businesses, politicians, influencers, journalists, scholars

Journalists, paparazzi

Journalists, Editorial staff, scholars, freelance writers

Individuals with experience or professionals

Experts with academic credentials

AUDIENCE

The author has a specific audience in mind: concerned citizens. This places the audience somewhere between general news and specialist publications because audience is one of the most important aspects of the rhetorical situation to consider.

 

Social Media

Entertainment

General News

Specialist Publications

Scholarly

Audience

The public

The public

Broad audience of concerned citizens

People with similar interests or work in the same field

Professionals and experts in the field

PURPOSE

The author’s purpose gets a little tricky. The author is writing for a specific assignment, and the assignment has already outlined a general purpose for the research: to present research to a rhetorically appropriate audience. The author has taken this general purpose and made it more specific by considering important questions about their topic and chosen audience, questions like:

  • What do I want USU students to know about clean air?
  • How can Cache Valley residents benefit from this research?
  • In what ways do I want USU students and Cache Valley residents to react to this information?
  • What do I hope the audience members will gain from the research?

These questions help the author determine that they want to both inform and educate their audience on the topic of clean air.

Based on all the information we have analyzed about this rhetorical situation, it looks like this student should create either a general news article or a specialist publication.

 

Social Media

Entertainment

General News

Specialist Publications

Scholarly

Purpose

To share, learn, interact, and market

To entertain, promote, or advertise and sell

To inform

To educate

To move the profession forward; to gain a new understanding of the subject area

SOURCES TO USE

Now, what types of sources should they use? Since we’ve determined that the student should create either a general news article or specialty publication, it would make sense for them to use similar sources in their research. But could they research other source types? Scholarly sources might help the student gain a better understanding of what research is currently being done in the field. Social media posts about clean air might help the student understand individual opinions on the topic. News articles might help the student find the latest developments on the topic.

QUICK CHECK

How can you determine what an author’s purpose is?

Look at their claim

Although looking at the author's claim does help you determine their purpose, there is more you can do. 

Determine who their audience is

Although determining who the author's audience is does help you determine their purpose, there is more you can do. 

Look at what kind of source they are creating

Although looking at the kind of source the author is creating does help you determine their purpose, there is more you can do. 

All of the above

Correct!