Contextual Analysis

ENG302 : The Class : Rhetoric : Molding Form : Contextual Analysis
Contextual Analysis

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Contextual Analysis
Unfortunately, no systematic and universally applicable process for contextual analysis exists. The writer must assess purpose, audience, and her own role in each communication situation and must also realize that the three are delicately interrelated. Sometimes appealing to the audience is most important, but sometimes the purpose determines who the audience is and what stance the author wants to take. Still other times the author's attitude determines what audiences to address and for what purposes. As a writer drafts a document, she must carefully consider all three contextual elements, both in themselves and in their relationships to each other.

A writer considering contextual analysis in the following specific situation must decide
whether to write a directive, a request, or a suggestion.

George Morris works as a district supervisor for the Fish and Wildlife

Service. One of the offices in his district, Bright Falls, has needed an

additional car for some time, and George has been unsuccessfully petitioning the

General Services Administration to get one. George finally received a directive

from General Services stating he could not get another car for the district, but that

he could transfer the extra car in the Cottonwood office to Bright Falls. Now

George has to figure out how to effect the transfer.

DRAFTING THE DOCUMENT
George's first thought is that the General Services directive clearly states his own purpose-he must direct the transfer of the car. So he drafts a memo to the Cottonwood office:

By order of General Services Administration, car #001-700 will be placed at the disposal

of the Bright Falls office immediately.

This memo has a very clear purpose, but George realizes that the Cotton-wood office might be offended by such a brusque directive. In other words, George decides to consider his audience, not just his purpose. He knows that Tom Malohney, the office chief at Cottonwood, is a bit of a rebel who dislikes following orders for orders' sake only. However, he also knows that Tom is sensible, and he usually plays ball if given logical reasons. So George decides not to mention the General Services directive, but give reasons for the transfer instead. His second draft begins

Over the past two years the Bright Falls office has added three new people, while the

Cottonwood office has subtracted one. However, the motor pools based at each office

have remained the same, so that six people now share two cars at Bright Falls, while

three people each have their own cars at Cottonwood.

George likes this start, but he does not know how to move into the actual purpose. He has adapted well to his audience, but overly muted the purpose. He thinks of his own role in the situation-he is the district supervisor; he can command-so he adds the following sentence to his second draft:

Therefore, I have decided to transfer car #001-700 from Cottonwood to Bright Falls.

But now George remembers Tom's well-known dislike of directives. George does not want to pull rank on Tom, because while doing so might get the immediate job done, it could also harm their long-term relationship. So George tones down his directive to a suggestion. In other words, George decides to take a less commanding authorial stance:

Therefore, I would like to suggest that we transfer car #001-700 from Cottonwood to

Bright Falls.

But what if Tom does not agree with this suggestion? George decides his personal suggestion may be so weak that it sacrifices the whole purpose of the memo.

George is experiencing a typical writing problem: contextual elements pull in different directions, and he needs to balance them. George decides to let the suggestion be the General Service Administration's, not his. He thus plays the role of a transmitter of information rather than a director of policy:

Therefore, the General Services Administration has recommended that we transfer car

#001-700 from Cottonwood to Bright Falls.

Then George decides to emphasize his helplessness-Bright Falls needs the additional car and General Services gives him only one way to get it. George opts against a dictatorial stance, and takes a stance supportive of Tom, but shows he must ultimately bow to other pressures:

Therefore, the General Services Administration has recommended that we transfer car

#001-700 from Cottonwood to Bright Falls. I know your people are used to having a

Car apiece, but I don't know what else we can do.

Checking this latest draft against his sense of Tom as his audience, George decides the conclusion may invite Tom to offer an alternative. So he decides to be a little more forceful at the end, although not on the basis of his supervisory position. To allow Tom some latitude, George decides not to mention when the transfer should occur. He knows Tom will grudgingly accept the transfer in principle, and then, with Tom on his side, George can go into detail about the actual transfer. To introduce those details before getting Tom's general approval would probably take more time and effort than using separate letters for each purpose. His analysis of audience and author's role causes George to modify his original purpose; he breaks it into two bite-sized chunks that Tom can swallow more easily. So George winds up with

Over the past two years the Bright Falls office has added three new people, while the

Cottonwood office has subtracted one. However, the motor pools based at each

office have remained the same, so that six people now share two cars at Bright Falls,

while three people each have their own cars at Cottonwood. Therefore, the General

Services Administration has recommended that we transfer car #001-700 from

Cottonwood to Bright Falls. I know your people are used to having a car apiece but

I don't know what else we can do. General Services insists that this is the only

solution. However, I'll keep pressing for another district car to replace the one

you're losing.

EVALUATING THE DRAFT

In the process of drafting this memo, George did not focus exclusively on purpose, audience, or his own role, but tried to balance all three. Once a writer analyzes the context and determines the basic content of a piece of writing, he must constantly monitor the emerging document:

Have I analyzed the problem correctly and completely?

Have I left out any important facts?

Is my interpretation of the facts sound?

Am I coming across with the degree of authority I want to project?

Have I appealed to the qualities important to my audience?

Will my audience clearly see the result I'm expecting?

Of course, these are only a few examples of the many context-based questions possible.
Other important questions are language-based:

Is my choice of words right?

Are my sentences too long or too short?

Are my sentences too complex or too simple?

Are my paragraphs logical, orderly, and helpful?

Does my document move clearly from point to point?

Are my graphic aids clear and useful?

Are my grammar, spelling, and punctuation correct?

Again, these are only a few of the language-based questions the writer could ask.

The writer can answer all these questions only by referring back to the analyses of the problem and its context. For instance, you can only determine whether your choice of words is right by looking at your subject, your audience, and the image you want to project. Basically, all the questions about the emerg-ing document boil down to one: "Am I doing the job I set out to do in this piece of writing?"

However, this crucial question has one important qualification. As one writes a document and begins to evaluate it, she may discover flaws in the initial plan. Thus, the writer should never regard the initial assessment of the problem or its context as absolutely final. When necessary, the writer should reassess the problem or its context. The writer must also remember that the order he or she follows when analyzing the problem is not necessarily the order to use when presenting it in the final document. The writer must take into account the demands of the situation as well as the analysis of the problem itself to create the document's best organization.

To see how one keeps the writing process open, analyze these early drafts by answering the following questions:

Purpose

What is the author's purpose?

How is the author attempting to achieve that purpose?

What can the author do to better achieve that purpose?

Audience

What is the author's assessment of the audience?

What is the author doing in the draft to reach that audience?

What can the author do to reach that audience more effectively?

Author

What stance is the author taking?

What is the author doing in the draft to project that stance?

What can the author do to improve that stance?

Ed Post is the environmental coordinator for a mining company. A coalition of local ranchers and environmental activists has written an open letter to the newspaper opposing the expansion of the company's mining operations in the area. The president of the company has asked Ed to respond by writing an open letter to the newspaper stating the company's view of the proposed expansion.

Ed's draft (so far) is this:

My fellow citizens:

We at Donner Mining share your concern about the environment. But we must point

out that we have a valid license to expand the mine. If our company is to survive these

hard economic times, we have to expand. Otherwise, we will have to close the mine.

Since many people in this town are employed by the mine, our closing would have a

bad impact on the town's economy. So while we share your concern about the

environment, we hope you recognize that there are compelling economic issues at work

here, too.

Bob Price is operations manager for a bank that has just opened a new branch office south of town. Bob has advertised for bids for the janitorial services in the new branch. He received five bids and has awarded the contract to one company. He must now write an official acceptance notice.

Bob's draft (so far) is this:

I am happy to inform you that your company has been selected to clean the bank.

Please sign and date the enclosed contract. We'll expect you to show up Monday,

January 3, to begin cleaning. Please observe the bank's security procedures very

closely. We look forward to a long and happy relationship.

Sarah Frederick is a personnel officer with the state government. She has recently received an angry letter of complaint about the alleged rude-ness of a state driver's license examiner. State policy is to respond to all such allegations.

Sarah's draft (so far) is this:

We appreciate your letter of the 21st expressing dissatisfaction with the conduct of

Mr. Jones of the driver's license division. Naturally, we are anxious for your dealings

with the state government to be pleasant. However, since your letter expresses more

anger than specific facts about Mr. Jones' supposed improper actions, we can do little

for you. If you care to file a formal complaint, you can pick up the necessary form at

the county clerk's office. But if you don't have anything specific to complain about, I

would advise you to save everybody a lot of trouble by just forgetting it.

By checking the document as one goes, the writer can monitor how effectively the problem is being addressed and how appropriate the document is for the particular situation. In addition, by analyzing the draft in progress, the writer often arrives at new insights about the problem and the situation, which in turn allow her to make beneficial changes. Finally, the writer may also polish and correct surface blemishes.

1. Problem:

Think of some writing you actually need to do, but not necessarily a school assignment. For
instance, you may need to apply for a job, write a merchant asking for your money back, write a
"letter to the editor," write to your parents for more money, etc. Apply the principles presented
in this lesson to that piece of writing. Analyze the problem and its context.

2. Write a draft of the document, and evaluate its effectiveness.

3. This will be worth 100 points, and will be graded on the following criteria:

Grading Criteria: Contextual Analysis

Evaluation will be based partly on the basis of the questions under the "Purpose, Audience, and Author" questions of this lesson	25 pts.	50 pts.
Evaluation will be based partly on the basis of the questions under the "Evaluating the Draft" portion of this assignment.	25 pts.	50 pts.


Clarity: Clearly Defined Purpose, Adequate Factual Support for Purpose, Clear and Appropriate Organization, Clear Sentences	15 pts.	50 pts.
Conciseness: Presentation that is long enough to get the job done, Effective Language	15 pts.
Coherence: Logical Patterns, Argumentative Patterns, Other Organizational Forms that create a flow for the document appropriate to audience, purpose, voice	10 pts.
Correctness: Appropriate Use of Standard Formats, Proper Grammer, Mechanics, and Other Conventions	10 pts.

Total Points Earned = _______/100

For grading purposes, please provide the following information:

Your Name:
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E-mail Greg Larkin at Gregory.Larkin@nau.edu
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