Sociology Assignment: Exigence Definition and Importance

This sociology assignment addresses the concept of exigence in rhetoric, as defined by Bitzer, and its significance in rhetorical situations. The student defines exigence as a situation or issue that prompts communication, emphasizing its role in initiating and shaping rhetorical discourse. The response highlights that exigence specifies the 'why, when, who, and how' of a rhetorical situation, influencing both the audience and the desired change. The assignment references the works of Bitzer and Stinnett and Rapchak, providing a comprehensive understanding of the concept. It also explains how the absence of exigence would render a situation meaningless. This assignment provides a concise analysis of exigence and its implications in sociological and rhetorical contexts, fulfilling the assignment brief's requirements, including the specified word count and MLA-style citations.

Running head: SOCIOLOGY
Sociology
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SOCIOLOGY
Question 2
How would you define exigence? Why does exigence matters in rhetorical situations?
The term exigence in rhetoric can be defined as an issue or a situation which prompts an
individual to speak or write (Bitzer). The mentioned term is a Latin word whose English
meaning is demand. A rhetorical existence can be defined as a issue which can be changed as
well as resolved with the help of discourse or language. All rhetoric that has been successful,
including both visual and verbal rhetoric can be defined as an authentic respond to an exigence
that is a true and specific reason for sending out the massage. Thus I would like to define
exigence as the chief concept of why when, who and how. It specifies how a rhetorical situation
initiates and hence can be considered to be one of the chief components.
Exigence matters since it specify that something needs to be performed. Lack of existence will
result in a situation where there would not be anything to deal with as well as think about when
something is in question. According to philosophers, in a rhetorical situation, at least one
exigence remains present hose sole purpose is to organize people (Stinnett and Rapchak). The
exigence not only specifies the audience to be addressed but also specifies the change to be
affected. For instance, an exigence can be intense and direct that prompt officials to persuade
everyone to stay calm. On the other hand it can be complex yet subtle.

2SOCIOLOGY
Reference
Bitzer, Lloyd F. "The rhetorical situation." Philosophy & rhetoric (1992): 1-14.
Stinnett, Jerry, and Marcia Rapchak. "Research, Writing, and Writer/Reader Exigence: Literate
Practice as the Overlap of Information Literacy and Writing Studies Threshold
Concepts." Literacy in Composition Studies 6.1 (2018): 62-80.